"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" - Directed by Rupert Wyatt
Wow.
Maybe it was lowered expectation after the Tim Burton 'Apes' debacle a few years back but I was not expecting the kind of quality movie I got with this one.
It is just a really well executed piece of entertainment.
Cleverly pretty much forgetting that any other Planet of the Apes movie has ever been made this one is a good old fashioned origin story that also serves as a warning against human arrogance.
Not just from the scientists who trigger the events that lead to Apes taking over the world but to everyone who takes their place on the planet for granted.
James Franco plays Will Rodman who is a researcher trying to find a cure for Alzheimers.
He has a personal stake in this as his Father (John Lithgow) suffers from the awful disease and is not doing well.
Of course testing is done on animals which leads to some unfortunate complications and all of the animals but one are destroyed.
I don't want to reveal too much plot because this is a great ride and it builds and builds to an exciting and spectacular climax.
It does this without sacrificing character, pacing or intelligence.
The result is a story with some real emotional pull and a phenomenal lead character.
And it's not a human.
Caeasar is the surviving Chimp and even his name has a reason beyond the historical resonance that it brings to events late in the movie. The little details that abound in the script are one of the many things that make this film work so well.
The drugs that Will designs to cure Alzheimers bring a side effect to Caeasar delivered genetically via his Mother.
He is super smart.
He learns sign language and is signing hundreds of words and playing chess by the age of three.
He is also capable of amazingly human expressions.
Massive credit needs to go to those geniuses at Weta Digital.
Once again they have shown that they are at the very forefront of effects technology.
To start with I was a little underwhelmed by Caesar but as he grows and develops more human traits the skill in his creation is all too apparent.
In fact the entire movie is quite an achievement visually.
There are frequent visually stunning moments that go for an iconic feel.
Some of the posters for this movie show four apes atop a San Francisco Cable Car and that is directly from the film. I am not kidding when I say that it brought to mind the famous photo of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima.
Much earlier than this however we get moments such as a young Caesar scaling a redwood and standing at the top overlooking the city.
The cinematography is superb and San Francisco looks lovely.
Casting is a strong point also with the absolutely beautiful Freida Pinto, the always welcome Brian Cox and a snarling, nasty character played by Harry Potter's Tom Felton.
We might be here for the fireworks that we all know that this is leading to but the movie is about so much more.
It is exciting, uplifting, heartbreaking and fascinating watching Caesars journey from lab animal to leader of a revolution and given the subject matter it is amazing that it is entirely believable.
Within the confines of a science fiction movie of course.
There is also clearly an agenda from Twentieth Century Fox to create a franchise (again) from this.
Plot points about a mission to mars indicate that we can expect this series to loop back round to the plot of the very first Apes flick back in 1968 where Charlton Heston and crew arrive on what they don't realise is Earth until that iconic Statue of Liberty moment.
Felton's character Dodge Landon is named after the astronauts in that movie and the infamous "Dirty Ape" line is in here- you knew it would be.
It is very slickly delivered right before an even bigger line that I would not dream of spoiling but I loved it.
To giggle at the dirty ape line only to be stopped mid laugh by what follows was a great moment.
If you are coming into this movie merely for some Apes taking over the world action you will be satisfied and dissatisfied in equal measure I would suggest.
Dissatisfied because it isn't quite that ambitious in scale but satisfied because what is shown is pretty damned spectacular.
And it is spectacle in the service of the plot rather than 'wouldn't it be cool if an ape...' moments.
We get some pretty visceral stuff here though- when these hairy boys go nuts they really go nuts.
Again- amazing, amazing effects work all round.
We spent all of that time building up to the big finish and the payoff works so well because of it.
Really exciting stuff and a joy to watch unfold even though our species takes a pounding.
I had such a good time with this movie that I am loathe to criticise it.
Other than perhaps adding an extra ten or fifteen minutes on the end to lick the problem of how sudden the arrival of the credit feels I am lost for any improvements to suggest.
Director Wyatt is clearly a man to watch because he keeps a tight grip on proceedings and paces it all but perfectly almost right to the end.
Not that I am disappointed with the ending - it is great and is beyond a shadow of a doubt pointing to a sequel.
I just hope and pray that this movie earns enough money to allow this to happen.
I want to see how the Apes take over the whole planet (if they do) and I want to see how humans organise themselves into pockets of resistance. Everything is set up so nicely for sequels in this one. I loved the subtle ways that the story showed the apes organising themselves into a class system where the gorilla Buck is the muscle and the Orangutan a wise advisor.
And that mission to mars - will we get to see the spacecraft return to discover the Apes in charge?
More please... more like this and soon.
