To be honest, I was kind of disappointed in Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes. Despite the fact that the effects work wasn’t bad, and Charlton Heston made a nifty cameo in a reverse role of sorts (compared to who he played in the original Apes), the movie just didn’t have the same kind of emotional heft as the first one, and I was left scratching my head at some points over what occurred in it. Now with the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I found myself in a bit of a quandary. Visions of that Apes remake from ten years ago popped into my head, and I wasn’t entirely convinced that James Franco, so good in comedies like Your Highness and Pineapple Express, could really pull it off. But some friends convinced me that it was worth taking a gamble on and, at the very least, it would be decent summer escapism for a couple of hours. But consider me floored. Where Planet of the Apes simply stuck by Hollywood conventions and failed to astonish, Rise of the Planet of the Apes does the opposite.
Here’s a movie that doesn’t just generate unusual excitement, but also has brisk direction, solid CG work, and the kind of build-up that, for once, actually has you cheering on the apes, rather than the humans they combat against. These guys have a reason for fighting, compared to apes being, well, simply poo-flingers. In the film, Franco plays Will Rodman, a man who’s testing out theories at a company called Gen-Sis. He’s looking to find a virus that counters the effects of Altzheimer’s Disease, and he manages to have a testing process that involves young apes. After things slightly get in the way (mainly in a board that doesn’t have the same level of faith as he does), he eventually forms a relationship with Caesar, a young primate who he appears to bond with, despite the fact that he’s still testing the drug. However, the effects change Caesar in a way, forcing Gen-sis to act and make Wii test even stronger doses on other apes. And…you can see where the downfall is coming from here.
Caesar begins to process dynamic thinking, developing hatred for certain humans (they’re only savage against those who deserve it, it seems), which results in him leading a rebellion of sorts. He works with other apes in a leadership role, and they soon escape the facility, culminating in a huge battle between humans and apes on the Golden Gate Bridge – one that isn’t nearly as lopsided as you might think. Credit should definitely be due in a number of ways here. 20th Century Fox could’ve easily taken the short route and made just another crappy Apes film, but instead this one actually contains some grand compassion (and anger), along with a few shocking moments to remind you that these primates mean business. Kudos to the writing team of Pierre Boulle, Rick Jaffe and Amanda Silver for not taking the film into schlock territory – even if the final scene with Caesar slightly leans that way. Nah, it skips that route, which we’re thankful for.
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