Movie Review: ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’

When Hollywood runs out of ideas for original stories, the latest trend is going the prequel route, which has worked very well for Batman Begins and X-Men: First Class. Does it work as well, though, for the beloved Planet of the Apes cult classic from the 1960s and 1970s?

Will (James Franco) is on the verge of discovering a drug that will not only cure Alzheimer’s but also dramatically improve brainpower and memory. He and his lab are testing this drug on apes, who appear to be responding well to it.

Things take a dramatic turn when a mother ape, in an attempt to protect her baby, goes on a wild rampage throughout the lab and ultimately causes the lab director to shut down the program and destroy all of the contaminated apes. In an act of compassion, however, Will rescues the baby ape and ends up adopting it. Will’s father, Charles, played by the outrageously talented John Lithgow, is suffering from Alzheimer’s and names the ape Caesar.

Caesar, as it turns out, isn’t just a regular ape. It appears that he’s inherited the heightened IQ of his mother, and the first half of the film focuses on his development and adjustment to the human world. This all comes to an end, however, when Caesar injures their neighbor in an attempt to protect Charles. The courts send Caesar to a shady primate habitat, run by John (Brian Cox) and his son Dodge (Tom Felton aka Malfoy from the Harry Potter movies).

Surrounded by fellow apes, orangutans, and a gorilla named Buck, Caesar realizes his destiny and galvanizes his simian brothers to take charge and revolt against humankind.

Andy Serkis, who’s the emotional backbone behind Gollum from Lord of the Rings and King Kong, deserves all the credit (along with the team at Weta digital effects) for helping to add emotion and depth to the photorealistic digitally created Caesar. It’s rare for an action film to also engage on the emotional front, especially without real, live apes (such as Project X from the 1980s).

But thanks to an all-star cast (including the gorgeous Frieda Pinto from Slumdog Millionaire for eye candy), and state-of-the-art digital technology from the team that also created Avatar, Rise of the Planet of the Apes does do a decent job of meshing action with soul.

The prequel to the popular Planet of the Apes series is like a beautifully wrapped present that slightly disappoints, once opened. Don’t get me wrong, the cinematography and nuanced digital animation of thousands of apes wreaking havoc in San Francisco is nothing short of exhilarating. However, when you actually sit down and digest what you’ve just seen, it all boils down to a few exciting action sequences, interspersed between a few almost tear-inducing moments of tenderness and emotion.

But then again, compared to most films these days, what more can you ask for?


[etRating value=“ 3”]