Viewed in
2011
Formats
Movie theater
Premise
A "remake" of the "sequel" that shows how apes take over planet Earth.
Liked
Ceasar.
Thoughts
Disclaimer: To this point, I had only seen the original Planet of the Apes and the Tim Burton remake. I've never seen any of the 1970's sequels.
Overall, I liked it because of Ceasar. His character was interesting because of technology and writing.
These days, it's hard for computer graphics to wow me anymore. Having said that, the special effects to create Ceasar was rather impressive. Not only do we see him age, but we also see into his psyche through mostly body language and deft facial expressions. Credit has to go to the awesome performance of Andy Serkis. The combination of Serkis and WETA technology has put together a nice body of work in the last decade.
Another reason why Ceasar was such an interesting character was because of strong writing. He was smart, sympathetic, and conflicted. I liked the attention to detail of his rise to leadership through analysis and strategy and patience. At the same time, the other primate characters also had their own personalities, creating interesting dynamics and politics for Ceasar to swim through. In fact, I liked the creativity in showing the apes' rise/humans' fall.
On the other hand, the human characters were not as well-written or performed. John Lithgow was the best of the bunch as an Alzheimer patient struggling to keep his sanity. Tom Felton's American accent was alright, but was typecasting himself into douche-bag roles. Meanwhile, the homo sapiens behaved to serve the plot, including the obligatory patient-zero-refusing-to-admit-he-is-sicker-than-he-is scene.
In terms of keeping with the Planet of the Apes legacy, I thought it did a good job. There were some obvious shout outs that even a casual fan like me understood and enjoyed. The film definitely maintained its science-fiction cred and explored themes of humans versus primates, intelligence, and how does society treat citizens. Sadly, the "you damn dirty ape" line was horrifically executed, prompting some unintentional laughter from me.
I was definitely surprised by how successful the film makers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes were in making a serious, plausible, and thoughtful film. Obviously time will tell if ends up feeling campy or silly, but for the moment, I recommend it, mainly because of Ceasar's virtual performance and character.
What I would change
Nothing.
