It should be opening in theaters by the time you read this, but after seeing the premiere last Tuesday courtesy of 20th Century Fox and SM Cinemas, let me reassure anyone having doubts about this movie that this hardly your B-rated, Science Fiction experience one can easily mistake to be typical. Surprisingly,
Rise of the Planet of the Apes harkens that type of reboot appeal that films like
Batman Begins and
Casino Royale started, and gives fans of the genre renewed hope that this is the start of bigger things to come. I'll get into details on what I mean as we come down to the review. It's more than your average popcorn flick, I'll give it that.
Movie: CRise of the Planet of the Apes
Starring: James Franco, Freida Pinto, Andy Serkis, Tom Felton, Brian Cox, John Lithgow
Directed By: Rupert Wyatt
As a reboot/ prequel to what becomes the Ape revolution, Rise of the Planet of the Apes tells the story of a young and intelligent chimpanzee's relationship with humans and his rise to power with his brethren. In the lead we have the talented young actor
James Franco, who plays
Dr. Will Rodman, a scientist researching on a treatment for Alzheimer's Disease. His passion for finding the "cure" is further boosted by the fact that his own father (played by
John Lithgow) suffers from it as well, so he tirelessly places a lot of effort into the project, with the company sponsoring his research giving him access to funds and tests on chimpanzees. When he initially finds a breakthrough in the form of a captured chimp named "
Bright Eyes", Rodman immediately tries to push for human testing procedures. Unfortunately, his dreams are quickly quashed as Bright Eyes goes wild in the facility, forcing security to put the ape down. As Rodman and his project are put on hold and is summarily told to put the rest of the apes down, he suddenly finds himself in the care of Bright Eyes' baby chimpanzee,
Caesar (played by motion capture actor
Andy Serkis). Saved from being put down after being born inside the lab, Caesar is raised by Dr. Rodman in the good doctor's own house, and shows tremendous potential since he was born with the enhanced abilities that his mother received when she was experimented on while pregnant with him. Displaying growing intelligence that rivals that of a human, Caesar's progress provides Rodman with data and inspiration that brings him back on track with his cure search. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond that which the good doctor and Caesar could possibly predict will lead to a chain of events that forces the intellectual primate to take action, which will begin the rise of the apes and the eventual fall of mankind.
