Rated
PG-13 (Violence, Terror, some Sexuality and Brief Strong Language)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 45 Minutes
Cast-
Andy
Serkis-Caesar
James
Franco-Will Rodman
John
Lithgow-Charles Rodman
Freida
Pinto-Caroline Aranha
Brian
Cox-John Landon
Tom
Felton-Dodge Landon
David
Oyelowo-Steven Jacobs
Tyler
Labine-Robert Franklin
Directed
by Rupert Wyatt
 |
| Rise, Caesar. |
When
French author Pierre Boulle finished writing his novel “Planet of the Apes” in
1963, no one knew that it would become one of the most recognizable and popular
film franchises in modern cinema. The original 1968 film starring Charlton
Heston is a science fiction masterpiece, a critical and commercial success that
spawned four sequels but while they never quite recaptured what made the first
one so special, it at least maintained a consistent quality despite the
production budget being slashed with each successive installment. By 1973,
audiences had grown tired of the series and the fifth film was advertised as
the last entry. However, 20th Century Fox wasn’t quite ready to give up on
“Planet of the Apes” just yet and remade the original in 2001 with Tim Burton
at the helm. While it was a financial success, reception from critics and fans
were mixed and the promise of a sequel never materialized. Now, the studio is
trying again with the reboot “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” in the hopes that
it will breathe new life in the franchise. I was initially very skeptical when the film was announced and feared that it would
drag a once-venerable series through the mud by having all the apes rendered in
CG through motion capture. How wrong I was as “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” exceeded
all of my expectations not just with the artistry and the facial animation of
its motion capture technology but the amount of emotional depth being conveyed
for what is essentially a computer construct made up of nothing but pixels.
While its story doesn’t do anything wholly original, the film is made memorable
thanks to Andy Serkis’ brilliant mo-cap performance.
Will Rodman (James Franco)
is a scientist working at a large pharmaceutical company in San Francisco named GEN-SYS, who is developing a cure for Alzheimer's disease which his father,
Charles (John Lithgow), suffers from. The cure, a genetically engineered
retrovirus dubbed ALZ-112, is tested on a chimpanzee nicknamed ‘Bright Eyes’
who quickly begins developing increased intelligence. Impressed by these
results, Will’s superior, Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo), allows him to present
his proposal for human trials at the next board meeting. The next day, while
Will presents his findings, Bright Eyes turns hostile and goes on a rampage,
disrupting the meeting and forcing security guards to put her down. An angry Jacobs
orders all the chimps to be put down but Will later discovers that Bright Eyes
was only protecting her newborn baby, whom she thought was being threatened.
The chimp handler, Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine), cannot bring himself to kill
the baby and instead gives him to Will, who takes him home and names him Caesar
(Andy Serkis). Amazingly, Caesar has inherited his mother’s high intelligence
and learns quickly, even communicating with sign language. Will decides to test
the ALZ-112 on his father and he is miraculously cured but begins to regress
five years later as his immune system begins attacking the retrovirus. Charles,
in his dementia, mistakes the neighbor’s car for his own and damages it,
angering the neighbor. Caesar sees him being pushed down by the neighbor and
attacks him. After the incident, Caesar is taken by animal control and forced
to reside at a primate facility run by John Landon (Brian Cox). Will promises
that he will do everything he can to get him out but Caesar begins to lose hope
as he is treated cruelly by the other apes and John’s son, Dodge (Tom Felton).
Left with no choice, Caesar begins to plot an escape to free his brethren,
sparking a revolution that will change the course of Earth’s future.
