Rampage
Directed By: Jan de Bont
Produced By: Paramount
Written By: Ted Elliot/Terry Rossio
Based On: Rampage by Midway
Cast
Neil Patrick Harris as George Colin
Alicia Silverstone as Lizzie Nauman
Halle Berry as Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Veronica
Christopher Lloyd as Eustace DeMonic
Michael Ironside as Col. Vernon Colin
Release Date: May 26, 1998
Budget: $120 million
Box Office: $428 million
This probably didn't help Mario 4 either, but yeah, this was the Amerikaiju movie to see in 1998. The plot is the most 90s thing you could think of as two Illinois teens, George and Lizzie, are doing what teens do in the 90s. During this time, there's a lot of advertising for the newest flavor of Scum Soda. Despite the name, the brand is hugely popular in this world, but there's a... small problem with the new drink. One that tends to get bigger. See, the good folks at ScumLabs, the company behind Scum Soda and several other products, has discovered a strange substance inside a meteor and despite clearly not passing any sort of FDA safety test, mix it into the new Scum Soda. This turns out really bad for Lizzie, who basically drinks a can of Scum for breakfast.
The changes start small, with her breaking out in scales and her eyes turning yellow, but soon enough, she starts growing bigger and taller and soon we're in the fun part as Lizzie fully mutates into a giant lizard monster and starts tearing up Chicago. Going on a rampage, if you will. George follows the trail of destruction, trying to talk Lizzie down to no avail. She's soon under attack by a PMC unit sent by ScumLabs to take her down and cover up the events, led by George's dad, Col. Vernon. The military proves ineffective, as they should in a kaiju film, though ScumLabs CEO Eustace DeMonic is insistent on taking down the monster in spite of warnings by Dr. Veronica.
Soon, George ends up captured by ScumLabs, but Dr. Veronica helps him escape and offers him a chance to stop Lizzie, but there's a risk. The cure for the additive isn't fully ready, so George will need to stall Lizzie until Dr. Veronica can get it in the air. To do so, George will need to take a concentrated dose of the mutagen that changed Lizzie, transforming him, while also wearing an inhibitor collar to keep him under control. George agrees, but Col. Vernon tries to put a stop to the plan. The colonel intends to use a high-yield explosive to finish Lizzie off as she tears through the Midwest. George manages to talk him out of the plan and to help launch the cure so both he and Lizzie will turn back into humans. Vernon, who had spent most of the movie in antagonistic relationship with his son, agrees to the plan and even knocks DeMonic out on the way there.
The climax is a big monster brawl, using a blend of suits, miniatures, and small doses of CG where applicable. The fight is praised among kaiju fans as one of the best, with George and Lizzie throwing everything they can at each other and upending the Twin Cities in the process. Col. Vernon flies the jet that launches the cure, spraying down both of the monsters and reverting them to humans. The fight ends, the people cheer, George and Lizzie are flown back to Chicago and all's well that ends well. Though just before the credits, while George and Lizzie are dumping out their leftover Scum, George shakes a can and it sprays everywhere. While he and Lizzie go to get a mop, George's dog Ralph walks over to the spill and starts licking up some of the soda...
The movie was met with surprisingly positive public reception in spite of the goofiness of the premise, helped by many having seen the earlier release of
Godzilla and finding this to be a much more enjoyable experience. The film has a bright, colorful visual appearance and the effects manage to look better than the big G's American film in spite of a lower budget. The film especially garnered praise among kaiju fans, even getting featured on James Rolfe's second Monster Madness
Godzilla-thon despite not being a Godzilla film. In his words, it felt more like Godzilla than the other 1998 Godzilla movie.
The film also was praised by executives at Toho, who felt it better captured the spirit of their monster and made a point to switch the Godzilla rights over to Paramount as quickly as possible and away from TriStar. Plans for a sequel were offered, but it was decided instead to have the series continue on TV as an animated series (you can pick the channel for that.) Meanwhile, plans for an animated Godzilla series were cancelled following the box office failure of that movie.
So, that should cover us for Rampage. Now, we turn it over to
@Pyro to see what he's got cooking for Sonic's second movie.