As you might have seen, the new trailer for Rampage has just arrived, setting the tone for an epic showdown between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and three colossal beasts that are hellbent on tearing Chicago to pieces.
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The Brad Peyton film features an all-star cast, including Naomie Harris and Jeffrey Dean Morgan from The Walking Dead, as it focuses on three creatures that are grown to abnormal size, mainly due to a leaked gas of some kind. From there, disaster strikes, with George, an enlarged gorilla, a 30-foot wolf, and a large crocodile creature ready to tear everything apart.
The movie definitely has the destruction angle down when it comes to matching the tone of the ’80s arcade game of the same name. But how much has changed between the two? Quite a bit, actually. Let’s break down all the elements that Hollywood has tweaked to make this monster movie happen thus far.
Not-So-Humble Origins
The Bally/Midway Rampage arcade game was built on an entirely different premise than the one that was put into the movie. Not to say that it’s going to be a flawed video game-to-film adaptation by any means, but it’s worth noting.
In the game, the creatures themselves aren’t actually animals – they’re humans. They mutate into their alternate forms of George the Gorilla, Lizzie the Lizard, and Ralph the Wolf when a lab experiment goes horribly wrong, and they grow to epic size and stature.
There’s a reason for this, though. The player has a certain amount of life bar to utilize, and once it runs out, they don’t collapse – they change back into human form and scurry off screen sans clothing — unless, of course, one of the other players eats them first.
For the movie, real animals mutate into much larger sizes, including a gorilla, a wolf, and a crocodile. There are no humans to be found within their forms, though lab accidents are still to blame when it comes to increasing their size and, more importantly, their temper. So the film is true to the video game in that regard.
Now, let’s look at each of the characters individually and see how much they’ve changed from their video game forms.
George the Gorilla
In the original 1980s arcade game, George the Gorilla resembles more of a King Kong-style character, with a body and build similar to that of the classic movie monster. His fur is brown, and he’s got an angry ape face that looks slightly human, though you can still make out some of the Kong similarities.
Not so with George in the Rampage film. As Johnson noted with the reveal of the teaser poster yesterday, he’s based on a more realistic creature: the albino Silverback. That makes him much more different in appearance than the original arcade George, with a gray-colored fur instead of brown. His face also looks far more realistic as well (credit the team at WETA for that), and even has a little battle damage.
That said, George’s mannerisms still look about the same, although he uses more charge-like attacks and throwing things around instead of bashing things with his fists. This could change with the final film, but he appears to be getting his aggression out with more powerful moves, instead of just punching everything. As you can see, that works out quite well in the trailer.
Lizzie the Lizard
Perhaps the most noticeable change with the creatures in the film is how much Lizzie is, well, no longer really a lizard.
In the video game, Lizzie is based more around being a Godzilla-style creature. No, she can’t breathe fire, but she definitely has a similar build, right down to the scales on her back and her immense size. And she can crush quite a bit with the way she’s put together, making her just as bit an equal as George and Ralph.
But in the movie? Completely different story. Lizzie (if that’s even what she’s called in the film) gets the least amount of screen time in the trailer, but leaves a lasting impression. She swims up to the city of Chicago and reveals herself just as the trailer comes to a close. And she’s no longer a lizard.
For the movie, the producers opted to make Lizzie more like a crocodile. That makes sense, as a canister of that ooze (it doesn’t really have an official name yet) could’ve easily slipped down into a sewer and sprayed right onto her, making her grow in size. That said, some fans may feel a little bit sore that she’s not a lizard anymore. But she should make for an interesting combatant in the film, especially as she starts chewing her way through the Chicago skyline.
Ralph the Wolf
Ralph is probably the closest creature to its arcade counterpart, although there are still some notable changes when it comes to his movie adaptation.
In the game, Ralph the Wolf isn’t really like a wolf at all, but rather a werewolf, walking on his hind legs and swinging punches that are just as powerful as George and Lizzie’s.
The film, however, goes for something much more realistic, and it pays off better that way. Ralph actually runs around on all fours, just like a real wolf. This makes sense, since he probably grew up in the wilderness before coming across one of those unfortunately placed canisters. So his instincts wouldn’t change, even if his strength certainly does.
And Ralph doesn’t let the four-legged approach get the better of him when it comes to destruction. As you can see in the trailer, he has no trouble dominating a helicopter in mid-air by diving straight at it. He’s also ready for battle when he reaches Chicago, standing right by George as enemies come pouring onto the screen.
While some fans may prefer a werewolf-like creature for Ralph in the film, this version definitely pays off – and provides a bit of speed that the other creatures just don’t have. That could pay off for a chase sequence at some point in the film.
Rampage releases on April 20, 2018.
