If Hollywood keeps making prequels as fun as “X-Men: First Class” and now “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” the industry might as well skip sequels altogether.
This precursor to the “Apes” saga features one-dimensional humans, but that hardly matters when those hyper-smart apes are running wild. The film playfully acknowledges the past “Apes” features while delivering a barrel full of CGI chimps to bring the franchise into the 21st century.
All hail Caesar, indeed!
James Franco stars as Will, a scientist racing to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease by regrowing damaged brain cells. He’s got a personal stake in the matter, since his father (a mercifully dialed down John Lithgow) is suffering from the disease’s early stages.
Will tests his potential cure on several lab apes, but the serum sends the creatures into a violent frenzy which temporarily shuts down the project. Will’s superiors want to put down all the apes in question, but Will is able to rescue one baby chimp from the calculated slaughter.
He names the chimp Caesar, brought to life by Andy Serkis and his motion capture moves, and the pair live happily in his suburban home.
Yes, the notion that a scientist would be so dense as to think he could hide a chimpanzee from his neighbors is one of the film’s most nagging flaws.
Caesar grows into a sweet, soulful chimpanzee, his brain chemistry enhanced by Will’s serum. But it becomes impossible for Will to keep him a secret for long. So off Caesar goes to a zoo run by a cold bureaucrat (Brian Cox), letting Caesar get to know his fellow apes. Caesar misses Will, but he learns he has the power to shape his own destiny if only he recruits a few apes to do his bidding.
“Rise” doesn’t get bogged down by the science behind Will’s work or the moral questions posed by his research. The film barely has time to give Will’s girlfriend (Freida Pinto) a semblance of a personality. Even Cox, as good a character actor as the industry has these days, gets bowled over by the cardboard characterizations.
It’s all about moving the story, and the franchise, forward. That giddy pace puts the attention on Serkis’ Caesar, a performance that proves CGI can be a groundbreaking storytelling tool in the right hands. To say that Serkis out-acts his live peers doesn’t capture the scope of his work.
Director Rupert Wyatt (“The Escapist”) isn’t content to let the “Apes” brand do all the heavy lifting. He illustrates the apes’ rise with a series of provocative sequences, leveraging camera angles and CGI to make the ape revolution a thing of raw beauty. It’s the definition of a smart blockbuster, even if the live actors in the film could use some of Will’s brain serum.
Add in a few obvious shout outs to the franchise, including a fun revisiting of the “damn dirty apes” line, and you have a prequel which understands the essence of the source material.
By the final reel you’ll be rooting for the apes to win the day over these silly humans. Count “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” as an exciting first chapter in a new “Apes” franchise and an overdue apology for director Tim Burton’s clunky 2001 “Apes” reboot.
(Photo: On the Golden Gate Bridge, James Franco and Freida Pinto react to an unfolding battle that will change the world in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” Photo Credit: Joe Lederer TM and © 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
Related posts:
on 
on 
{ 1 trackback }
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Hate to say it but this movie lost me when it had the apes taking on armed soldiers with assault rifles and of course the Apes are able to win because they can jump far and are strong. Nothing is stronger than a bullit in the brain. Too many holes in the logic on this one.
It’s a movie about apes.
You really need logic?
yes, it’s doubtful super smart apes could humble a major metro area’s police force, but then again…we are talking San Francisco, aren’t we?
From watching the trailer, my logic question was… if the mutant gas stuff was able to transform apes, chimps, gorillas and orangutans… what did it do to humans who are certainly no *more* different, genetically, than gorillas are from orangutans or chimps? Hm?
And then I decided not to be a mega-nerd doofus.
If I recall from the old movies, the chimps were scientists, the orangutans were statesmen, and the gorillas were military thugs. It was an older, more innocent time, but I’m thinking that the bonobos are obviously going to be the, um, personal services sorts.
What? Yes, I did fail at that decision not to go all mega-nerd doofus, why did you ask?
I saw the film today. Enjoyed it, it managed to be a prequel while also being it’s own film.
The most well crafted aspect was how they were able to show Ceasar’s progression from a member of the family to the King of the Apes, without dialogue, just through his actions, his posture and look in his eyes.
There are a few logic problems and plot holes that can’t be discussed without spoiling the film, but on the whole they did a good job of making it make sense.
Perhaps a bit too long,the physical abilities of the apes a bit too exaggerated at times and some of the camera shots following Ceasar through the forest seemed to only draw attention,( at least to me), to the CGI of the film. But definately a good film, I’d see it’s seuqel.
The technology and performances that bring the apes to life make the film a must-see for any modern movie fan, but it’s the emotion and humanity of Caesar’s story that makes the film a must-see for any movie fan at all. Good Review! Check out mine when you can!
As a film reviewer this guy should know better. The film was ruined by the studio. That there’s anything even close to a coherent film is down to Burton.
The halved the budget, caused the film to start shooting late, but wouldn’t push back the release date. Because they slashed the budget the film was being written as they were filming to make the story both affordable and still somehow making sense. It isn’t the film Tim Burton signed on to direct, Fox changed it, and the experience had him considering giving up on studio work for good.
http://therealeverton.blogspot.com/2011/08/rise-of-planet-of-apes-has-great-start.html
Yes.