Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

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My relationship with the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise before this movie came along was essentially non-existent. I knew enough about the first movie to be able to quote its most famous lines, and spoil the twist ending for the three people on Earth who didn't know it. But for whatever reason, to this day, I still have not seen any of the older films, save for the original (and that was just to say I've seen it). So when things got a prequel treatment back in 2011, I thought that might be a good jumping-on point.

I'm not sure how much more I expected things to carry on with the franchise at the time, as this can easily just be passed off as a simple "this is how it all started" film, and one can pretty much understand how things might unfold from its ending. The thing is, the film's emotional story combines with the CG technology of the time made it good enough to spawn a few sequels and actually for an incredibly solid series of prequels that lead into the original 1968 classic and its series of sequels.

Speaking of which, before we get into it, this entire movie takes place on Earth and we see how the Planet of the Apes was formed over time through the next few films. So basically, the big reveal at the end of the '68 film is officially not in spoiler territory anymore. It's basically something everyone knows at this point, but it doesn't take away from Charlton Heston's wonderful overacting in that scene that has made cinematic history as one of the most famous of all time. Still a classic!

The entire franchise begins with a young pharmaceutical chemist named Will Rodman (James Franco) who tests a viral-based drug known as ALZ-112 on chimps in hopes of discovering a potential cure for Alzheimer's. The terrible disease is something Will has to deal with on a daily basis with his father, Charles (John Lithgow), who is getting worse by the day. One day during tests, a chimp named "Bright Eyes" goes on a rampage, and as a result has to be put down. However, she wasn't being vicious so much as protective of her child no one noticed, who Will takes home to take care of, naming him Caesar (Andy Serkis).

As time passes, Caesar shows how much of ALZ-112 he seemed to absorb through his mother with signs of increased intelligence, not the least of which is learning sign language. As Will wonders if this could be the solution to his father's disease (and kudos to the writers for not making him a nut about becoming rich off of it), Caesar begins questioning his existence and whether he's a friend, a pet, or just an experiment. Soon enough, of course, Caesar shows just how smart he really is, and we get to see the beginnings of everything in the franchise.

Looking back on this now, the CG still looks pretty good, bearing in mind that the MCU released 'Captain America: The First Avenger' the same year, and the CG on young Cap looks awful by today's standards. I'm still an MCU guy, but there is definitely something to be said for this movie's tech being ahead of it, at least at the time. It's this wonderful blend of giving the actors a massive ape makeover, but leaving those eyes free to show the human-like character these apes have, especially with Caesar.

I had to appreciate upon this viewing how the climax of film makes you route for the apes' victory, while at the same time fully realizing that any human these apes are fighting through are kinda just doing their job. You don't think of them as villains so much as civil servants. So one might say the film does a good job of humanizing all of its characters, whether they be ape or human. It's still a great film, and even though its perhaps the least action-packed, the heart and emotion put into these characters is what really makes it special. This one's a bit more on the dramatic side, and for its purposes, that's a good thing.

5/5

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