Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes ****
This year has seen its fair share of fantasy blockbusters, each with their own ‘must-see’ reasons. But none quite have the sentimental and chilling impact of director Rupert Wyatt’s interpretation of Pierre Boulle’s 1963 sci-fi fantasy novel, La planete des singes, and how it all came about that apes rule the earth.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes addresses how the apes took over, but has been given surprisingly believable concept. Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) is hired by a wealthy corporation to test performance- (mind) boosting drugs on primates, in order to find a possible ‘cure’ for Alzheimer’s. It’s a personal goal as Rodman’s father Charles (John Lithgow) is in the advanced stages of the disease. When things go wrong, Rodman makes a home for Caesar (voiced by Andy Serkis of Gollum fame), the ape who is at the forefront of the experiments, and his home life soon revolves around his new primate family member. Sadly, as Caesar gets older and his natural protective and aggressive instincts kick in, Rodman is forced to home him in a secure animal unit, where he is abused by ape and humans alike, like sadistic keeper Dodge, played by Harry Potter’s Tom Felton. But Caesar is smarter than the average primate and soon rises in the ranks and leads a revolution that challenges Man’s dominance.
The worry that the CGI reconstruction would over-power any empathy we might feel for the character of Caesar is soon erased. As Wyatt takes his time to evolve his lead ape, rather than skip to the action-filled primate mutiny as quickly as possible, we get a fully realised and well-executed prequel to the evolutionary time disaster that is Planet of the Apes. All the characters’ arcs allow the central personality, Caesar, to engage the viewer as a living, breathing, thinking being in himself, coupled with impressive effects that bring Serkis’s facial expressions to life.
Casting Franco as Rodman ultimately gives credence to the role, as the actor uncompromisingly delivers Rodman’s personal issues with what he has done. Freida Pinto makes an appearance, adding the glamour as Rodman’s girlfriend Caroline, but is fairly unremarkable if that.
Two supporting performances bring up Serkis and Franco’s helm. Lithgow injects a lot of spirit to Charles, with some charming scenes opposite Caesar, who like a child, struggles to understand what’s going on with the human relationships around him. There is also a commendable post-Potter appearance from ‘Dracoy Malfoy’, Felton, who carries on his evil streak into his first noticeable adult role as Caesar’s tormentor, bringing an exciting premise to what’s to come from this fine young actor.
And the ape-human confrontation that takes place on the Golden Gate Bridge is certainly worth the wait. It’s a well-timed, rather than frenetic head-to-head, where Wyatt still makes sure the primate empathy is retained, especially with his moving final farewell from Caesar to Rodman – like the child flying the nest.
If you can’t catch the real-life Project Nim backstory into animal experimentation, Wyatt’s interpretation is almost homage to it, filling in the troubling issues with Man’s egotistical fixation for reprogramming nature. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is also a fine blockbuster that makes you wait for the action, and probably one of the best of 2011.
4/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
