Review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) by Stephen Z — 24 Mar 2015

With any franchise, rebooting is always dangerous because you risk betraying what the original films did. So I'm glad that with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", Rupert Wyatt chose to refresh the classic franchise, rather than reboot it. This allows them to tell a story that I'm sure many people were interested in knowing. We've seen what the Planet of the Apes is like, but how did the Planet of the Apes come to be?

As such, "RotPotA" is a plot-heavy film. It is primarily a film about the transformation of the chimpanzee Caesar, so it comes as no surprise that there is some really great character development in this film. I don't know if it was intentional, but I found it interesting how much this film parallels the original "Planet of the Apes". The story arc of the monkey Caesar is very similar to the story arc of Charlton Heston's human character in the original. Regardless, this is a film that is all about plot and characters, leaving almost no time for action until it reaches an exciting climax.

But the best part of "RotPotA" is its remarkable visual effects. The motion-capture apes in this film look absolutely incredible. The facial expressions are particularly praiseworthy. They are so powerfully expressive that they humanize Caesar and you can't help but root for him, even though he will cause the downfall of humanity. Unfortunately, the rest of the visual effects in "RotPotA" are less than impressive.

The human characters' performances are also less than impressive. It's pretty sad that the CG monkeys can convey more emotion than actual actors. James Franco gives an ok performance, but he is not leading-man material. Andy Serkis, on the other hand, gives his best motion-capture performance yet.

While some people may believe that a new, rebooted Planet of the Apes film cannot honor the original film, this film can and does. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" takes great care to respect what the original did, while still creating something new. But if there is one reason to see the film, it is the triumph of its visual effects and motion-capture work.