Rampage II - Feb 14

And so, I got a look at the second ‘Rampage’ movie trailer. And?

And it is still a crazy mess, with a giant gorilla, and equally giant crocodile/alligator/monitor lizard, and a giant wolf makes it an even three. But now, there is also a newer development that had become obvious only now: this is a kaiju movie rip-off!

…Or an imitation clone, fair enough, but still. In the last few years, the ‘shared kaiju universe’, (or whatever it is properly called), is centered around both King Kong and Godzilla, as well, as their upcoming conflicts, both with each other and King Ghidorah, another giant monster, (a giant three-headed variant dragon from space). Ergo, now we have ‘Rampage’, which has a giant gorilla to substitute for KK, a giant reptile to substitute for Godzilla, (and the second trailer shows that this duo will fight), and a giant wolf because… he was in the original video game? (I believe that the wolf’s name in the game was Ralph, so it is a ‘he’). Not the best reason to star in a movie, but there were worse ones, so there’s that. Anything else?

The thing is that as far as movies go, ‘Rampage’ seems to be simply lazy. When the aborted ‘Dark Universe’ spawned the new version of the ‘Mummy’ movie it did precisely that – yet another reboot of the franchise, at least in part because the trilogy about Nick, Evie and their family became clearly exhausted by the time of the third movie, (dealing with a crazy-evil resurrected ancient Chinese emperor for a change), so something new had to be done – and it was done, and the last ‘Mummy’ movie version also featured a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, so it did try to be different; it just wasn’t very good at it, it seems – but it tried to be original, (to a point, because by now the ‘Mummy’ is a classic for an obvious reason – everyone knows what it is about), and if it didn’t work, it still tried. 

‘Rampage’ on the other hand, currently seems to be shaping into a ‘Kong vs. Godzilla’ movie – before the actual ‘Kong vs. Godzilla’ movie gets aired. …Oh wait, this movie was made and aired in the 1960s, so this version of the kaiju universe is just another reboot. What a surprise! Not.

On a more serious note, the ‘Mummy’ reboot was exactly that – a mix of the time-tested and original and it has failed. It happens. By contrast, ‘Rampage’ is an imitation of a ‘Kong vs. Godzilla’ kaiju movie in the trappings of a 1980s/90s game, which consisted of monsters smashing buildings… period. Not very highbrow, and even an imitation of a kaiju movie is a step upwards here, though not by much, and ‘the Rock’ has stolen the trailers, both of them, so far.

He does get around – he was in the ‘Baywatch’ reboot, (not exactly a success either), and he will be in ‘Rampage’, and he was in the ‘Jumanji’ reboot…which, not unlike the ‘Mummy’, was a franchise reboot, trying to package an old story in a new, different package. Here, the franchise succeeded; the new ‘Jumanji’ is not really like the original movie, aside from some basic similarities, of course, so there is that. Yay for it…and it did not try to imitate the original movie either, so there is a lesson to be learned… other than that ‘the Rock’ can make anything look good, especially in a trailer. Is that it?

Yes, although there is a new ‘Warhammer’ game coming forth – ‘Vermintide 2’. We already saw one of the new PCs of the game – the ‘Kerillian’. This is an elf warrior, whose options include a stereotypical elven archer, (and a very good one), an assassin-type rogue, armed with twin swords, reminiscent of FH’s Shaman and a spear-wielding fighter, who is more like FH’s Valkyrie instead. Go FH team Viking, then! The ‘Black Panther’ movie is coming forth this week too, and AWE Me YouTube channel released a new video of ‘Men-At-Arms’, as they made a spear from that franchise. Actually, it too is similar to FH’s Valkyrie’s spear – a weapon that is designed for stabbing, rather than slicing. Go FH team Viking times too! In addition, of course, the conclusion to ‘Fifty Shades’ movie trilogy will be released this week… and odds are not in its’ favor.

…Well, this is it for now; see you all later!