Rise of the Planet of the Apes

If you're like me, you will be completely fascinated by the story of this film. I'm a big fan of Planet of the Apes and to get to see its origins is really great. Out of the entire series of movies, I think this one truly is the best. It was just absolutely spectacular! The actors delivered fine performances for their well developed characters; the writers, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, didn't miss a beat with their fantastic and intelligent script; and the story was compelling, exciting and emotionally touching.

The star of the film is an ape named Caesar (whose emotions were brought to life brilliantly by Andy Serkis) who is the baby of an ape that was tested on for scientist Will Rodman's (James Franco) research in an effort that resulted in a way for the brain to heal itself, and what could possibly be the cure for Alzheimer's; a disease very personal for him because his father (John Lithgow) suffers from it -- even though Rodman is warned not to let personal issues get in the way of science. The drug also had another affect... it lead to the development of intelligence in apes. As Caesar grows older and smarter, though, he becomes more aware, questioning who and what he is. It is during an incident that causes Caesar to be separated from Will, in a feeling of abandonment, and then being mistreated by Dodge Landon (Tom Felton) at a shelter that ultimately leads to a hurt and confused Caesar plotting for revenge.. what becomes a war for primacy.

Unlike the Planet of the Apes films from the past, this one did not have people running around in ape suits but instead presented us with CGI primates, emotional performances captured from actors. If I hadn't known it were CGI, though, I would have sworn that they were real apes. They were brilliant! Director Rupert Wyatt did a wonderful job of connecting this prequel to the first film, really catching every little detail and even littered respectful homages to the original throughout the entire film. Honestly, I just loved finding out what lead to the great ape takeover. And as I mentioned before, the script was just wonderful and made for a thought provoking and emotionally driven thrill ride!

I had extremely low expectations for Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). I loved the original 1968 classic, but every sequel/remake after it sucked. I was surprised they were going to make a prequel of the classic and I thought it was a good idea. But still after so many bad sequels and remakes, I still had my big doubts. Also I didn't like how the monkeys were made by CGI/Special Effects, why not use a robotic monkey or a real one, it would look more real.

After my viewing of the film, I was pleasantly surprised and I liked it overall. But there were definitely flaws in the movie, no doubt about it. The characters were a bit uninteresting at times, there were subplots that went pretty much nowhere and indicated that there could sequels in the works, but it all depends on how much money it makes. The movie, at some points turned to an average summer blockbuster with all the action scenes and explosions, but it redeems itself later on.

However there are plenty of positive qualities, the movie has. Andy Serkis delivers a great performance as the lead ape in the film and is pretty much the star of the film. James Franco and Freida Pinto, both did a good job portraying their characters. The movie also poses ethical/moral questions, which I found very interesting. The movie is easily on of the most thrilling films we've had this summer. Finally a movie that pays respect to the 1968 original science fiction classic!

When Rise of the Planet of the Apes was announced, expectations were not high. As a prequel to an awful remake of a movie that wasn't exactly an all time classic, its pedigree was sketchy to say the least. Thus came as a shock to nearly everyone when it became one of the biggest summer hits of the. Rise wasn't just watchable, or even pretty good; it's one of the best "B" movies of recent, entertaining and surprisingly human.

The series of events that will one day cause a time displaced astronaut to gaze despairingly upon the ruins of the Statue of Liberty begins not surprisingly with science. Medicine to be exact. Young researcher Will Rodman, played by James Franco is on the cusp of developing a drug that can cure Alzheimer's, his father's included. It just so happens that this drug not only repairs damage to the brain, but makes the subject smarter, as shown in trials with chimpanzees. Due to unexpected complications these trials don't exactly work out in the end, and the test subjects are put down. But one of them had a child, Caesar Raised like a son by Rodman, Caesar shows remarkable intelligence beyond even his mother, learning hundreds of words in sign language, understanding human speech, even scoring higher on intelligence tests than human children of the same age. There seems no limit to how much he can learn, or to what the drug that gave him his intelligence can do for humans. But this isn't an inspiring story of medical breakthroughs. A tragic misunderstanding and Caesar's own animal nature result in him being separated from his family, a prisoner among his own kind. He is not happy with his new situation, and he has a plan to change it.

