Movie Review: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is chimptastic!
My wife and I just finished seeing Rupert Wyatt’s RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Not only is this one of my favorite films of the summer, but the year. This is a movie that I am so glad I saw in theaters, and highly recommend it.This is a prime example of a script that takes you on a variety of emotions throughout the film. I experienced joy, sorrow, suspense and anger at various times during this prequel.
From the very beginning I was engrossed in the story to the point where I felt such strong empathy for the Apes. It was hard to watch the opening sequence where the apes are captured in the jungle and then transported to the lab for genetic testing. I loved the lifelike feel of the apes thanks to WETA’s unbelievable visual effects work. WETA is the best in the business for a reason, so much so that I believe that this film deserves recognition from the Academy come Oscar time.
Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar, is amazing at what he does with motion capture. It was so cool to check out WETA live feed where Serkis talked about the amount of research that went into the film to make the apes movements realistic. The fluidity is spot on and I could not tell where the real apes stopped and the motion-capture ones began. It is that seamless.
The human cast of James Franco and John Lithgow (his father in the film) were great together on screen. It was very touching to see their relationship and his characters motivation find a cure for Alzheimer’s. Freida Pinto was underutilized in this film, but it was nice to see her on screen. Tom Felton has had a lot of experience playing the evil character of Draco Malfoy in the HARRY POTTER franchise. He plays Dodge Landon, the son and evil caretaker of a primate facility in the film. If you liked him as Draco, you can’t help but enjoy him as another dark character.
The action sequences are high energy and have a nice pace to them. This is not a film packed full of action, but then again it is rare for an origin story like this to be. Do not worry, the scenes that are present are simply amazing and well worth the price of admission.
In conclusion:
Besure to see this film in theaters because it’s well worth the ticket price. You may want to bring some tissues or extra napkins with you because some of the scenes are so emotionally charged you can’t help but tear up. This movie is well on it’s way to being king of the box office this weekend.
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