Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

When a movie is 42 years old, is the twist ending worth preserving? Probably not, but if you are unfamiliar with the saga that is The Planet of the Apes I am apologize in advance for spoiling the fact that It was Earth all along. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes brilliantly shows us the origins of just how the earth was over run, or rather taken over by the apes.

Will Rodman, played by James Franco, is researching a cure for Alzheimer's. It is a personal crusade for him because his father is suffering from it. During his clinical trials on chimpanzees, Will discovers that one of the primates has shown great progress. When the ape gets aggressive and attacks, it is summarily put down. When the dust settles it is revealed that the true reason for the aggressive behavior was not the "cure" but rather a baby chimpanzee, Caesar. Will takes the chimp home and soon becomes attached to Caesar's personality, and impressed by his staggering intelect. Will Rodman many be the main human character in the film but the story is centered purely on Caesar.

The early parts of the movie focuses on Caesar and Will, their developing relationship, and Caesars desire to be recognized as something more than a wild animal. When things go sour, Will is forced to place Caesar in a primate sanctuary run by Brian Cox. Superficially it appears to be a primate's paradise, but beneath the surface lies what is essentially Alcatraz for apes. It is here that the movie shifts gears and becomes very much a prison movie. Caesar, is caged and despite his staggering intellect he is initially not respected. There are moments in this section of the film when I flashed to old episodes of OZ, the only thing missing was gang rape in the shower. Caesar uses his intellect to eventually and cleverly gain alpha male status, and leadership of the imprisoned apes.

The third act of the movie becomes a disaster film. The Apes, after receiving an intelligence boost courtesy of Will's Alzheimer's treatment, descend upon downtown San Francisco wreaking havoc and mayhem as you would expect. This leads to panicked human characters trying to exterminate the apes out of fear, and perhaps guilt. But despite the mayhem, the ultimate goal of the apes is just to reach the redwood forests of Marin where they can safely and peacefully live.

Andy Serkis, who gained notoriety playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, puts in another stellar motion capture performance as Caesar. Serkis' motion capture roles are going to become legend. He gives better performances using only his eyes and gestures than some actors give using all of their faculties. I would not be surprised if someday in the future he is not bestowed an honorary Oscar for his pioneering of this type of performance.

Of course as much as Andy Serkis brings to the role, none of it would matter without the digital wizards at the Weta Workshop. This New Zealand based special effects house has really outdone themselves with their work here. The apes in this film are so much more than actors in prosthetics, but by the end of the movie you can still see a blend that would allow continuity between the films with low tech effects. 

The movie is very well done. Thematically the film jumps back an fourth between the dangers of human scientific exploration, and a morality play on the cruelty of animal testing. There is nothing surprising in the plot, you know where its headed, and yet you are still kept on the edge of your seat wondering just how it's going to get you there. The only surprising thing is that perhaps for the first time in the Planet of the Apes sage, you actually root for the Apes to win. You want Caesar to succeed, you cheer when an ape defeats a human, and you are sad when an ape is defeated.

You don't need to have seen any of the prior films in the series to appreciate this story, but if you have there are some very subtle and clever nods that you will appreciate, including the space shuttle Icarus. Be sure to stay through the first 10 minutes for credits to get the full effect of the morality play.