Rise of the PLanet of the Apes
(B- or 2.5/4 stars)
1968's The Planet of the Apes ... I thought it was pretty good (if a bit dated, now). 2001's Planet of the Apes (directed by Tim Burton) ... gorgeous, but narratively messy. 2011's 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes (directed by Rupert Wyatt) ... competent. Solid. That said, I guess I'll never 'get' the source material, because try as I might, the source material just fails to catch fire with me. Maybe it's my shrugworthy interest in apes.
This origin story goes as follows: Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) is furiously working on a 'cure' for his father's (John Lithgow) affliction, Alzheimer's disease. And of course, the drug their testing must be performed on chimpanzees. Will's 'cure' not only repairs brain cells, but also genetically modifies the chimps - giving them human-like level of intelligence! One of the test subjects is a female chimp, who gives birth to a baby chimp, Caesar (Andy Serkis, of The Lord of the Rings). Will's greedy boss orders all the test chimps to be euthanized after the female chimp escapes & ruins an important board meeting. But Will smuggles baby Caesar away & brings him home to raise him. Caesar did, indeed, inherit his mother's enhanced intelligence, & learns things very quickly. Along the way, Will starts dating primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto, of Slumdog Millionaire), & she helps him properly raise Caesar.
But an accident involving Will's afflicted father allows animal authorities to take Caesar away from Will & lock him up in an ape sanctuary (with other chimps, gorillas & orangutans). There, he suffers cruelty at the hands of the men who run the facility (Brian Cox, Tom Felton). However, Caesar is smart enough to escape from his holding cell & release an airborne-strain of the 'cure' that enhances the intelligence of his fellow apes. Freed from their cages, the apes assemble as an army & wreak havoc upon San Francisco; culminating in an epic battle against the police on The Golden Gate Bridge. Their destination is the tall trees of the Muir Woods National Forest. But seeing as the 'cure' actually proves FATAL to humans, enough of it has reached the public; and as we see in the end credits, man's experiments with genetic engineering may lead to a global pandemic -- hence, The Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
'TRotPotA' is designed so that anyone who's never seen a Planet of the Apes film could understand what's going on; leading up to the story that unfolds in the 1st Ape film starring Charlton Heston. I liked that. I like how this movie blends a cautionary tale (about testing on animals & the spreading of disease) with a prison break finale. And based on how this film ends, I could definitely see a sequel in the works (an estimated $50 million opening weekend certainly doesn't hurt). In this film, the CGI apes are better developed than the human roles. That is inherently interesting. That said, it always helps to have characterization/depth with those humans so there can be a fuller effect. I wanted to care more about the humans' role in matters, but they just weren't developed. i.e., though I liked James Franco's earnest performance, there are a plethora of issues surrounding the character of Will (his father, his boss, his girlfriend) & I simply didn't care.
Where 'TRotPotA' thrives is with the fantastic climactic sequence {wow}, the CGI-rendering of the apes (well, most of 'em), & Andy Serkis' motion capture portrayal of Caesar. Thanks to Serkis, Caesar becomes the only character in the film with any true charisma or with whom viewers develop a bond with. There has been some talk of Serkis warranting, at the very least, a Special Achievement Oscar. And after Gollum, King Kong, & now Caesar ... he deserves it. All that said, while Caesar is the 'heart' of the film, I can't say that I really felt much. I witnessed, but didn't feel catharsis. I also felt uneasy watching so many instances of animal cruelty/violence. My emotions throughout were mostly of sadness or anger. And that didn't sit well with me. There are also a few clunkers in the script; whether it was individual scenes or lines of dialogue (mostly paying homage to the original 1968 film). Things like this chipped away at my overall experience.
You know, 'TRotPotA' is what I'd call a decent summer popcorn flick. There are dull stretches. It's kind of hokey. But it's better than I assumed it would be. Rupert Wyatt's direction & Andrew Lesnie's cinematography are fine (nice stylistic choices using trees). My theater was packed. There was buzz during & after it. There's nothing deep about the film (depth tends to scare away the masses). There's rooting interest in the character of Caesar. So, unless the quality of the film was SO bad as to turn off people from the get-go ... it was always going to go over well with crowds. So on the whole, my issues with the source material, as well as watching incessant animal cruelty impeded my enjoyment of what is actually a pretty solid film with great action & special effects.
