Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

In 1968, a movie was released based upon the 1963 novel entitled La planete des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film, starring, Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall was a critical and commercial success upon it's release, critics praising the acting, the scenary, and most importantly, the makeup used on some of the actors to make them look more animal like. The film became a prominent symbol in pop culture during the Swinging 60s, eventually launching a franchise of films, a short lived television series, a ghastly remake by Tim Burton, and just recently, a reboot, a reboot intended to start the series up again for a new set of eyes to behold. Of course I am talking about the science fiction film Planet of the Apes in all of it's "APE-TASTIC" glory. I have to admit, I never really watched this film that much in my youth, I was much more fascinated by films like King Kong and the Godzilla series. But there was one channel on the television that really intrigued me and captivated my mind for the past few years now. Turner Classic Movies. It was through Turner Classic Movie that I saw a whole herd of films I had never layed eyes on before, films that would make movies and filmography one of my many passions in life. And Planet of the Apes was one of those movies that sizzled my skull, and even though I found the monkey makeup somewhat hilarious, I soon came to realize that this was a film that was taken seriously, a film with a lot of great, exciting things going for it. And even though the monkey makeup was quite laughable, it was coming from a time period where rubber aliens with plastic heads, flying saucers made of tin foil and sound effects that sound like a toilet being flushed were the normalcy in science fiction thrillers. Just look at the original Star Trek and you will know exactly what I am talking about. Of course I would spot the film and it's sequels on other channels like Sci-Fi and AMC throughout the years, but it was on Turner Classic Movie that I saw the film in the best quality, with the best sound and the greatest enhancements in color and pitch. And sure, I will say that the films that would follow just got more and more ridiculous overtime, but that only increased my love for them even more, because even the most ridiculous films with the most ridiculous acting and the most ridiculous special effects can still be enjoyable flicks that any sci-fi lover at heart will find some room for. Oh, and by the way, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is my personal favorite, please don't hammer me into a pulp!



So what looms within my noggin regarding the latest reboot in the Planet of the Apes series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes? Was the film a four star opera with a great story and visual effects that will make your eyes pop out of your skull, or was it just another CGI slopfest that makes the Burton remake look like Star Wars. Well, before I saw this film, I didn't know what motion picture would be placed in front of me, would I get a film that would bring back many fond memories of watching the original Planet of the Apes on TCM or a film that would make me wanna jump out the nearest window? I know I have given just about all of this summer's major blockbusters positive reviews, but I had very reasonable expectations for each film, and this film was no exception. I enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it wasn't my favorite film of this summer's movie reign, but it was incredible for what it was, and I will be looking forward to seeing this film once more in the near future. The action was nothing out of the ordinary, but it did have a few things to make a cake over, and this film displays a unique style of computer animation, both on the apes and on some other aspects that fit in quite well with the film's enviroment. And the acting was some of the best acting of the entire summer, James Franco delivering one of the greatest roles yet, although I will always remember him as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man film series.

Franco plays a determined young man named Will, who is on the brick of creating a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a disease that has stricken his father, played by John Lithgow. He tests his discovers on apes, causing the apes to grow an extraordinary amount of intelligence, though at the same time, and extraordinary amount of rage. Overtime, Will befriends one of the apes, who he names Caesar, and the relationship between the human and the monkey is one of the many highlights of the film. It was interesting to see how much of a loyal companion Caesar was to Will and his father, who he defends from an angry neighbor after one of his Alzheimer's spells. But things suddenly go down the drain pipe soon after, and Caesar is taken away for his treachery and stored within a special facility where other apes are being kept. There, the apes are treated quite coldly by one of the guards, played by Tom Felton, and Caesar has a hard time fitting in with the other apes, the other apes treating him like vermin. Luckily, Caesar makes a friend, an ape named Buck, and they are able to escape the facility shortly after. And it all goes down the crapper from there. We are talking about a serious monkey uprising, a controversy that will put all humanity to shame, the biggest monkey revolution since Donkey Kong Country. And when that happens, the humans are vulnerable, they don't know what to do to stop the crazy Magilla Gorillas of Death, and it would only be a short time after that the Earth would be dominated by the apes, and the humans are on the edge of extinction. Fellas, break out the banana creme pies, these apes are going to cause some supreme ruckus.

Andy Serkis, who you all know as the Gollem from The Lord of the Rings, does a stellar job of bringing Caesar to life, giving him that animalistic nature you would expect in an ape, but at the same time, giving him a brief touch of humanity. And it's not the first time Serkis has played a vicious killer monkey of destruction on the big screen. He has had experience playing Kong himself in Peter Jackson's remake of his favorite movie, King Kong, so as you would imagine, Serkis brings a lot from that role into this role, particularing in scenes where Caesar is seen fighting off other monkeys or jumping in thin air. And instead of beating up on dinosaurs and climbing the Empire State Building, Caesar takes his frustration out on the humans, making sure they do not get in the way of his deleterious planning. The effects done on the monkeys as top notch and at times, looked like they had used real monkeys in the film rather than CGI animated monkeys. It's quite obvious that the film makers and producers used real apes and drawings of apes to get the posture, the overall feeling of an ape down to the teeth, making the apes of this film as realistic and crazed as possible. They did just about everything you would imagine an ape to do, and when you were least expecting it, they would do something drastic, cause chaos and panic, and that can leave quite a funny feeling within, for it adds to the suspense and the wonder of how the film will commense. Breaking out of the facility, beating up all those who get in their way, rallying on the Golden Gate Bridge, the apes of this film were very menacing and bone chilling, for they were determined to bring all humans to their knees and to get revenge on the humans for what they have done to them. It's a perfect example of how one's creations can lead to a villainous uprising, a life changing event that will change the way humans exist on the Earth forever. It's like in the Terminator when the machines dominate the globe and bring humans to the point of nonexistence, only in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it is apes instead of robots, apes with feelings, apes with a heart and soul, apes that are getting more and more human as each and every minute passes by. The apes, in conclusion, were some of the most compelling creatures I have ever seen on film, proving that something can be cute, and also threatening at the same time, and I mean threatening to the point where your heart races everytime they appear on the silver screen.

