|
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
| Released |
11 August 2011 |
| Director |
Rupert Wyatt |
Starring
|
James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Tyler Labine, Jamie Harris |
| Writer(s) |
Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver |
Producer(s)
|
Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
106 minutes |
| Genre |
Action, drama, sci-fi |
| Rating |
12A |
|
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Highly evolved.
The Planet of the Apes is an unlikely candidate for rebooting. It’s a good concept, sure, but also quite a tricky one to pull off. Tim Burton demonstrated this in 2001 when his take on the story collapsed under the weight of its own prosthetics. Handing over the reins for another reboot to the relatively unproven director Rupert Wyatt seems a risky move; but through some impressive effects and an inspired overhaul of the story, the apes have indeed risen again.
The story begins in a pharmaceutical facility where Will Rodman (James Franco) is working on a cure for Alzheimers (a disease that is taking its toll on his own father, played sensitively by John Lithgow). Using a new drug on ape subjects soon yields spectacular results to the point where they begin to communicate and solve problems. Unfortunately, when one of the apes attacks facility staff during an important meeting, the project is shut down and the test subjects are killed- all except one, a baby chimp. Will takes the chimp home and soon notices his hugely elevated intelligence. This is Caesar, the ape who will grow up to resent his treatment at the hand of humans and who will eventually lead his kind to revolution.
So, the important question; how are the apes? Well, this is the first time that computer effects have taken the place of make-up and prosthetics and the results vary. The young Caesar is a little difficult to believe in as flesh and blood. As he swings around the house, there is something just a little too fluid, too light about his movements. Later though, things significantly improve and the motion capture used for the adult apes works extremely well, making it possible for simian impersonator extraordinaire Andy Serkis to convincingly show emotion as Caesar. It’s impossible not to root for these apes- the humans here deserve everything that’s coming to them.
If I had one qualm it would be that the film feels a little unbalanced. Starting slowly, it takes its time to set out the origins of the ape revolution before finally kicking into action in an all too brief finale. Both aspects work very well but the action sequence on the Golden Gate Bridge was so well done that I felt slightly short changed by its brevity. All in all though, this is a thoughtful and entertaining re-imagining of the series and whets the appetite for another instalment.
- Linda O’Brien |