One of the
reasons the original “Planet of the Apes” remains so well-regarded was that it cleverly
reversed the roles of man and ape with the latter becoming the dominant
intelligent species on the planet. The series was also famous for its timely
social commentary and while it was never subtle, it added a nice layer of depth
to the proceedings. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is less a reboot and more
a remake of the fourth film, 1972’s “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes,” but
the original series always suffered from inconsistencies and noticeable logic
gaps, something that is resolved in the new film. An irresponsible scientist
with noble intentions accidentally unleashing something dangerous upon humanity
isn’t exactly inspired material but it’s really a means to an end, a
springboard for the film’s main theme. At one point, Caesar questions Will
about whether he sees him as a pet or an equal and it’s a veiled way of
addressing people’s perception of others based on pre-conceived notions or
simply appearance. Since he is looked upon as nothing more than an animal, he
is not bound by the same rules that govern humans and will be put down if he
proves to be a danger to others, regardless of how intelligence he is. As
Caesar rapidly develops, he begins to resent being kept on a leash and views
this bondage as something akin to slavery. This belief is reinforced when he
finds himself locked in a cage all day with his brethren at the primate
facility and abused by Dodge for his amusement. When Caesar finally does throw
down his shackles, its representative of a slave standing up to his master, and
he feels he has no choice but to use violence in order to obtain freedom. I
appreciated the irony in having Caesar show mercy to his enemies, forbidding
his ape comrades from killing humans during their escape but the humans have no
qualms about killing them.
Fans of the “Planet of the Apes” franchise will
enjoy the various references to the original series but it also makes this film
rather predictable. We know what will happen because we’ve seen it all before.
Plot strands are set up for future sequels, such as the global pandemic that
will eventually push humanity to the brink of extinction and the space shuttle Icarus being lost in space is also
glimpsed. However, what will stay with most audiences is the stunning motion
capture performance of Caesar by Andy Serkis. Unlike the previous films which
utilized traditional makeup techniques, the apes are all rendered in CG
courtesy of Weta Digital, the visual effects company behind “The Lord of the
Rings” trilogy and “Avatar.” The apes themselves look stunningly real, every
individual strand of fur realized and is virtually indistinguishable from the
real thing but Serkis is the one who shines. He isn’t limited to providing
physical movements but also expressing emotion in a character who cannot
communicate beyond sign language or grunting. Every facial movement, big and
small, is painstakingly captured. When Will is forced to leave Caesar at the
primate facility, Caesar gets angry and frustrated at being left behind and
honestly, I felt tears well up because Serkis does such an amazing job that transcends from being a mere visual effect to
becoming the emotional heart of the film. For a CG character to elicit such a
reaction from me is a credit to both the actor and Weta Digital. Only “Avatar”
managed to strike such a chord. This kind of technology is a lot more useful
compared to 3D, which is quickly being driven to the ground with lazy
post-conversions.
As for the human cast,
they certainly pale in comparison to the apes yet James Franco manages a decent
performance considering the fact that he has to work with an actor wearing
nothing but a sensor suit. As the main antagonists, David Oyelowo and Tom
Felton come off as cartoonishly over-the-top and some of the dialogue they
recite isn’t all that well-written. Brian Cox and Freida Pinto are underused
and are extraneous at best. John Lithgow is fine and captures the debilitating
effects of Alzheimer’s really well. Ultimately, they play second fiddle to
Serkis and the CG apes. While the “Planet of the Apes” franchise contained
action, it was generally low-key and look awkwardly paced to modern audiences. The
film is largely driven by dialogue compared to most summer blockbusters but the
climatic face-off between Caesar’s apes and the human forces is thrilling to
watch.
Released on August 5, 2011, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” has
received positive reviews with 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics wrote that the
film ‘breathes unlikely new life into a long-running franchise’ thanks to ‘Rupert
Wyatt's stylish direction, some impressive special effects, and a mesmerizing
performance by Andy Serkis.’ Earning $91 million at the worldwide box office so
far, it should have no problem recouping its $93 million production budget and
making a nice tidy profit to allow for a sequel in the near future. Although
its plot is a run-of-the-mill cautionary tale of science run amok, “Rise of the
Planet of the Apes” makes up for it with a surprising amount of emotional depth
and seamless use of visual effects, serving as a reminder of how much it can
improve a film when utilized properly and an example of what a reboot should
be.
Final
Rating: 4 out of 5
“You're
trying to control things that are not meant to be controlled.”
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