The plot is hardly more complicated than I've described it, and is somewhat over reliant on coincidence and bad human decisions. Thankfully Rise is not driven by its plot, but by its central character. Caesar is quite simply a miracle of special effects. In only a decade CGI and motion capture technology has advanced to a degree that makes Lord of the Ring's Gollum seem almost listless by comparison. Caesar looks so real he could pass for a live chimpanzee if he didn't do things that no real chimp could ever be trained to do. Although he only speaks a few words late in the film, his facial expressions and gestures say more than enough.

Early on you can tell that Caesar is not only a thinking being, but a feeling one as well. Like a human he feels love, anger, desire, and fear. He understands the concept of family, and based on one overly sappy scene he seems to have a fair understanding of human mating rituals. When he finds himself caged in a primate sanctuary, he understands just enough of the situation to feel betrayed. And we can't help but feel sympathy for him. As he establishes his leadership over the other primates and plans his uprising, part of us roots for him, even though we know what it will eventually mean for humankind.

The first half is admittedly slow for an action movie, but when the action starts it really gets going. The sight of Caesar and his followers rampaging through downtown San Francisco makes for a wonderfully entertaining spectacle, which only gets better as the humans start fighting back. Much of what takes place is naturally ludicrous if you stop to think about it. Even with human level intelligence there's no way a hundred apes could overcome a major city police department, but their battle is so fast paced and cleverly staged that we're willing to suspend disbelief. If the ewoks could defeat the Empire then why can't Caesar's cohort make monkeys of the cops? Rise of the Planet of the Apes is by no means perfect. As mentioned the plot is standard B movie fare, and calamity could have been avoided if a few people hadn't taken unnecessary risks or just not been complete jerks. The human characters also aren't as well developed as their simian co-stars. Franco's boss in particular comes off as one dimensional and the film's attempt to make him something of an antagonist never really works.

That said, Rise is well paced and more emotionally engaging than any Planet of the Apes movie has a right to be. Coming on the heels of Avatar it also further showcases what the latest in FX tech can contribute to storytelling when used properly. And it delivers all the excitement a summer blockbuster should. Even if you were never a fan of the originals, this one is worth checking out on DVD or streaming.

To sum it up, a very powerful film falling just short of being a masterpiece. However, the only flaw in the film is that the film could have been just a bit longer! I am really hoping for a director's cut because there should have been a few more character development scenes between father and son, boyfriend and girlfriend, and even Ape and Human. I felt the movie was paced a bit too quickly but nevertheless, still contains very fleshed out characters driven by excellent performances throughout, from Lithgow, to Franco, to Cox and especially by Andy Serkis.

Cesar is by far the best animated character in the history of cinema. His facial expressions tell it all! You feel his rage, his fear, and his child like innocence through his wonderfully animated eyes. Not only is the C.G.I. good, but the character is written very well in general. You will go through all of those emotions yourself as you witness his journey. All I can say is that I now know why I try to walk my dog without a leash as much as possible. This movie just confirmed it for me! Through the film, you will understand what Cesar is feeling and why. The invisible character of the film is humanity itself, and at times, feels like a study of human nature.

Plot wise, it is very well told. I thought there was nothing cheesy about the script, although not as intelligent as the original, but not dumb either. There is some science fiction in the film, and other than the experimental drug, there was some other surprising Science fiction plot elements in it too which might lead into the sequel; if there is one of course, and I think there will be.

For the skeptics who think the film would be cheesy seeing all the apes battle armed policemen then think again. I too, was a bit skeptical at first, wondering how the apes would defeat an entire police force, but when you watch the film your doubts would dissipate. Just remember the physical ability of apes and how powerful the apes are, and how much more powerful they would be if they had brains! The action was very good, but as good as it was, I'd trade it in for more plot development. There were a bit too many plot jumps in the last 30 minutes, but all in all, it was directed very, very well. Coupled with a good score, mellow at times, but highly dramatic which heightens the tension. Speaking of tension, there is a lot of it in this film. If you're an animal lover like I am, then be warned; You will be in tears 30 seconds into the opening scene.

I also wanted to mention the original film even though it's tough to compare the two. This is an origins story that actually makes the original better. The original was more about the plot than the characters and they each stand apart and alone with their own merits and flaws. It was nice to see a few homages to the old classic, and don't be surprised if you see a character from the original as well. I highly doubt this film will disappoint the fans of the original and TV series! It will have you climbing trees!

This is a much smarter way to reboot a moribund series, taking the aesthetics into a new century while also updating the narrative to match with new technology. It also trusts the audience to empathize with a non-human character using that new technology, and then it includes the anchor of the human story which is simply not as strong.

