The original “Planet of the Apes” hit theaters in 1968. Four sequels followed in the early 70’s and in 2001, Tim Burton’s “reboot” of the original starred Mark Wahlberg.
Now, 43 years after the Charlton Heston classic, we finally get to learn how all this monkey business got started.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” stars James Franco as scientist Will Rodman, who works in a lab in San Francisco. Will’s father (played by John Lithgow) has Alzheimer’s disease. While trying to find a cure Will tests some of his new medicines on chimps.
Will ends up taking one of the chimps home to live with him. Caesar becomes extremely intelligent but the medicine also has side effects, which lead to problems both with the chimp and with Will’s father. Eventually things start going…well…bananas.
It’s tough to call “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” a true action film, because it takes so long before the real action kicks-in. And that’s the biggest problem with the movie. The story leading-up to the inevitable showdown is interesting, but it could have been cut in favor of more of the ape vs. humans battle. There are a lot of medical/lab/science scenes and dialogue that slow things down (and reminded me too much of school).
The acting, for a sci-fi fantasy film, is passable. Franco is certainly better here than he was hosting the Oscars and Lithgow is always terrific. Others in the cast include Freida Pinto (“Slumdog Millionaire”), Tom Felton (Draco in the “Harry Potter” films) and Brian Cox.
I watched the original “Planet of the Apes” after seeing “Rise” back in August and a lot of references to that first film made more sense. If you’re a fan of the ’68 classic you will appreciate the effort put into making this prequel work with the rest of the series.
The real stars of this movie are director Rupert Wyatt and his supporting cast and crew. All of the ape roles were performed by real actors, using motion-capture technology. Then CGI apes were created following all the human movements. It’s the best use of motion-capture in any film so far. The apes seem so real you’ll think there had to be actual people inside costumes. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” films and King Kong in previous motion-capture roles, is tremendous as Caesar, who has more screen time than Franco. Look for “Rise” to get strong consideration for visual effect honors during 2011 awards season.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is rated PG-13. There’s plenty of action/violence and some intense, scary scenes. It’s appropriate for kids 12 and up, who understand the concept of science fiction. Younger viewers could easily be spooked by the subject matter.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” gets a B. The ending does leave open the possibility for a sequel, and soon after “Rise” hit theaters this summer one was already in the works.