Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

Evolution becomes revolution 

with this re-booting of the popular Planet of the Apes series. 

[Note: Originally written for a project - December 2011]

A personal favourite of 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is more than a direct remake but rather acts as a foundation for the series with its own story. Although the premise is similar to the fourth film in the original series: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. This epic science fiction drama brings a fresh new approach to the collection.

 Based in present day San Francisco, Will Rodman, played by the dashing James Franco (“Spiderman” and “127 Hours”) becomes obsessed with his experiments on genetic engineering, desperate and determined to find a cure for Alzheimer’s. Touchingly, this is a personal struggle for the maverick scientist whose father, poignantly played by John Lithgow (“Harry and The Hendersons“), is battling the late stages of the disease. The research appears to take a disastrous turn when the primates subjected to testing react badly and the research gets boycotted by the greedy businessmen.

However, one positive is born from this experiment-gone-wrong. Will takes into his care a friendly infant chimp (cue the audience-approved ‘aww‘) giving him a loving home and family but also giving Rodman the opportunity to do further research. Caesar, the uncannily human-like and increasingly intelligent chimp, becomes a child to the scientist, who is mistakenly unaware of the animal’s great power. As their relationship develops, Caesar learns about his place in the human-dominated world and slowly comes to terms with this. The journey is bumpy and tumultuous at best, ultimately (you guessed it) leading to the cinematically epic rise of Caesar and the apes. The larger than life demonstration of the primates’ intelligence and brute strength makes for an exciting, striking (and admittedly a tiny bit terrifying) climax.

            

The story is told mainly from the perspective of Caesar which develops an intriguing plot. Modern technology updates a classic with these visually beautiful and incredibly detailed CGI primates that are as impressive as the convincing make-up effects of the originals. The relationships developed between Caesar and the humans and apes alike makes for a touching addition to the series. The connection portrayed by Franco and Lithgow with the leading ape is particularly heart-warming and emotional, directly contrasting with the evil ape-torturer, Tom Felton (“Harry Potter“) who will leave any animal lover’s blood boiling. Although the first half of the film is the fundamental character building and gets emotions running high, the second half will see you on the edge of your seat as the apes triumphantly come together in a rise that will see you supporting the revolutionaries. For some this film will be discredited based on its standardised Hollywood-esque finale with big bangs and grandiose cinematography; but suspend your disbelief for 105 minutes, (which isn’t hard considering the unnervingly-realistic construction of events that could be an all too real possibility) and you will find this movie draws you in, impresses and leaves you begging for more when the credits role.