Freaking great.
Rated M for some violence- nothing too grueling but not for very young children for sure
Maybe it was lowered expectation after the Tim Burton 'Apes' debacle a few years back but I was not expecting the kind of quality movie I got with this one.
It is just a really well executed piece of entertainment.
Cleverly pretty much forgetting that any other Planet of the Apes movie has ever been made this one is a good old fashioned origin story that also serves as a warning against human arrogance.
Not just from the scientists who trigger the events that lead to Apes taking over the world but to everyone who takes their place on the planet for granted.
James Franco plays Will Rodman who is a researcher trying to find a cure for Alzheimers.
He has a personal stake in this as his Father (John Lithgow) suffers from the awful disease and is not doing well.
Of course testing is done on animals which leads to some unfortunate complications and all of the animals but one are destroyed.
 |
| Caesar - arguably the best animal character I've ever seen. |
It does this without sacrificing character, pacing or intelligence.
The result is a story with some real emotional pull and a phenomenal lead character.
And it's not a human.
Caeasar is the surviving Chimp and even his name has a reason beyond the historical resonance that it brings to events late in the movie. The little details that abound in the script are one of the many things that make this film work so well.
The drugs that Will designs to cure Alzheimers bring a side effect to Caeasar delivered genetically via his Mother.
He is super smart.
He learns sign language and is signing hundreds of words and playing chess by the age of three.
He is also capable of amazingly human expressions.
Massive credit needs to go to those geniuses at Weta Digital.
Once again they have shown that they are at the very forefront of effects technology.
To start with I was a little underwhelmed by Caesar but as he grows and develops more human traits the skill in his creation is all too apparent.
In fact the entire movie is quite an achievement visually.
There are frequent visually stunning moments that go for an iconic feel.
Some of the posters for this movie show four apes atop a San Francisco Cable Car and that is directly from the film. I am not kidding when I say that it brought to mind the famous photo of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima.
Much earlier than this however we get moments such as a young Caesar scaling a redwood and standing at the top overlooking the city.
 |
| Pinto and Franco |
Casting is a strong point also with the absolutely beautiful Freida Pinto, the always welcome Brian Cox and a snarling, nasty character played by Harry Potter's Tom Felton.
We might be here for the fireworks that we all know that this is leading to but the movie is about so much more.
It is exciting, uplifting, heartbreaking and fascinating watching Caesars journey from lab animal to leader of a revolution and given the subject matter it is amazing that it is entirely believable.
Within the confines of a science fiction movie of course.
There is also clearly an agenda from Twentieth Century Fox to create a franchise (again) from this.
Plot points about a mission to mars indicate that we can expect this series to loop back round to the plot of the very first Apes flick back in 1968 where Charlton Heston and crew arrive on what they don't realise is Earth until that iconic Statue of Liberty moment.
Felton's character Dodge Landon is named after the astronauts in that movie and the infamous "Dirty Ape" line is in here- you knew it would be.
It is very slickly delivered right before an even bigger line that I would not dream of spoiling but I loved it.
To giggle at the dirty ape line only to be stopped mid laugh by what follows was a great moment.
If you are coming into this movie merely for some Apes taking over the world action you will be satisfied and dissatisfied in equal measure I would suggest.
Dissatisfied because it isn't quite that ambitious in scale but satisfied because what is shown is pretty damned spectacular.
And it is spectacle in the service of the plot rather than 'wouldn't it be cool if an ape...' moments.
We get some pretty visceral stuff here though- when these hairy boys go nuts they really go nuts.
We spent all of that time building up to the big finish and the payoff works so well because of it.
Really exciting stuff and a joy to watch unfold even though our species takes a pounding.
I had such a good time with this movie that I am loathe to criticise it.
Other than perhaps adding an extra ten or fifteen minutes on the end to lick the problem of how sudden the arrival of the credit feels I am lost for any improvements to suggest.
Director Wyatt is clearly a man to watch because he keeps a tight grip on proceedings and paces it all but perfectly almost right to the end.
Not that I am disappointed with the ending - it is great and is beyond a shadow of a doubt pointing to a sequel.
I just hope and pray that this movie earns enough money to allow this to happen.
I want to see how the Apes take over the whole planet (if they do) and I want to see how humans organise themselves into pockets of resistance. Everything is set up so nicely for sequels in this one. I loved the subtle ways that the story showed the apes organising themselves into a class system where the gorilla Buck is the muscle and the Orangutan a wise advisor.
And that mission to mars - will we get to see the spacecraft return to discover the Apes in charge?
More please... more like this and soon.
Freaking great.
Rated M for some violence- nothing too grueling but not for very young children for sure
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