This origin story goes as follows: Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) is furiously working on a 'cure' for his father's (John Lithgow) affliction, Alzheimer's disease. And of course, the drug their testing must be performed on chimpanzees. Will's 'cure' not only repairs brain cells, but also genetically modifies the chimps - giving them human-like level of intelligence! One of the test subjects is a female chimp, who gives birth to a baby chimp, Caesar (Andy Serkis, of The Lord of the Rings). Will's greedy boss orders all the test chimps to be euthanized after the female chimp escapes & ruins an important board meeting. But Will smuggles baby Caesar away & brings him home to raise him. Caesar did, indeed, inherit his mother's enhanced intelligence, & learns things very quickly. Along the way, Will starts dating primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto, of Slumdog Millionaire), & she helps him properly raise Caesar.
But an accident involving Will's afflicted father allows animal authorities to take Caesar away from Will & lock him up in an ape sanctuary (with other chimps, gorillas & orangutans). There, he suffers cruelty at the hands of the men who run the facility (Brian Cox, Tom Felton). However, Caesar is smart enough to escape from his holding cell & release an airborne-strain of the 'cure' that enhances the intelligence of his fellow apes. Freed from their cages, the apes assemble as an army & wreak havoc upon San Francisco; culminating in an epic battle against the police on The Golden Gate Bridge. Their destination is the tall trees of the Muir Woods National Forest. But seeing as the 'cure' actually proves FATAL to humans, enough of it has reached the public; and as we see in the end credits, man's experiments with genetic engineering may lead to a global pandemic -- hence, The Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
'TRotPotA' is designed so that anyone who's never seen a Planet of the Apes film could understand what's going on; leading up to the story that unfolds in the 1st Ape film starring Charlton Heston. I liked that. I like how this movie blends a cautionary tale (about testing on animals & the spreading of disease) with a prison break finale. And based on how this film ends, I could definitely see a sequel in the works (an estimated $50 million opening weekend certainly doesn't hurt). In this film, the CGI apes are better developed than the human roles. That is inherently interesting. That said, it always helps to have characterization/depth with those humans so there can be a fuller effect. I wanted to care more about the humans' role in matters, but they just weren't developed. i.e., though I liked James Franco's earnest performance, there are a plethora of issues surrounding the character of Will (his father, his boss, his girlfriend) & I simply didn't care.
Where 'TRotPotA' thrives is with the fantastic climactic sequence {wow}, the CGI-rendering of the apes (well, most of 'em), & Andy Serkis' motion capture portrayal of Caesar. Thanks to Serkis, Caesar becomes the only character in the film with any true charisma or with whom viewers develop a bond with. There has been some talk of Serkis warranting, at the very least, a Special Achievement Oscar. And after Gollum, King Kong, & now Caesar ... he deserves it. All that said, while Caesar is the 'heart' of the film, I can't say that I really felt much. I witnessed, but didn't feel catharsis. I also felt uneasy watching so many instances of animal cruelty/violence. My emotions throughout were mostly of sadness or anger. And that didn't sit well with me. There are also a few clunkers in the script; whether it was individual scenes or lines of dialogue (mostly paying homage to the original 1968 film). Things like this chipped away at my overall experience.
You know, 'TRotPotA' is what I'd call a decent summer popcorn flick. There are dull stretches. It's kind of hokey. But it's better than I assumed it would be. Rupert Wyatt's direction & Andrew Lesnie's cinematography are fine (nice stylistic choices using trees). My theater was packed. There was buzz during & after it. There's nothing deep about the film (depth tends to scare away the masses). There's rooting interest in the character of Caesar. So, unless the quality of the film was SO bad as to turn off people from the get-go ... it was always going to go over well with crowds. So on the whole, my issues with the source material, as well as watching incessant animal cruelty impeded my enjoyment of what is actually a pretty solid film with great action & special effects.