I might not be one of the best people to ask about this film. Mostly because I am one of the BIGGEST PLANET OF THE APES FAN EVAH!!!!! At the same time though, I will admit that the 2001 reboot was a great disappointment and made little to no sense. Due to the failures of the 2001 reboot, I was worried what this new reboot could mean for the franchise. Let’s review Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
The Negative
The biggest problem this film is facing is the humans. This film isn’t really supposed to be about them, because of this we find ourselves not really caring about the human characters at all. Most of them act incredibly flat without any emotions being displayed. I can see why the humans devolve into the cave people in the original film, because these people don’t react at all. I like James Franco, but this was one of his personnel worst performances. ‘Oh, my smart monkey that I raised like a son is now taking over the planet with an army of apes, but it’s all good because he is free now and it’s important for me to let go and let my son live his life.’ I would have a much stronger reaction to this moment then go be free, enslave every human in your path.
The only person who had any kind of emotional reaction in this movie was the neighbor (maybe Tom Felton but I didn’t really care about his character either). This neighbor is one of the greatest dicks I have ever seen in film. I can forgive him for trying to protect his daughters from a loose ape, but being outraged at a man who was well known for suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and who was clearly having a relapse at that moment came off as both bizarre and silly. It just absolutely astounded me how dickish this guy was acting to a frail old man who was clearly suffering from a mental ailment. This moment completely took me out of the movie for a moment. I get that the movie was trying to have villains but this was very over the top. When the neighbor shows up again, Dr. Franklin was trying to get into James Franco’s house in order to talk to him about the disturbing side effects of the virus. Dr. Franklin is just casually going around Franco’s house doing normal stuff such as knocking on the door, shouting, looking in windows, when suddenly the neighbor grabs him by the collar, pushes him against the wall and demands to know what he is doing there. What the hell? He was trying to get someone’s attention at Franco’s house and he shoves him into a wall? This guy was way too over the top and it felt really unrealistic.
My final complaint is Caesar’s voice. Caesar only talks twice in this movie but the voice they used really stands out. We have been closely following Caesar throughout this entire movie; he is represented as a little guy who becomes repressed, and starts a revolution in order to get his freedom back. The voice they use can be comparable to the Hulk. It is incredibly deep and a bit scary. It severely doesn’t match up with the little guy we have been following up to this point and it just comes off as weird.
The Positive
I loved this film. This was a Planet of the Apes film. For me the movie doesn’t really start until 2 thirds of the way in when Caesar first ends up at the zoo. That isn’t to say I didn’t like the first 2 thirds of the film, it’s the origin story and it does an amazing job of establishing the character and how he came to be, but this is when the movie becomes really interesting. We get to see Caesar’s fall from grace and his methodically planned rise up into power. The movie suddenly becomes a prison film. Caesar must understand how life works within the cell. Who is on top, who is his friend, who can help him in the long run, and how best to conduct his business, all of which became important lessons for Caesar. I suddenly found myself incredible invested in the ape characters (all of which didn’t talk, save for Caesar and Maurice who could sign). These characters had much stronger personalities than their human counterparts and I actually found myself cheering for them when they were attacking the humans. For only being in the film in the final third, I found them instantly more likable than any of the human characters. This provided an amazing final act for the film and I loved every second of it.
This film didn’t go the full mile and show the world in total control of the apes; instead it showed the absolutely first battle of this war. I was disappointed at first that the film wasn’t going to show the full progression and ultimate takeover of the planet of the apes, but then I realized that this was absolutely where the film needed to end. This was by all means the perfect origin story for the planet of the apes. It showed the beginning of Caesar and the rising up of his army. I can honestly say I hope they make more because I would definitely like to see the return of The Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.
In Conclusion
This film truly was a masterpiece and should be considered one of the best films within the Planet of the Apes film series. This film has renewed my interest in this franchise and has made me want more. The only thing that was missing from this film was Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall. 4.5 out of 5
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