Second City Smackdown: 6 Movies That Destroyed Chicago

CHICAGO, IL — One of the striking images from the trailer for "Rampage," the new action-disaster film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, shows a gigantic albino ape causing widespread property damage as it fights soldiers in front of Chicago's iconic Marina City. The scene then cuts to Johnson's solemn proclomation:

"You have to evacuate Chicago."

Cue the needle drop of Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet With Butterfly Wings."

"Rampage," which comes out this weekend and is based on the 1980s arcade game, continues Hollywood's fascination of cutting a swath of destruction through Chicago and leaving nothing but rubble and debris in its wake. And it's not a recent trend, either. Maybe it's a costal bias or maybe it's because the city's Midwestern geography lends itself to wholesale mayhem, but filmmakers have been laying waste to the city since the early days of cinema.

Patch takes a look at six other movies that have put the hurt on Chicago.

1. "In Old Chicago" (1938)

How the city gets wrecked: Great Chicago Fire.

One of the first examples of an onscreen disaster striking Chicago actually depicts the real-life 1871 blaze that scorched more than 3 square miles of the city and killed about 300 people. The movie centers around a fictionalized version of the O'Leary family, leading up to the most famous kick — true or otherwise — in bovine history.

"In Old Chicago" also made this staggering boast about the film's budget in its trailer: "Here truly is mighty entertainment! Twenty-two months in the making at a cost of over $2 million!"

2. "Beginning of the End" (1957)

How the city gets wrecked: Giant grasshoppers.

While "In Old Chicago" stuck with an actual disaster, "Beginning of the End" took things in the opposite direction. Grasshoppers grow to mammoth proportions after eating radioactive vegetables. Eventually, the creatures move from the fields of central Illinois and attack Chicago.

And how do you stop these monsters that were accidentally created by radioation? Exposing them to even more radiation, of course.

"You can't drop an atom bomb on Chicago," advises the scientist (Peter Graves) responsible for starting all the mayhem in the first place.

Aside from its very low-budget effects, "Beginning of the End" also has the distinction of being featured in the fifth season of "Mystery Science Theater 3000."

3. "The Blues Brothers" (1980)

How the city gets wrecked: Divine intervention?

Technically, Chicago gets off pretty well when compared to the destruction of the other movies on this list. But the pure pandemonium caused by Elwood and James Blues' mission from God is definitely worth noting, if only for its climactic car chase.

"This is definitely Lower Wacker Drive," Elwood says as they're fleeing police. "If my estimations are correct, we should be very close to the Honorable Richard J. Daley Plaza."

"That's where they've got that Picasso?"

In fact, the movie's signature pursuit scene has become a cliche in Chicago-based films that even movies like "The Dark Knight" — which uses Chicago as a stand-in for the fictional Gotham City — have cribbed from it.

Plus, if the legends surrounding the filming of the movie are to be believed, the behind-the-scenes antics of John Belushi and other crew members might have been more outrageous and over the top than what was captured onscreen.

4. "Chain Reaction" (1996)

How the city gets wrecked: Hydrogen reactor explosion.

The summer of 1996 was a special time for disaster porn in Hollywood. With "Twister" and culminating in "Independence Day," filmmakers decided to see how much raw acreage of the United States they could raze in a single film. "Chain Reaction" falls into that category by wiping out eight city blocks in Chicago. And guess what? The president wants answers.

Ya think?

5. "Contagion" (2011)

How the city gets wrecked: Disease.

Not all the damage done to a city has to be physical. Steven Soderbergh shows how a threat that originates at a microscopic level can ravage Chicago and other metro areas more than a swarm of gigantic, irradiated locust ever could.

The disaster dominoes begin to fall when Gwyneth Paltrow's character has a layover in Chicago following a trip to Hong Kong. She's carrying an unknown airborne disease, which then spreads throughout the city, forcing the goverment to place it under quarantine.

That leads to food rationing, riots and the worst threat of all: humanity giving in to its darker nature.

6. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (2011)

How the city was wrecked: Alien invasion and Michael Bay's pandering male gaze.

When it comes to the destruction of Chicago on the big screen, this film is the gold standard, and just from the trailers and TV commercials alone, you can see the influence it has had on "Rampage."

Michael Bay might have many sins as a director, but shooting boring action set pieces is not one of them. The impending, claustrophobic doom of the bloated Decepticon airships as they invade Chicago and destroy its high-rises, architectural landmark after architectural landmark, works as a stunning bit of filmmaking. And as his detractors would point out, it also works as a perfect metaphor for Bay's effect on the flim world and culture in general.

But if Chicago is going to be wiped off the face of the Earth, it at least should look as good as this when it happens.

"Rampage" (Photo via Warner Bros.)