With previous film adaptations like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, the park ride only provides a mere suggestion of storyline and here they have taken it to the extremes. It has given Mr. Johnson the chance to really ham it up and Ms. Blunt an opportunity to be one badass señorita. Their interpersonal relationship is played mostly for laughs.

The storyline revolves around a secret flower pedal that could help save mankind from illness and a curse that has entrapped a group of conquistadors for hundreds of years. It also gives Jesse Plemons the chance to unveil the worst accent ever as the German aristocrat Prince Joachim. Paul Giamatti doesn’t hold back in the bad accent wars as well.

It’s disappointing that after building up Emily Blunt’s character Dr. Lily Houghton as a self-contained, self-confident superwoman they felt the need to couple her up with Johnson’s Captain Frank “Skipper” Wolff in the final scenes. It would have played out so much better if she had kept her independence. That aside Jungle Cruise is a fun bit of escapism that could have entertained and provided a signpost of female self-determination.

Rob Hudson
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The plot must have gone up in flames during the fire that burns up the world’s tallest building as there are almost no details to get in the way of all the big screen action. The sets being both real and computer generated are also as impressive as the leading man’s muscles and they act as one of the stars as well.

Also of note in a nod to current times is finding out that the ultimate hero in the piece is actually Will Sawyer’s (Johnson) wife Sarah, played with real gusto by Neve Campbell. She gets to kick some serious butt.

This is the new generation’s Die Hard right down to the use of duct tape and henchmen with bad foreign accents. Is there anything that crazy silver tape can’t do? The only thing missing is the yule tide vibe of Christmas time and the fashion sense of Hans Gruber. We miss you Alan.

Rob Hudson
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But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry mutates this gentle ape into a raging creature of enormous size. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered animals.

As these newly created alpha predators tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.

RAMPAGE is directed by Brad Peyton and stars Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, P.J. Byrne, Marley Shelton, Breanne Hill, Jack Quaid, Matt Gerald, Jason Liles, Demetrius Grosse, Will Yun Lee.

RAMPAGE releases in Australian cinemas on April 12, 2018.
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On assignment in China he finds the tallest, safest building in the world suddenly ablaze, and he’s been framed for it. A wanted man on the run, Will must find those responsible, clear his name and somehow rescue his family who is trapped inside the building… above the fire line.

Written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (Central Intelligence, We’re the Millers), the 3D action-thriller is produced by Beau Flynn (San Andreas, Baywatch), Johnson, Thurber and Hiram Garcia (San Andreas, Central Intelligence).

In Cinemas July 12!
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Carrying the film on his more than broad shoulders, Dwayne Johnson taps into his comic bag of tricks and more than delivers. He has to deliver too because all of the main characters are hilarious as they riff off the differences between hero and geek and even man and woman and then consistently generate laughs.

Updating the storyline from a board game background to a video game brought to life pays dividends as it allows characters to have extra powers and multiple lives. These powers add humour and the extra lives’ help generate tension. The advancement of CGI technology is also used to advantage.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is the kind of movie that you can leave the cares of the big bad world outside for a few hours and simply get lost with a film that just works.
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They get to ply their trade delivering a script that doesn’t have a mean bone in its body. It’s quite refreshing to experience a comedy that doesn’t resort to the usual snide and put down ethos that seem to dominate the current crop of movie comedies.

The set up is certainly silly. Overweight high school geek returns as super buff superman CIA agent (who loves the film Sixteen Candles) and reunites with the only fellow student that treated him with any decency. Together they reconnect and save the world, of course!

Few comedies of recent memory have been this funny while also being this sweet. It was also cool to see Aaron Paul drop in the Breaking Bad phrase while playing the bad guy.

Rob Hudson
www.centralintelligencemovie.com.au