Instead of trying to recreate any of the previous movies up to this point, Rupert Wyatt pushed the newest entry in the franchise in the Batman Begins direction of giving a grounded, modern take on a fantastical subject. Some chimpanzees are kidnapped from a jungle in Africa and sold to a company doing research into an Alzheimer's cure. A female goes on a rampage after she's infused, but it wasn't due to the cure but because she was protecting her baby she had delivered in secret in the lab. The chief scientist, Will, takes the baby home, discovers it has increased mental powers, and keeps the baby he and his sick father name Caesar.

This opening is largely dominated by the human side of the story, and it suffers a bit for it. Will is played by James Franco who's more of a performance artist than an actor and doesn't really deliver much terribly convincingly. The antagonist is a money-grubbing corporate type with a British accent, Jacobs, and he's flat and uninteresting. The scientific stuff is not terribly convincing, feeling like Hollywood dealing in stuff it doesn't really understand. What saves this part is really John Lithgow as Will's father, Charles. He's a quality actor playing the disheveled and confused old man really well and with a depth of humanity that is missing from the rest of the performers.

However, it's at about this point that Caesar begins to take center stage. Caesar the character and performance by Andy Serkis is the single greatest part of this movie, and he's great, one of the single greatest things about the franchise up to this point. Caesar grows from an innocent baby monkey into a cynical and hardened leader who uses what tools he has to stand apart from humanity and push ape-kind into a new direction. The digital performance, captured from Serkis' own motion captured performance, is subtle and touching.

Caesar ends up defending Charles from their butthead neighbor (another flaw in the movie since he's so thinly drawn and cartoonish, but the part is small, so there wasn't a whole lot else to do) and gets ordered by the court to remain in an ape sanctuary just outside the city of San Francisco. It's there that Caesar first encounters other apes, sees their limitations in contrast to his own heightened intelligence, and how, despite how nice Will and his girlfriend Caroline were to him, Caesar is still a step lower than humans in this world. It's a situation he can't stomach after a while exposed to the unvarnished truth. This is where he hardens, searching for a new truth, and it's all done wordlessly, anchored entirely by facial performances. It's great.

Caesar's solution is to expose the rest of the apes along with him in captivity to the compound that Will had been working on, breaking out and stealing it from Will's own refrigerator since he had been doing so much work on it, giving it to his father, outside of work (thin, but okay). With his newfound alpha status and a few dozen suddenly intelligent apes (the scene where they wake up and understand what's going on around them significantly more is a great quiet moment), Caesar decides that they won't live in captivity. Instead, they will escape to the Redwood forests on the other side of the San Francisco Bay.

It's pretty much at this point that the human side of the story finally and completely becomes mere support to the main story of Caesar's journey, and the movie improves greatly. Caesar works to get his people free, the movie embraces some action conventions with the apes freeing the apes at a zoo and the remaining apes at the genetics lab before grabbing spears and fighting off the police and Jacobs over the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a satisfying use of action elements because of the clear emotional anchor that is Caesar.

Now, a moment about callbacks. In my review of Tim Burton's re-imagining of Planet of the Apes, I complained about the callbacks, saying that they were poorly placed and ill-used, arguing that they could never rise out of guffaw territory. Well, Rise of the Planet of the Apes has several callbacks, perhaps more than Burton's movie, but they work significantly better. Let's take one for example. Tom Felton's character, Dodge, is facing down Caesar at the beginning of his revolt, and Caesar grabs Dodge. "Get your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape," Dodge cries out, giving the audience that moment of recognition to something it knows, but then the movie immediately undercuts that with a big emotional moment, Caesar saying his first word, "No." The sudden "No!" undercuts the guffaw moment and brings the audience immediately back to the emotional reality of what's going on, focusing us on what Caesar is doing. So, the movie gets its callback to a famous line from the original film, fits it into the situation rather organically, but then moves on very quickly to keep the focus where it needs to be, Caesar. It's a very good way to make callbacks work in dramatic situations, essentially making sure that they aren't the focus.

Anyway, if the focus were more on Caesar, the film would be great, but because we spend so much time with the uninteresting and rather bland humans through the first half, it's not as good as it could be. It's not that the human stuff is bad, it's just that it's not terribly interesting especially in comparison to what Caesar goes through. Still, it's a solid way to reboot a moribund franchise in a new time.