That Moment In ‘Rampage’ When Lizzie Comes to Town

Rampage is a 2018 action thriller based on the classic video game series of the same name.

THE STORY: After a gene manipulation experiment aboard a space station goes horribly wrong, dangerous pathogens fall to Earth, mutating a number of wild animals, including a wolf and a rare albino gorilla named George, living in the care of primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson), head of an anti-poaching unit at the San Diego Wildlife Sanctuary. This causes them (the animals, not The Rock – he’s big enough) to grow to enormous size while increasing their aggressive behaviors. Now on a, yes, rampage, the animals head to Chicago while the evil corporation responsible schemes their nefarious plans. Can Davis get control of his ape friend before it’s too late? Or will the city get demolished? Or maybe both.

THE RUNDOWN: On the surface, a film about huge monsters wreaking havoc isn’t all that new an idea, with the video game series itself inspired by King Kong  and Godzilla, hallmarks in the stomping genre. We as a species have a kind of built-in fascination with very big things breaking other very big things and so there’s almost a primal sense of giddy in watching movies like this (or at least an anticipation of such). However, while there are some very cool action sequences, the movie doesn’t balance its action and humor very well, never quite a fun as it should be, even with it’s cartoony villains. Still, if you ever played any of the games, there’s a weird sort of inner tingle you’ll most likely get that will have you longing to get back to the arcade.

THAT MOMENT: (SPOILERS) George is out of control, pumped up on the pathogens, growing fast and getting angrier by the minute. Captured by the Army, he at least seems tempered by a host of sedatives, but what the good guys don’t know is that back at Energyne, the company that created the virus, boss lady Claire Wyden (Malin Åkerman), a psycho with hopes of militarizing the beasts, has a backup plan to call in the monsters; a pulsing transmitter atop the Willis Tower.

Once triggered, the sound waves violently agitate the George and the wolf, both taking to charging at full speed across the countryside to try and stop it. It has everyone confounded, why the two separate species would be working together, including the Army who are struggling to try and contain their advancement. Meanwhile, Davis and Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), a former employee of Energyne, steal a helicopter (with a little help) and take off after George. Yet it ain’t just an giant ape and wolf double-timing it to the Windy City. There’s something much worse right behind them.

We’ve known from early on that one of the pathogen canisters from space made splash down in the Everglades and was immediately devoured by something in the water, but since then, have only seen hints of its aftermath in the rivers leading north. Lured by the same transmission, it’s streaking straight for the city, and makes landfall just as George and Ralph have set about tearing into the skyline, fighting off feeble attempts by the military to hold them back. Pesky bullets.

Seen first on their radar and sonar equipment, the Army suspects a submarine has come up the Chicago River but boy are they wrong. What in fact emerges from the near tidal wave of dispersion is a monstrosity of ginormous proportions and one with a rather intimidating bite. It’s a crocodile. And it’s pissed off. It take to right away upending a huge ferry boat of people and then pushes ashore, bellowing into the midday sun-soaked afternoon with a deafening roar. Momma’s come to play.

WHY IT MATTERS: With a title like Rampage – and given its roots – you have to forgive the filmmakers a little for getting extra rampagy in its third act, with downtown Chicago absolutely left in shambles, which for many who still live in the shadow of 9-11 (the visual effects team from Weta Digital used those attacks as reference) maybe feeling a little unsettled. Either way, it’s quite the reckless spectacle, with the movie then going to great lengths to make sure we know that much of the population were evacuated prior to the monsters arrival (lessons learned from Man of Steel).

So, about these monsters. George (motion-captured by Jason Liles) is a terrific creation, an intelligent, American Sign Language-using primate with a sharp sense of humor who has, since it was a baby, made a connection to Davis. He’s very cool. The story takes its time in allowing for some authentic chemistry to be established between the two, which helps greatly in the latter stages when things get dark. Like Mighty Joe Young and Kong himself, he’s a highly personable ape that wins us over pretty quickly. That’s the point.

The other two monsters, not so much, and that’s intended. Far less realistic, at least once they are mutated, the wolf (known as Ralph in the games) is a fantasy beast with porcupine needles and bat wings. He’s an impressive-looking howler that makes for some genuine nightmare fuel, with a mouthful of teeth almost the length of a man. His introduction is a pretty wicked bit of madness.

And then there’s the crocodile, or Lizzie as she’s called in the game. At least four times the size of either George or Ralph, this is one mega-monster that turns up the chaos. Her arrival is well played out, with director Brad Peyton holding out until the start of the bombastic third act before giving her a reveal. It’s a smart choice, mostly because the pay off for what we think is coming pretty much exceeds just that.

What’s particularly good about Lizzie is that she’s entirely without setup, a seed planted early that the film has subtlety let grow and hinted at throughout, allowing her to be what we suspect will be just an addition to the two monsters already tearing up the place. However, by making her even larger and far more fearsome, she resets the line so to speak and immediately establishes that whatever the good guys had planned for stopping George and Ralph just went right out the window. Well, whatever window that’s not already in little bits all over the road.

One of my favorite things in giant monster movies – and I’m not alone I’m sure – is how well the filmmakers bring their beastie into the light. Think of the recent Godzilla or to a lesser degree, the first Pacific Rim, though the greatest ever is still the moment when Kong arrives in the 1976 remake. While Lizzie doesn’t quite make the most profound entrance in the giant monster movie history, it’s still pretty impressive and makes for the most chilling sequence in the film, setting the stage for a crazy monster battle that is admittedly very cool stuff. That dang flying wolf gets what he deserves.

Rampage is a somewhat disappointing movie, mostly because it’s tonally all over the place, with silly one liners and forced quips that never really work when the landscape around them is in devastating states of deadly mayhem. Either way, there’s some bits that work and some truly great visual effects that give it a boost, though the arrival of an oversized cantankerous crocodile is right where it’s at. It’s a great movie moment.