Introduction:
After Tim Burton crashed and
burned with his remake of Planet of the
Apes back in 2001, most of us thought the franchise died. Obviously the
studio didn’t think so. So we started to see trailers for yet another film
about Apes taking over the earth. But wait a second… are they actually starting
the story where the later films like Escape
from the Planet of the Apes were set? This could be interesting.
Summary:
Brilliant scientist Will
Rodman (James Franco… stop laughing!) is attempting to create a cure for
Alzheimer’s disease. His father Charles (John Lithgow) is afflicted and is
getting worse, so Will starts experimenting a bit wildly on chimpanzees. Things
end up going wrong, and he ends up on the outs from his company. But he does
manage a breakthrough with a chimp named Caesar (Andy Serkis).
Caesar begins learning at an
amazing rate, obtaining more cognition as well as human traits. The drug seems
to work on Charles too, reversing the affects of the disease. Everything is
going so well, so we know it can’t stay that way. Sure enough Caesar gets in
trouble and is forced into a facility for primates. He is treated brutally by
the John Landon (Brian Cox) and his son Dodge (Tom Felton). Meanwhile Charlie
relapses and Will decides to alter the experiment, giving his cure virus-like
qualities. These events set in motion the fate of the world, as Caesar takes a
stand and we witness the Rise of the
Planet of the Apes.
Good Points:
- Amazing visual effects bring the apes and especially Caesar to life
- Creates an interesting premise to lead us to a planet ruled by apes
- The build up to the great ape escape is filled with tension
Bad Points:
- James Franco is a super smart scientist… are you sure?
- Uses quotes to wink at the audience a few too many times
- Those looking for wall-to-wall ape action will be disappointed
Overall:
An admirable reboot (or is
it?) to the Planet of the Apes franchise.
The combination of Andy Serkis and amazing visual effects allows us to connect
with Caesar and his story. The film builds on itself until the tense finale
where things can go very badly. As the wheels are set in motion for a sequel,
you’ll find yourself eager to see where they take this story.
Scores
(out of 5)
Visuals: 5
Sound: 5
Acting: 4
Script: 4
Music: 4
Direction: 4
Entertainment: 4
Total: 4
Curious about a full review,
sent me an email and I’ll make additional thoughts to this review.
The Tim Burton “Planet of the Apes,” despite being technically impressive, is a lesser film than the 1968 original. By a lot. In the original series of films, sequel-itis set in at once: “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” indeed. So, I have been in no hurry to see the latest ape film. If it was a step down from Burton’s, there was not much reason to see it at all. Good to know it’s a step up.
ReplyDeleteYeah it was surprisingly good. A few minor things that bugged me, but the end result was a very engaging movie. And yeah, certainly a step up from the Burton film.
DeleteYes, I was pretty disappointed by Burton's remake--okay, it had a statue of an ape Lincoln near the end, so I guess that would be Aperham Lincoln--yes, bad Wayne's World pun. But aside from the effects, it didn't do too much for me, and I'm glad I wasn't the only one to see a freakish resemblance between Michael Jackson at the time and Burton's character, Ari, played by Helena Bonham Carter.
ReplyDeleteThe newer re-imagining or retcons (as is known in the comics world) breathes new life into the franchise. I'm looking forward to the next installment. I hope it is as good as the first. I wouldn't have thought it would have worked, but it turned into a novel idea.
Oh man, now I want to re-watch the Burton movie just to see Helena Michael Jackson Carter. :)
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