A Review of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

See? Now when the homeless problem in San Francisco gets out of control, you're going to have
a revolt like this on your hands, California.

Happy Friday! Another ape movie is upon--what's that? What did you say? "Why is this not over yet?" I do not know, but apparently there is quite the fondness that exists for these movies. Enough to make nine of them, and a TV series we skipped over... and also a tenth film on the way from hte newly Christened 20th Century Studios. Which I'm sure we will review when it comes out.

"Woah, Draco! Look at the size of your wand!"

As we covered last week, the Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes movie... well it sucked. I thought it sucked, I did light reading on the reception the movie had back in 2001 when it came out and a lot of people back then thought it sucked. Seemed to just be the universally accepted opinion. A sequel was torpedoed immediately, which was what that BOLLOCKS ending was setting up, supposedly. According to IMDB, Tim Burton said that he "would rather jump out of a window than direct a sequel" to Planet of the Apes... which is pretty much cut and dry meaning that the franchise is dead again... and it remained dead... but this time only for about a decade. In comes director Rupert Wyatt, with stars James Franco as a scientist (oh sure, wink) and renowned motion-capture guru Andy Serkis playing our lead ape, this movie was announced as a reboot with an origin story to start a brand new storyline, ignoring everything that happened prior. That's good, a fresh start; after all, this was the one that got me hooked on on the Apes saga to begin with. I saw it in theaters just after I graduated high school. Welcome to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes! A movie that teaches us loosely taking bits from five of your previous franchise's entries and mixing them together into a "fresh" take can, well, really make it feel like a fresh take! Let's sit back and see what makes this reboot work so well and become a quality reboot, in my book.

"Oh man, this looks like the wrong genetics lab."

The movie starts off, oddly enough, with MONKEYS in a jungle! WHO SAW THAT COMING? In San Francisco, pharmaceutical chemist Will Rodman (James Franco) is testing the viral-based drug ALZ-112 on chimpanzees at the biotechnology company Gen-Sys to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. Right away, testing on chimps is going to end very badly for the human race, especially with some kind of bonkers miracle drug to reverse brain disease. Bit of a reach, but I dig it; it makes sense. ALZ-112 is given to a chimpanzee named Bright Eyes... our FIRST Apes franchise easter egg. "Bright Eyes" is of course Zira's nickname for the mute Taylor in the original 1968 film! The drug greatly increases her intelligence. However, during Will's presentation for the drug, Bright Eyes is forced from her cage, goes on a rampage, and is shot to death. Will's boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) terminates the project and has the chimpanzees euthanized. However, Will's assistant Robert Franklin reveals that the reason for Bright Eyes' rampage was that she had recently given birth. Will reluctantly takes in the infant chimpanzee, eventually giving him the name Caesar. Our SECOND Apes franchise easter egg! Caesar was of course played twice by Roddy McDowall in the original series' last two entries, Conquest of and Battle for, respectively.

"James... from ape to you... do not text those
girls back. Consider this warning."

Discovering that Caesar has inherited his mother's intelligence through being exposed to ALZ-112, Will decides to raise him. Three years pass, Caesar (Andy Serkis) becomes highly intelligent; he is able communicate through sign language. Will begins a romantic relationship with primatologist, Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto). Will and Caroline introduce Caesar to the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument so he can roam. Meanwhile, Will treats his father, Charles (John Lithgow), with ALZ-112, which seems to restore his cognitive ability. Five years later, Caesar, now entering adulthood, questions his origins and place in the world. Charles' condition returns as his immune system becomes resistant to ALZ-112. Caesar injures an aggressive neighbor, Douglas Hunsiker (David Hewlett), while defending a confused Charles. As a result, animal control arrives and takes him to an ape shelter. Caesar is tormented by the alpha chimpanzee, Rocket (CGI), and the chief guard, Dodge Landon, played by Draco Malfoy. Looks, it's Tom Felton, but we all know we don't call him Tom; we call him Draco, because the poor son of a bitch has been typecast. He even acts like Draco this whole movie. The only thing missing his Caesar's name being "POTTAH" or something. Not to mention, that's our THIRD Apes easter egg... Draco's character is named "Dodge Landon", the names of the two astronauts who arrived on the planet with Taylor in the original 1968 film. Lotsa throwbacks, callbacks, and treats here in this movie.

"Hmph... 'gamer'... 'girl'...
'bathwater'...?"

