I’ve complained a lot about the amount of unoriginal story concepts that permeate the movie market. This is mostly a minor annoyance, as I believe there is a vast amount of undiscovered territory to be mined from a vast resource of talented writers. The risks in tapping this resource, at least in the minds of studios, often outweigh the rewards. For that reason, we’re treated to a barrage of films based off of or building on previously successful franchises. This, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. Marvel has been knocking it out of the park with their films, and DC has been providing some pretty great stuff as well. With the ending of Comic-con, the public was hit with a wave of movie-based information, including the announcement of a number of sequels! In 2014, we get to return to the Planet of the Apes series, so today I’m going to take a look at where the Apes mythos timeline begins, 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
James Franco plays scientist Will Rodman, whose works to create a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which his own father is fighting. During the course of this research, a promising drug, which in reality is a virus, is created that vastly improves the brain activity of those it is administered to. One particular ape is given this drug and the intelligent traits it creates within the subject are passed down to her offspring, in this case a son who becomes the center of the film. Caesar, is a chimpanzee who develops an incredible level of intelligence, so much so that it becomes clear that he neither fits into the category of a pet, but will never willfully be given the status of anything more. The groundwork is laid in this film to bring about what the majority of Apes fans know will happen.
My skepticism when this film came out was not unfounded. Tim Burton attempted to reboot this franchise years ago, to detrimental results. It’s not an easy storyline to make profitable, or so it seemed. Sure back in the day Charleton Heston’s booming voice and iconic lines made it a lucrative series, but as movies progressed it became less viable. Rise managed to bring the mythos back into the light with a blend of interesting storytelling, dedicated performances from it’s talented cast and fantastic motion capture performances. While the last reboot had a similar story to the original, it failed to adequately explain just how the apes managed to become the masters of humanity. In this prequel, the apes aren’t the masters, not yet anyway. This is their rise, their initial revolution to break away from humanity. “Animal Movies” tend to tug at the collective heartstrings of the movie going audience, and this is no exception. However, I am amazed at the level of empathy I developed with these apes, who are essentially just CGI characters that (hardly) speak.
The empathy is generated both naturally from the story itself, however the performances given by those in the motion capture suits is absolutely top notch. Andy Serkis, proved his skill in the motion capture world by playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and today is the undisputed best at the art form. He infuses the spirit of an actor into the animated characters he portrays. His performance here is no different. He becomes Caesar. As you watch this movie, you aren’t watching a CG ape, or Andy Serkis in a funny suit, you’re watching Caesar struggle for freedom and a place in the world. Which is precisely what you’re supposed to see.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes manages to provoke enough emotion into it’s non human characters for it to be a somber but exciting tale of revolution. The title is so appropriate to this film, as it delves deep into the mythos of the series, showing just how the uprising began, and how much of it was humanities fault. It’s a cautionary science tale in which the humans overstep their bounds and pay dearly for it. They’ve created not just a smarter species of apes, but a new sentient class that would never be accepted. Due to this, the apes are forced into a position to revolt, to rise. The result is an engrossing film that offers far more thought and intrigue than a movie following a group of rebellious apes should be.
Popcorn and Peril 