Review #1,369: 'Rampage' (2018)

Of the two major video game adaptations to be released so far this year - Roar Uthaug's Tomb Raider and Brad Peyton's Rampage - it's clear which project faced the most difficult task in successfully translating from pixel to screen. The Tomb Raider franchise first emerged in 1996, successfully combining action and adventure with an iconic hero at its centre in Lara Croft. The games had already inspired a move adaptation back in 2001 with Angelina Jolie in the lead role, and a sequel in 2003, and the filmmakers tasked with the reboot had over two decades of stories and established characters to work with. Rampage, however, was based on the 1986 arcade game, in which the player would control a human-turned-monster and lay waste to cities as the army tried to bring you down. That's pretty much it, but it was enough to convince the studio heads that a blockbuster could be made out of the rubble.

In terms of box-office, both movies failed to live up to expectations, and the mediocre takings of Rampage proved, if anything, that Dwayne Johnson isn't invincible. But in terms of reputation, Peyton's unashamedly brainless actioner is starting to pick up steam as a guilty pleasure. It does, after all, feature the muscly charms of the man-mountain formerly known as The Rock, a giant who is about to throw down with an even more impressive specimen, and possibly gain an extra neck-ripple in the process. He plays Davis Okoye, your average Special Forces soldier turned primatologist who enjoys a special bond with albino gorilla George at the San Diego Wildlife Sanctuary. When debris from an exploded space station crash down around George's enclosure, he starts to grow rapidly in size and his behaviour becomes increasingly unpredictable. The mysterious canisters belong to the gene manipulation company Energyne, who hope to create super-sized creatures and sell them off to the highest bidder. Why they are conducting their experiments in space is beyond me, but Rampage isn't the kind of film to benefit from closer scrutiny.

George isn't the only unstoppable beast on the loose: there's also a wolf and a crocodile. Joining Davis on his mission to prevent the monsters from laying waste to an entire city is exposition tool Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) and a shady government agent with a cowboy's accent and swagger. Played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Agent Russell is the film's most ridiculous character. It's unbelievably stupid, even by the standards expected of a film like this, brushing it's scientific explanations under a carpet and removing any stakes by making its hero utterly indestructible. But I found it impossible to resist its cheesy charms, and the relationship between Davis and George - who communicate with sign-language - is nicely done. Where Rampage fails is in its clashing of tones. Pantomime villains Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman) and her brother Brett (Jake Lacy) appear to have wandered in from another, even camper movie, and the sight of millions of innocents being casually crushed and burned in a wave of CGI destruction as our heroes fire off one-liners always leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Still, I enjoyed Rampage way more than I expected, even if I felt a little stupider as the credits rolled.


Directed by: Brad Peyton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,356: 'Spider-Man' (2002)

While Bryan Singer's X-Men will always be remembered as the film that kicked off the superhero craze of the 2000s, it was Sam Raimi's Spider-Man that truly knocked it out of the park, both in terms of critical reaction to a genre often unfairly sneered at, and box-office returns. It broke the opening weekend record, surpassing that of the first Harry Potter film, going on to gross over $800 million worldwide. Every studio executive with the rights to a comic-book hero started to lick their lips, and the subsequent years was a mixed bag to say the least. For every X-Men 2 there was a Ghost Rider, and for every Batman Begins there was a Catwoman. Raimi's Spider-Man is still fondly remembered as one of the best during a frustrating time for comic-book fans, long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe raised the bar.

Nerdy young Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) lives in a New York suburb with his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson). Next door is the object of his affection, the beautiful, red-haired Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), but she's currently the arm candy of resident douchebag Flash Thompson (Joe Manganiello). The only person he can call a friend is Harry (James Franco), the son of millionaire Oscorp founder Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe). Peter seems content with his position at the bottom of the school popularity hierarchy, until a visit to Oscorp sees him bitten by a radioactive spider. The bite grants him the power of super strength, agility and reflexes, as well as the ability to scale walls and fire webbing out of his wrists. But when Norman experiments on himself with a performance-enhancing drug after learning he is be ousted by the company board, he goes insane and dons a green goblin suit, reeking havoc on the city and its new hero, Spider-Man.

Spider-Man is now 16 years old, and is quite remarkable how well it has aged. Naturally, the special effects are now nowhere near as seamless as they once were, but the sight of Spidey swinging through the streets of New York with Raimi's gliding camera behind him is still a sight to behold. The technical aspects aside, Spider-Man still holds up because it takes its time to develop the characters and their relationships. Peter is certainly a bit of a cry-baby, but Maguire shares great chemistry with Dunst, and there's certainly an argument in favour of their iconic upside-down kiss being the most romantic moment in comic-book movie history. However, the film undoubtedly belongs to Dafoe, who hams it up to such extremes that it's almost impossible not to root for him, despite the shoddiness of his costume. Richard Donner's Superman is obviously the crown jewels when it comes to superhero origin stories, but Spider-Man isn't that far behind, paving the way for little B-list heroes such as Tony Stark to announce himself to the world. And we all know how that went.


Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, Cliff Robertson, J.K. Simmons, Joe Manganiello
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,137: 'Magic Mike XXL' (2015)

After the cult success of Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike (2012) - a loose adaptation of star Channing Tatum's experiences as a stripper (or male entertainer) early on in his career - it was of little surprise when a follow-up was announced. What made the first movie such a surprising success was the way it mixed the flashy dance moves with genuine character development, making for a touching and oddly sweet experience that also touched on themes such as the economy and the American Dream. For XXL, the focus seems to be solely on giving the audience what they want, and that means more abs, biceps and bulges.

However, this all means a half-arsed story-line that quickly finds a way to get 'Magic' Mike (Tatum) back with his gyrating buddies. The end of the first film saw Mike abandon the life he was never truly happy with and realising his dream of starting his own company selling custom-made furniture. The company is either struggling or about to take off, but it's clear that Mike is still unfulfilled, and when he receives a phone message from Tarzan (Kevin Nash), he is soon enough on the road to a stripper convention with 'Big Dick' Richie (Joe Manganiello), Ken (Matt Bomer), Tito (Adam Rodriguez) and Tobias (Gabriel Inglesias). That's generally it. Magic Mike XXL's main issue is that the story seems to fumble around trying to come up with interesting places to take its characters.

Very much a road movie at heart, the group find themselves encountering new characters along the way. With Cody Horn not returning (her disappearance is rather unconvincingly explained,) the love interest this time around is Zoe (Amber Heard), a gorgeous bohemian-type who doesn't seem to be put of by Mike's distinctly douchebag-y dress sense. There's also Andie MacDowell as a horny Southern lady who, along with her wine-guzzling friends, indulge in a private party. Mike also hooks up with his old friend/lover/colleague Rome (Jada Pinkett Smith), a sort-of stripper madame who hosts a house to entertain the ladies, and whose employees include the smooth-talking Andre (future young Lando Calrissian Donald Glover). There is sadly no return for Matthew McConaughey as Dallas or Alex Pettyfer as The Kid, who have apparently both eloped to Europe chasing a lucrative stripping deal. Gregory Jacobs also replaces Soderbergh as director.

The new characters provide to be little more than a distraction from the meandering plot, which forces Mike and his pals into a few moments of utter tedium. When the film stays with the guys and just allows them to shoot the shit, it's actually very funny, and leads to the best scene of both movies by letting a pilled-up Richie loose on a grumpy-looking gas station clerk. By trying to do more by giving each character their own emotional arc, it actually holds back a film that would be better served giving the audience even more of what they really came for, stripping. Even for a straight male, the dance scenes are electrifying, with the climax delivering an all-out dance-a-thon that allows each character their moment to shine. It made me smile between the dull moments, but this is ultimately forgettable stuff.


Directed by: Gregory Jacobs
Starring: Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Amber Heard, Adam Rodriguez, Kevin Nash, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Glover, Andie MacDowell
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #828: 'Magic Mike' (2012)

Magic Mike opens in a bright but subtly sleazy nightclub, with Matthew McConaughey's (following his dark turn in 2011's Killer Joe and continuing his recent career renaissance) strip-club owner Dallas, dressed in leather and a cowboy hat, stroking his private area and asking the ladies in the audience "can you touch this? No, no, no, no." But Magic Mike, loosely based on lead actor Channing Tatum's experiences as a stripper aged 18, shows that the ladies certainly can touch it, giving us a fascinating and slightly intoxicating insight into a male fantasy life, warts and all, and the lack of substance that comes with it.

Dallas's main attraction at his Xquisite Strip Club is 'Magic' Mike Lane (Tatum), who when he is not packing the club with screaming ladies, has threesome's with his kind-of girlfriend Joanna (Olivia Munn) and takes construction work to help fund his entrepreneurial aspirations. He meets college drop-out Adam (Alex Pettyfer) and calls in a favour after he helps Adam into a club one night, promising him paid work if he helps backstage while the men perform on it. Mike and Dallas eventually throw him on stage, and the ladies love him. But Adam has his demons, and his sister Brooke (Cody Horn), makes Mike promise to look out for him.

Although the film is primarily about Mike, the first third of the film mainly focuses on Adam, giving us a wide-eyed view-point into this seductive world of admiring women, endless parties, and all the uppers you could pray for. Mike seems custom made for this world and he embraces the g-strings, body oil, and all the superficialities that come with the job. But as he witnesses Adam's head-first plunge into self-destruction, he begins to wonder if the benefits of the job outweigh the ultimate cost. Director Steven Soderbergh manages to capture these moments with a sickly sordidness.

It also has a brighter side, with Tatum once again bringing a likeability to the all-American jock type. It's the first male stripper film since The Full Monty (1997) of any note, and the strip scenes are infused with an energy and a playfulness that is funny without mocking the industry. The dance routines are increasingly ridiculous, one in which has 'Big Dick' Richie (True Blood's Joe Manganiello) end his routine with the unveiling of his not-so-secret weapon, and Tatum busting some genuinely impressive moves. The romance that develops between Mike and Brooke is predictable but sweet, mainly thanks to Horn's performance, and it's about 20 minutes too long, but ultimately Magic Mike is an engaging and sometimes unconventional experience.


Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Cody Horn, Matthew McConaughey, Olivia Munn, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie