Let me apologize up front.  We’ve been running this blog for half a decade now, reviewing our 200+ film collection, sometimes more frequently than others.  In all that time, we’ve never reviewed Rampage.  I guess we all just figured people knew it was the Greatest American Bouldering Film, but kids born after it came out can drink now so maybe its time we gave it it’s due. If Free Hueco put Big Up on the map, Rampage cemented the Lowell brothers as contenders alongside the likes of Peter Mortimer, Chuck Fryberger, and Mike Call.  Better than that, its been uploaded in full on YouTube.

The first 2 minutes of this film tell you all you need to know – a nice gentle intro gives way to hold slapping, power-screaming, people falling madness collage.  If there’s one negative to take away from the initial assault on the eyes, its that there’s a clip of an epic backpedaling slab fall that’s never shown again, and that’s a crime.

Believe it or not, there was a time before Chris Sharma was swole.  In 1999 he was 18 and just learning how to put his newly developed bulk into good use on the stone. Rampage follows Chris and Obe Carrion with Brett and Josh bouncing from location to location via RV, hooking up with locals and putting down hard, many times first, ascents. Standouts for me include the FA of Dark Horse at Black Mountain, and Chris’s attempts at the sit start for the Sharma Problem at Tramway – the power growl is iconic and epitomizes the “aggro” nature I love about bouldering.  Summer 1999 also saw the X-Games include bouldering, a brief, slightly more mainstream, light shone on our sport.  The boulders and the moves captured are captivating, drawn into focus even more by the general lack of names, and complete lack of grades.

For the parts of the film between the sends, you get a look at the silliness and shenanigans young-20-somethings get up to.  Its not anything shocking; the partying, The Slap Game, and hearing Obe postulate about the possibility of disappearing aquariums outside the windows of the RV. Also worth a giggle is Sharm waxing poetic about the virtues of barefoot climbing, and sending hard, after his shoe exploded.

The music is iconic, and the “I feel your frequency” refrain, that I swear was in every Big Up Video ever, is right there from the start, and the rest of the soundtrack is more vibrant and in-your-face than is currently popular in 2020, but I dig it.  The footage is VHS quality, but like many of the other films I’ve reviewed that’s not a problem (I’ve saved you all from reviews of the really dated stuff, so far). Don’t be deceived by how short the list of boulders below is compared to the 75 minute runtime – there are many more shown, at least in part, but not named.  Above all else, this film captures a moment in time when bouldering was really on a meteoric rise and the characters that would represent the generation were being established.

Verdict: WATCH IT. Duh.  Its almost unfair for me to review this film given my deep rooted nostalgia for that time, and 2 decades later it still checks the boxes for me.

The Who:
Chris Sharma
Obe Carrion
Bret Lowell
Greg Loh
Jimmie Simmons
Tiffany Campbell
Malcolm Smith
Joe Missick
Julie DeJesus
Jack Fieldhouse
Matt Hoch
Brian Kelleher
James March
Marea Palmer
Matt Perlman
Andy Puhvel
Chris Righter
Chris Savage
Bryron Shumpert
Dain Smoland
Jason Wein
Sam Whitaker
Jordan Wright

The What:
Castle Rock, CA
Deforestation
Ecoterrorist

Black Mountain, CA
Gimme Some (FA)
Cosmos (FA)
Morphic Resonance (FA)
The Tulip (FA)
Dark Horse (FA)

Tramway, CA
The Cube
Sharma Problem (FA)
Sharma Problem Sit (no send)
Carrion Problem (FA)
Carrion Problem – Different one (FA)
Sharma Problem – Different one (FA)

The Draw, AZ
Dropzone Left
Wifebeater
Stinky Ass
The Receptionist
Anorexic
Sharma Problem (FA)
Carnivore

Lake Tahoe, CA
The Ashtray (FA)
Pimp Slap
The Funk
Midnight Train

Humboldt County, CA

Squamish, BC
The Egg (FA)
Sloppy Poppy
Busted
The Backseat
Wormworld Cave
No Troublems
Goldenboy
ZeroZero
The Proposal