There’s something comforting about known quantities when it comes to the cinema. Going to the movies with a confident understanding of precisely the experience you’re going to have can be kind of nice.

So it is with summer CGI-explosion fest “Skyscraper,” a simplistically-titled vehicle for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (who by The Maine Edge fiat will continue to be called The Rock and there’s nothing any of you can do to stop me) that is formulaic and predictable and jam-packed with action clichés both general and Rock-specific.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s not a good movie, mind you, but if your expectations are tempered by the knowledge of both the film’s star and its title, you will almost certainly have a good time.

Despite its best efforts, Hollywood remains unable to properly transition video game properties to the big screen. There are plenty of obstacles – some obvious, others not so much – and while studios have proven able to overcome many of them, they have yet to fully solve the problems inherent to the necessary shift in storytelling.

So it should come as no surprise that “Rampage,” based on the essentially plotless arcade game of the same name, doesn’t present a particularly compelling narrative. What DOES come as a surprise, however, is that despite the presence of everybody’s favorite action star Dwayne Johnson and some big-budget CGI, “Rampage” isn’t even all that much fun.

One of the realities of Hollywood’s love of sequels, remakes and reboots is that you’re guaranteed a fairly wide range of quality, though history shows that you’re much more likely to get a dud than a diamond. The most effective projects seem to be the ones that can manage to update a property while still retaining the aspects that made them successful in the first place.

That said, be honest – you’ve probably never spoken aloud (or even thought) the sentence “I sure would like to see an updated reboot of the 1995 family film ‘Jumanji’ – preferably starring The Rock.”

And yet that’s what we’ve gotten with “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.” It probably seems odd to be getting a movie like this some two decades after the original, but that’s not even the biggest surprise about the whole thing. The biggest surprise?

It’s actually pretty good.

Actor talks his villainous turn on HBO’s “Ballers”

Reboot has plenty of T&A, but not enough heart

Eighth franchise installment as big, as dumb – and as fun – as ever

Latest Disney film features engaging characters, catchy songs

Dynamic Kevin Hart/The Rock pairing offers comedic chemistry

It's relatively easy to make a passable action comedy. Just string together a handful of jokes with some decently-crafted action sequences into something vaguely resembling a plot, then toss a few recognizable faces into the mix. Boom a serviceable and (probably) not-terrible action comedy.

Fast and Furious' offers surprisingly good sixth installment

You can usually tell when an open-ended franchise is hitting the end of its run. The films decline gradually, then steeply. Before long, they disappear into the pop culture memory.

But then you have the 'Fast and Furious' franchise, which might be at its popularity apex with the sixth installment in the series.

Real-life tale shows truth is stranger than fiction

Michael Bay and 'based on a true story' doesn't really seem to make a lot of sense, does it? This is a guy who somehow managed to make giant transforming alien robots even more infantile and ridiculous in practice than in theory is he really the guy to bring truth to the screen?

Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, the answer would be a resounding 'no.' However, he has somehow managed to find the one story where the answer is a giddy, glorious 'yes.'