Having only seen the Tim Burton Planet of the Apes, my initial reaction to the first Rise trailer was "meh." I was not, and continue to not be, impressed by that movie. It was with a certain hesitancy that I approached this movie after the debacle that was Cowboys and Aliens last week. Nevertheless, I checked out the midnight screening for this prequel to a classic, and i'm definitely glad I did.
For those who don't know, Rise of the Planet of the Apes isn't a remake of the original, it is in fact a prequel (as if the title didn't say it all already). Will Rodman (played by James Franco) is a scientist for Gen Sys labs, who is trying to discover a cure for Alzheimers, which his father Charles (John Lithgow) is afflicted with. After his initial serum, ALZ-112, causes its chimp test subject to act aggressively, the project is shut down and all the chimps are put down. Unbeknownst to anyone but Will and the chimp handler, the test chimp was not aggressive due to side effects of the ALZ, but in fact because she was trying to protect her newborn infant. The chimp handler refuses to put down the baby, and Rodman takes it home to take care of it. He soon finds out that the ALZ-112 has been passed on genetically, as Caesar (the chimp) exhibits extraordinary intelligence for a human his age, let alone a chimp. From there, it is a story centered around Caesar, depicting his growth in intelligence and also where his disdain for mankind comes.
This movie is perhaps one of the best examples of straightforward narrative storytelling in any movie i've seen all summer. Since the main character is a monkey (or ape if you want to get technical about it) there is significantly less dialogue than other movies, but that doesn't impede the flow or clarity of the story. A child could follow the plot of the movie easily, since Caesar clearly emotes all his feelings quite expressively. It takes a while for the flick to get to the titular Uprising, but every second of build up is worth it. Every scene slowly builds up to a fever pitch until a single commanding scene which lets the viewer irrevocably know that the tides have turned. Trust me, you'll know what i'm talking about when you see it. After that point, it is game on. They definitely should've just called this movie "Apes gone Wild".
The human cast in the movie is so incidental that it hardly seems fruitful to mention it, but I guess I might as well. James Franco does an alright job as Will Rodman, though again I feel that the part could have been played by almost anyone and still have been effective. John Lithgow, on the other hand, rips it with one of the most emotional performances in the flick. It's good to see that guy still kicking around and he shows us that he's still got it in this flick. Freida Pinto plays Caroline Aranha, a vet and chimp specialist, who in my opinion is in the movie for no other reason than to have a love story. She's probably the most inconsequential of all the human characters, but I must say, she is VERY nice to look at. The real up-and-comer in this flick is Tom Felton, who i'm sure you all know better as Draco Malfoy. My fear for this kid is that he's been typecast as a dick. Draco Malfoy is a dick. And Dodge Landon, (Felton) also a dick. He's good at it, don't get me wrong, but we already know he can play a dick. He's been doing it for the past 10 years. Show me those acting chops kid. I know they're in there.
The REAL star of the show, however, is Caesar, the hyper-intelligent chimp. The genius that is Andy Serkis (the man behind Gollum and King Kong) once again steps into the motion capture mobile that's now as familiar to him as a second skin, and gives a riveting performance, proving once again the old saying "acting is doing".
This movie is rife with wide overhead aerial shots and sweeping dolly moves which, while being very nice to look at, also help enhance the emotional intensity of various points in the movie. While there are a lot of dynamic shots in the flick, the director has abandoned the handheld style of filming for a more classic, smoother style of dynamic shot, which I definitely approve of. A++ to the Director of Photography on this one.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a tale of love and trust turning to pain and betrayal, underneath the guise of an action film revolving around monkeys. I urge everyone to go see this amazingly directed movie. Do it now, or i'll set my chimp on you.
Final Score: 9/10
