Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of those rare films that you just know would be good based on the trailer alone.
Whether or not you're a fan of the Apes cult movie franchise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes will satisfy your craving for a quality B-movie summer blockbuster experience at the cinemas. It's not mind-blowing awesome, but it's a delicious ticket-worthy movie experience with a lingering effect.
In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we are on Planet Earth, in present-day San Francisco, where hot scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) experiments on chimps as part of his fervent research to cure Alzheimer's, a disease that inflicts his father (John Lithgow). A supposedly failed experiment leads Rodman to bring home a baby chimp and names him Caesar-- the genesis of a cataclysmic future with apes.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a reboot of the Planet of the Apes movie franchise based on Pierre Boulle's novel La planete des singes, and serves as the foundation of a new Apes series. It has a good cast, and Franco, after his failed stint as a superbly weird 2011 Oscar co-host, has redeemed himself in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, reminding us that he's a versatile actor-- and that he should stick to this craft.
Directed by Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist), Rise of the Planet of the Apes is unpretentious, quick-paced, emotional, and heartfelt, and incites moral and social questions, awareness of animal treatment, with an emotional portrayal of human-beast relationship. And with CG animation that brought us Oscar golds Avatar and Lord of the Rings, the apes in the movie are realistic and soulful, more chilling and admirably expressive, and it becomes a thrill to observe Caesar's intelligence advance to human level.
Indeed, Rise of the Planet of the Apes has the power to hook you from beginning to end with its potent storytelling. It's got the right blend of sci-fi thriller, drama, and action, and will perhaps give birth to a new generation of Planet of the Apes fans.
4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars
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