Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

82% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 247 reviews)

Runtime: 105 minutes

Directed by: Rupert Wyatt

Starring: James Franco, Freida Pinto, Andy Serkis, Brian Cox, John Lithgow

From: 20th Century Fox

To clarify, earlier in the day I posted another review, so you can scroll down to see that. Tomorrow afternoon I'll post a review to this movie's sequel; I saw them back to back on the big screen. I can tell you that Dawn is well worth seeing and it's among my favorites of the year. First, the plot description then my review, both taken from Letterboxd.

"Scientist Will Rodman is determined to find a cure for Alzheimer's, the disease which has slowly consumed his father Charles. Will feels certain he is close to a breakthrough and tests his latest serum on apes, noticing dramatic increases in intelligence and brain activity in the primate subjects... Especially Caesar, his pet chimpanzee." True. But of course things go horrifically wrong, especially with what happens during the end credits.

Would you believe that last night was the first time I had ever seen this movie? It's true. Despite hearing praise for it online and from people I deemed to be reliable, I put off seeing it all those years. At least I got to see this on the big screen with Dawn in a double bill that various theatres throughout the country did. As I probably should have seen it on the big screen back in '11, at least I was able to rectify the mistake.

While there were some moments that made me go “Hey, wait a minute...” overall it's a pretty effective and entertaining film with some nice action scenes and most importantly, not only an engrossing story involving someone trying to use medical science to try and-among other things-cure his father's Alzheimer's (a struggle I am sure many of us has experienced; my late grandfather developed it in the last few years of his life and boy is it a heartbreaking experience, something the movie did express) but also a story involving various primates and you actually have sympathy for the simian creatures, especially Caesar; Andy Serkis did a great job with that character. The special effects also look nice and that certainly helps make you believe this tale.

It's just a fun movie to watch that doesn't overstay its welcome with the story it was telling; as I discovered when I then saw Dawn (which I'll post a review and rating to a little later), it set up the sequels very well. What a sh*theel A-hole character Draco Malfoy plays, by the way. You know he'll get his well-deserved comeuppance and when it finally happens and in a glorious way... it's tremendous.