The music was hands down one of the best scores of this summer's onslaught of blockbusters. It was composed by Patrick Doyle, who also composed the scores for films like Thor and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and as he did with those films, he brought something harmonious, something that made the hairs on the back of your neck jump to the audio levels of the film. The score that played when the apes were on the move was very breathtaking, and just as fitting as Captain America's patriotic theme in Captain America: The First Avenger or the prehistoric theme for the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. I also couldn't help compare this score with the score of the original Planet of the Apes film, composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who is probably most notably for composing the scores for films like Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Gremlins, and Poltergeist. Some of the chords and pitches with the instruments really reminded me of the music from the original film, especially in the action scenes and when the apes were going to do something life-threatening. And boy, by the end of this film, you really don't know what is to come next, nicely setting it up for possible sequels and revamps to come in the near future. Seeing Caesar turn against his master was quite heartbreaking if you think about it, and I was very surprised when Caesar spoke for the first time, taking his rank among the other apes who will soon turn the human race into their pets and start a "Monkeypire" as displayed in the earlier films and the dreadful Burton remake. Will and Caesar have been friends for such a long time, and seeing Caesar turn against Will to join his monkey companions really makes your heart jump, showing exactly what is going through Caesar's head and what he wants to accomplish now that he carries several humans. It's like when Charles Xavier and Eric Lenscherr parted seperate ways in X-Men: First Class, only in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we are dealing with a monkey and a human rather than two mutants who were just trying to make their way within society. And Will is left wit the terrible guilt of what he has created, a pack of power hungry apes that will turn the world upside down and morph it into the enviroment we all know it as in the previous films. And he did this all because he wanted to help people, he wanted to help cure such a horrible illness that not only plagued is father, but many other humans as well. He is like Miles Dyson in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The two of them just wanted to discover new, revolutionary things that would change the world, not knowing of the havoc that would slowly unfold and take effect because of their discoveries, turning the world as we know it into desolate wasteland and bringing the forces they inadvertently created to the point of an autocracy. It's a clever method of story telling and helps in making a good science fiction thriller that will make us ponder, make us say to ourselves "WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED". It's interesting if you think about it, how the good guys, the characters we get attracted too and follow throughout most of the film become the bad guys, doing something that can not be undone so simply.

When it comes to prequels or reboots, most just sit back and roll their eyes in disgust. But I think Rise of the Planet of the Apes has it where it counts. It was just as clever and charming and suspenseful as the golden original, and brought in a lot of new factors, a lot of elements that fit in quite well, made the series fresh again and appropriate for today's reign of movie goers and critics, who would most likely bash the movie if it didn't have a good story or action that made them fly off the handle. I thought it was good for what it had going for it, and was one of the best films of the summer, and if I can stretch my mind even further, into the depths of outer space, I will even say that it was one of the best science fiction films of the year! Spit the Tim Burton remake out of your mouth like a wad of flem, because this film blew my mind on so many levels, and I will definately recommend to any ape lovers or science fictioners at heart, something this film carries a lot of. The action was fitting for the film's overall mood and atmosphere, the story was quite sensational and unforgettable, and the apes, well, they weren't your average ordinary apes you would see at the zoo. These apes had attitude, and Caesar, as chilling as he appeared in some scenes, makes Mighty Joe Young look like Diddy Kong. The effects were also quite realistic and a perfect example of how far we have come with special effects in this past decade. Now, we can add a great amount of detail, realism, and dimension to our computer animated creations and make them look as vivid as possible, or as I like to call it "Candy for the eyes". Just imagine how those effects would have looked in 3-D or IMAX! The character development was also a prominent factor, and you can really feel for the characters, feel their pain, their ambitions, and what exactly is running through their heads. It something you don't get a lot in today's films, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes gets the job done and done properly, making the characters unforgettable and legendary.

I have know doubts that this film will spawn a series, or if you wanna think in a different shade, you can throw away the Apes sequels and remakes and make this a direct prequel to the original 1968 film. But it would surely be something worth $7.50 to see the sequels, the revamps, and the character arcs to come in the newly awakened Planet of the Apes franchise, which will suck a new generation of monkey monks under its realm and give them new stories and perils to enjoy that many ape lovers didn't get in the old days. I will surely be looking forward to seeing how this series progressing throughout the years, and maybe 100 years from now, the Planet of the Apes franchise will be remade once more, delivering new and improved things not even the original could catch up too. Roddy McDowall would be proud!

OH YES, WE HAVE PLENTY OF BANANAS!!!!!