Summary
Rampageis The Rock’s $428 million kaiju movie, and while it has a lot of fans, it sadly continued a disappointing trend that began 19 years ago.Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has appeared in all kinds of major franchises, with him having roles in projects likeBlack Adam,Jungle Cruise,Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and more. However, there is one type of franchise that The Rock has continuously tried to break into for nearly two decades now, butRampage’s critical failure proves that he has still not successfully done so.
Rampagewas one of the biggest movies of 2018, with the kaiju action movie being made even more exciting by having Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the leading role. The movie stars The Rock as a paleontologist who is tasked with taking down giant mutated versions of a gorilla, a wolf, and a lizard after a genetics experiment goes awry. Many viewers ofthe $428 million box office hitaren’t aware thatRampageis actually amovie based on a classic video game, with this detail making it an interesting footnote in a continuing trend from The Rock’s career.
All 6 Movies Where Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Is In The Jungle
Dwayne Johnson has an impressive resume of many unique movies, however, his career does include one strange trend: movies taking place in the jungle.
Rampage Was The Rock’s Second “Rotten” Video Game Adaptation
After Doom (2005)
DespiteRampagebeing a box office success, having made $428 million on a budget of around $140 million, the movie was a critical failure.Rampagereceived mixed to negative reviews across the board,with it standing at 51% on Rotten Tomatoesas of the writing of this article. This was disappointing for many of the fans of the originalRampagevideo game, as the franchise is so niche that another shot at adapting the video game was unlikely. However,Rampageis actually The Rock’s second video game adaptation with a bad Rotten Tomatoes rating.
13 years before the release ofRampage, The Rock starred in another live-action video game movie, with this being 2005’sDoom. Despite the action film being part of a much bigger franchise thanRampage, it actually fared a lot worse than its successor.Doomonly has 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, but this isn’t the only way that it failed. On a budget of $70 million,Doomonly made $58.7 million, meaning that it was a huge box office failure. Thus,DoomandRampageprove that The Rock can’t seem to make a good video game adaptation.
How Much The Rock Actually Weighs: Dwayne Johnson’s Workout Routine Explained
The Rock weighs as much as a WWE star turned action hero would be expected to, and his fitness dedication has made him a fixture of Hollywood movies.
Rampage Was Still Much Better Than Doom
Critically & Commercially
Despite both films getting Rotten scores on Rotten Tomatoes,Rampageis still much better thanDoom. WhileRampagedoes have its problems, with things like the story and characters being bland, it managed to be a successful action movie.The giant kaiju fights all work incredibly well, with it being some of the best American kaiju action outside of Legendary’s MonsterVerse. On top of that,Rampagehas some fantastic CGI, with it really bringing the three monsters from the video game to life.
Meanwhile, there arevery few redeeming qualities about the 2005Doommovie. Outside ofDoom’s surprisingly star-studded cast, which features The Rock, Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, and others, pretty much every aspect ofDoomwas received negatively. The dialogue and story are bland and derivative, and the action feels lackluster in comparison to the video games.Doomis closer to its video game counterpart thanRampagemovies, but when judging them as films,Rampageis far superior.
All The Rock & Kevin Hart Movies, Ranked Worst To Best
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kevin Hart have become an unlikely comic double act in recent years, and here’s their movies ranked worst to best.
The Rock Deserves To Star In A Good Video Game Adaptation
Even After The Two Failed Films
Although he has been in two failed video game movies, The Rock still deserves to star in a good video game adaptation.The video game movie curse was a longstanding pattern that existed while The Rock was making his movies, with thevideo game movie curse not being brokenuntil the release of projects likeDetective PikachuandSonic the Hedgehogin 2019 and 2020.Doomwas a victim of this curse, with the film being afraid to lean into the elements of what made the source material great.
Meanwhile,Rampagewas hardly a video game movie, with the film not really acknowledging its roots at all. Instead, the film simply took the premise of the game and turned it into a film, leaving fans of the games wanting more. There are still plenty of video game adaptations that The Rock could star in, whether he is in live-action or voice acting, and many of these could finally be the proper video game movie thatDoomandRampageweren’t.
Rampage
Cast
Rampage chronicles the efforts of primatologist Davis Okoye, portrayed by Dwayne Johnson, as he grapples with the transformation of his gorilla companion, George, after a genetic experiment alters him into a massive creature. Teaming with a genetic engineer, Okoye seeks a remedy amidst chaos caused by other mutated animals.
