Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Writer: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Pierra Boulle (novel)

Cast: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Tyler Labine, Jamie Harris

Synopsis:

After his mother was treated with an experimental Alzheimer's drug while pregnant, the chimpanzee Caesar (Serkis) gains human-like intelligence and emotions. He is raised by the drug's creator, Dr. Will Rodman (Franco), but is eventually taken from him after an altercation with one of Rodman's neighbors. While held at a primate rehab facility, Caesar and the other ape residents are subject to abuse by the facility's workers. Seeking justice for his fellow apes, he steals vast quantities of the drug that altered his brain chemistry and exposes the other apes to it. Finally, with a simian army at his back, Caesar escapes the facility and rampages through downtown San Francisco as they try to escape to the Redwood forest.

First Impressions:

I don't have much in the way of first impressions of this film because I've not seen it all the way through. I missed it in theaters, mostly because I had seen the Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes about 10 years prior and wasn't all that impressed with it. However, I managed to catch some of it on TV years later and from what I saw, I quite enjoyed it. I spotted a box set of the entire trilogy on Blu-Ray a few weeks ago and decided to grab it on a whim. I'm excited to see this movie from beginning to end and hope it meets my expectations.

Story/Direction:

"Take your stinking paw off me, you damn dirty ape!"

This film takes an interesting approach to the Planet of the Apes story. While previous films in the series all told their stories from the human's point of view, Caesar is definitely this film's protagonist. It's definitely a brave move, considering one of the first rules of telling any story is to have a main character that the audience can relate to. Unfortunately, I'm sure most of the movie-going public has no idea how to relate to super-smart apes, yet the film still works. 

Director Rupert Wyatt explores a couple of themes in this film, the first of which is humanity's treatment of the creatures it has dominion over. Much of the film's major plot points center around mankind's poor and abusive treatment of these animals. From the opening scene where the audience is treated to a family of chimpanzees being herded by hunters into live traps so they can be sold for medical testing, to David Oyelowo's Steven Jacobs orders a lab worker to euthanize an entire group of chimps following an incident in which Caesar's mother goes on a rampage. This attitude contrasts with Dr. Rodman's willingness to take Caesar in and care for him, knowing that Caesar likely would have died if he didn't. 

The film also works as a cautionary tale regarding the pursuit of science (and profit) at any cost. Don't get me wrong, science is a good thing and has done countless things to improve life on this planet, but Rise of the Planet of the Apes shows us that the ends don't always justify the means. For example, once the drug that Rodman develops shows promising results, Jacobs becomes hyper-focused on bringing the drug to market, not to help people but to profit from its sale. As a result of such avarice, he pushes development faster than it should, resulting in unforeseen but deadly consequences.

All in all, I found the film's story to be engaging and thought-provoking, which is more than you can say for most summer tent-pole movies. Additionally, the subject matter explored in the film seems even more poignant, given the state of the world over the past two years. 

Acting/Characters:

Alright, let's get this out of the way right now. I don't care for James Franco as an actor, never have, and from what I'm told, he's a pretty garbage human being. That being said, I didn't mind him in this movie, and that's saying something. He portrays Rodman as a driven scientist intent on developing his cure for Alzheimer's. However, we learn that his drive comes from a very personal place, as his father, Charles (Lithgow), is suffering from the disease and only wants to save him from a painful death. Aside from the driven scientist, we also see that Rodman is a nurturing father to Caesar. He struggles with leaving him in a primate rehab facility after an incident with one of his neighbors. I think this is one of the more layered performers I've seen from Franco, and even though I'm not a fan, I have to give him props.

On the other hand, I'm a huge fan of Andy Serkis ever since I saw his performance in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Serkis has made a career out of giving standout mo-cap performances, and this film is not different. Seriously, the man's amount of dedication for his craft is amazing, and even though we don't see Andy's face, he still gives a terrific performance. Just give this guy an Oscar already.

The rest of the cast is solid, including the great John Lithgow, who does a good job of portraying someone suffering from Alzheimer's but does so in a respectful way. It's a role that could come off as goofy or funny, especially in the hands of a gifted comedic actor like Lithgow, but he walks the tightrope nicely. Oyelowo also deserves some credit as the unscrupulous pharmaceutical executive Jacobs. He's not the mustache-twirling villain but just a guy who's a little too focused on the money, which leads to disastrous results. Great performances all around.

Visual/Special Effects:

Over the years, this series has become well-known for its impressive visuals. The original films from the 60s and 70s have great make-up for the time and, likewise, the Tim Burton remake looked fantastic for all its faults. Of course, for films like this to work, the special effects must be top-notch; otherwise, the audience will be pulled out of the story. Fortunately, the filmmakers did a hell of a job with visual effects, particularly the CGI. This film's success basically hinged on how well the filmmakers could portray Caesar visually, and they really hit it out of the park here. They avoided the uncanny valley issues that often plague CGI characters, which made Caesar seem more real and easier for the audience to connect to. I can't say enough about the VFX in this movie. Ten years on, and they still look pretty damned good.

Score/Music:

Patrick Doyle composed the music for the film, and I didn't find it particularly memorable. While I'm sure it was well-composed and sounded nice, I'm struggling to even remember even a single bar of music from the film. However, I'd rather have an unmemorable score than a poor one, as I've said before. At least it didn't pull me out of the movie at all, and that's something.

Action:

There's not much action in the film, and most of it occurs during the last half of the third act. However, what's there is pretty good. I've already mentioned the opening scene where the hunters chase down a family of chimps. There's also a scene in the middle of the film where Caesar assaults one of Rodman's neighbors after an altercation with Charles. The real cheddar is the final act where the apes rise up and fight their way to the Redwood Forest. Because they were dealing with apes, the filmmakers were really able to expand on the action and go to places most action movies wouldn't normally go. As a result, the action is quite satisfying and worth the price of admission.

Final Verdict:

Well, upon my first full viewing of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I'd have to say I enjoyed it immensely. It was a thought-provoking film that didn't feel the need to bash us over the head with symbolism or abstract nonsense. Highly recommend it, and I'm looking forward to reviewing its two sequels at a later date, so keep an eye open for them.