Review Tuesday: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

I was a small child when the original Planet of the Apes movies came out. I have very little memory of those movies, but I know that when the remake from a couple years ago starring Marky Mark came out, I absolutely refused to see it. Something wasn't right about the vibe. However, when I recently saw a trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I suddenly felt inspired to see this movie.

A scientist, Will Rodman (James Franco) working for a pharmaceutical company is working desperately to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, less so for the company and more so for his father, Charles (John Lithgow) who is fading fast from the disease. The rest of the movie stands as a warning about drug testing, toying with nature, and the accidental damage that good intentions can create.

I walked in with very low expectations. It's Planet of the Apes. Will it really be provocative? Indeed, it IS! It's riveting. It pulls you in. The bulk of the movie is from the perspective of Caesar, the lone survivor of the original test. You get to see him grow in age, size, and intelligence. The perspective was almost haunting. You get a guided tour of Caesar's life while his and Will's lives start to crumble some 7 years later.

The original Planet of the Apes movies dealt with the major crisis of the time: The Cold War. War breaks out, we destroy ourselves and our planet, and the Apes inherit the Earth. This time around, Will Rodman plays around with the brain and viruses, and unwittingly unleashes a plague on mankind that, we assume, will decimate the human population of the planet while making the apes smarter. It's a brilliant plan to make this Planet of the Apes vehicle roll! Now, the dire warning about disease is topical today and plays well with the story, it's only really introduced in the final moments of the movie. The bulk of the flick is developing the character of Caesar, and his climb to lead smarter apes to freedom.

I'll call this movie brilliant and the ending is wide open for a sequel, though I'm not sure that it needs one. It also makes clever references to the original movies, so pay attention! Oh! And co-star Caroline Aranha (Frieda Pinto) is smoking HOT in the movie!

Definitely worth watching! Be sure to catch it sooner than later! Movies vanish all too quickly these days.

More on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318514/