However, Caesar befriends Maurice (CGI), a former circus orangutan who also knows sign language. Caesar learns to unlock his cage, gaining free access to the common area. With the assistance of Buck (CGI), a gorilla, Caesar claims the position of alpha. Meanwhile, Jacobs clears the development of a more powerful gaseous version of the drug, the ALZ-113, when Will tells him it can improve intelligence. Will takes the drug home for his father, but Charles declines further treatment and dies overnight. After attempting to test the drug on a bonobo named Koba (CGI... you starting to notice a pattern? Lol), Franklin  (Tyler Labine) accidentally becomes exposed to ALZ-113 and becomes ill. Despite the risks, Jacobs orders continued trials and as a result Will quits his position. Attempting to warn Will at his home, Franklin sneezes blood onto Hunsiker and is later discovered dead. Will attempts to reclaim Caesar, but Caesar instead decides to stay and steals the ALZ-113 canisters from Will's house and enhances the intelligence of the other apes in the shelter. When Dodge attempts to get him back into his cage, a small brawl ensues between the two. In a groan moment, Caesar blocks one of Dodge's baton swings by grasping his arm, and Draco (yes, Draco) screams "Take your stinkin' paw off me you damn dirty ape!" Sigh, Draco Malfoy has quoted Planet of the Apes, I now have seen everything. However, in a BADASS moment right afterwards, Caesar screams "NO!", revealing his further-advanced intelligence. When this happened in the theater, it got silent except for people gasping and whispering. A truly defining moment for the movie. Caesar fights with Dodge while freeing the apes, inadvertently killing him. R.I.P. Draco.

"This is bonkers, Will! What are we
gonna do?"
"I don't know, 'Lady Whose Name
I Don't Remember'!"

The apes flee, releasing Koba and the remaining apes from Gen-Sys, and freeing additional apes from the San Francisco Zoo. A battle ensues as the apes fight their way past a police blockade on the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to escape into the redwood forest. To rescue Caesar, Buck sacrifices himself to down a helicopter. Koba pushes the helicopter, with Jacobs still inside, into the sea. As the apes find their way into the forest, Will finds and warns Caesar that the humans will hunt them, begging him to return home. Caesar hugs him and instead mutters "Caesar... is... home". Will accepts Caesar's wishes and the apes embrace their new lifestyle in the forest. Meanwhile, Hunsiker, now infected with ALZ-113, arrives at San Francisco International Airport for his flight. He eventually spreads the virus around the planet, leading to a deadly pandemic.... and that's the end of the film, end credits!

So what did we learn today? For starters, I loved this one, and besides the 1968 film, it was the only one in my boxset I'd seen already. So I felt very comfortable getting its review written. I think it's a solid reboot to introduce the Apes franchise to a wider, newer, younger audience. The older films do fine, we've reviewed those in full, but they've got hokier elements of the early 70s that don't translate well to this day in age. I understand that, not a lot of franchises/movies from back then are truly timeless; I'd argue the original Planet of the Apes is, and even Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is, the other three seem to get stuck in their day-in-age here-and-there throughout their runtime.

Look, I know it's Draco... you know
it's Draco... let's just admire this pic
and not make anymore Harry
Potter jokes, lol

My big criticism of this film is that, for the most part it is largely just a remake of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, as it borrows heavily on the character of Caesar gathering a clan of apes around him, training them, helping them to escape, fear and attack humans, and ultimately start a revolution; an uprising that lights a spark in the fire that eventually becomes the downfall of humanity. It isn't very original, and borrows elements other films here and there, but mainly just follows Conquest's storyline. Which is probably why I like it so much. That being said, it isn't a bad thing that it did that because it did change just enough to make interesting again. When I first viewed Conquest a few weeks back I picked up right away that Rise mimicked it quite a bit, but I didn't look down on either film with disdain because of that.

For instance, I think Andy Serkis knocked it out of the park as Caesar. I consider him on-par with Roddy McDowall's interpretation of the character. They both played the part of the oppressed-yet-intelligent ape rising up with his brethren to overthrow humanity and make a home for themselves as free beings very well. Roddy was more genocidal in Conquest that somehow became a calm and commanding leader in Battle... while Andy Serkis plays up both of those in one film. Once he leads the apes to the Redwood forest, he drops being genocidal and just accepts his new position as the apes' peaceful leader. He wants no more bloodshed; he already views himself as free. No more need be done! Right? Both were portrayed wonderfully. While the CGI on Serkis can seem a little rubbery compared to other live monkeys shot on film, I have gone into detail about how Roddy's 1970s ape make up seems dated as it appears to clearly be a mask in those movies. So take your pick there!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes becomes the third movie in the series I recommend! It's got action, drama, some compelling scientific theories, and another great re-telling of Caesar's uprising. Only two Apes movies left, neither of which I've seen!