In 2001, when the remake to The Planet of the Apes made it to the big screen, I thought it was going to be great. Man, did I turn out to be wrong. Because I didn’t watch it on the big screen, I chose to pick up the DVD when it came out. I was fine with everything until about halfway through the movie. From that point on, Planet of the Apes was a major disappointment and snooze fest to say the least. For some God forsaken reason, I still have the DVD though I haven’t opened it since that day about a decade or so ago.
Sometime in June is when I first seen the trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I was so turned off by the first remake that before I clicked play on youtube, I already had a bad taste in my mouth. I wasn’t about to give it the time of day. Honestly, the only reason why I chose to watch it was because the summer movie season was winding down, I knew there weren’t going to be many more movies that I wanted to see coming out so I thought, “What the hell.” To my dismay, the trailer completely blew me away. First of all, I loved the fact that they didn’t remake the remake. Secondly, the apes all looked real. And third, though I can’t really explain it, the trailer possessed something that kept me intrigued; so much so that even after several dozen views, I was still anxious to see this movie. Boy, let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint one bit.
The storyline of Rise of the Planet of the Apes for the most part isn’t something we’ve never seen or heard about but the way they told the story and added their own little quirks made the movie stand out and kept it fresh. There weren’t many twists or turns or major subplots that made the movie something it wasn’t meant to be, they stayed on track and kept the essence of the first two movies but modernized it instead of creating an actual planet of apes. It was brilliant. I was very surprised at the range of emotions the apes had. There were a lot of moments throughout the movie where you’re so captivated by the apes that you don’t realize their “animals” until they start getting abused by us modern day men. This in turn gives the audience a chance to see what we as a society have become; selfish and greedy people willing to do whatever it takes, even harming another being to make a buck. The twist in Rise though is that because these “animals” are now educated, they are able to defend themselves which is what really makes Rise awesome.
The beginning of the movie gives great insight to who everyone is and gives you a broad description to who they are. James Franco is the lead actor and I thought he did an awesome job. There’s something about the way he uses his eyes when performing. You can tell just about each and every emotion that he has just by simply looking at his eyes; very commendable. I loved that John Lithgow was in this movie. It’s been forever since I last seen him on the screen. He did a marvelous job as the father of James Franco’s character. It was so good to see him back on the big screen. The one character I was a bit apprehensive about was James Franco’s love interest. I can’t think of her name but she’s the girl from Slumdog Millionaire. I thought she did a great job but I didn’t see her as the leading lady. Another actor that I really liked in this movie was Brian Cox. Normally, I hate just about every character that he plays; from the crooked CIA agent in The Bourne Supremacy to his douchebag of a character in Troy. In Rise, he was just an ordinary guy. It was a nice change. As good of a job as they did, the undeniable stars of the film were the apes. Animatronic, costume, CGI, or actual apes, each and every one of them had their own personality. They made the movie, and they made it a beautiful one. Cesar, the main ape was played beautifully by the same guy that plays Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Cesar was extremely believable as an intelligent primate. There were even times in the movie that he outsmarted the audience; very impressive.
From beginning to end, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is great. On a weekly basis, we were going to the movies and catching each and every blockbuster. Each of those movies was good in their own right. With Rise, I truly feel that this was the best of the summer, bar none. Other than the fact that I’d hate to see someone or something getting hurt and harmed, I’d be able to watch this movie over and over and over. This movie encompasses so many emotions and feelings you can’t help but to become teary eyed. Some people may disagree with me about Rise’ greatness, but I haven’t heard one bad thing yet about this movie. I’m sure if you watch it, odds are you won’t have anything bad to say either.
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