…and the apes shall inherit the earth!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Certified: 12
Duration: 105 minutes
Directed by: Rupert Wyatt
Starring: James Franco, Freida Pinto, Andy Serkis, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Tyler Labine, David Hewlett, Jamie Harris
KRS release

Rise of the Planet of the Apes kicks off with a sequence of an ape being captured and taken to a laboratory to be used as a test specimen. The film then focuses on Will Rodman (James Franco), a genetic scientist at Gen-Sys who is on the verge of making a scientific breakthrough that could cure Alzheimer’s Disease. He has a personal stake in this since his father Charles (John Lithgow) is suffering from this condition.

He is egged on but kept under a tight leash by his boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) who is intent on deriving a profit from this new wonder drug. With the help of lab assistant Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine) the test serum is given to a series of chimpanzees with one of the chimps exhibiting incredible leaps of intelligence. But during a presentation the ape goes mad and has to be put down.

The same ape had given birth to a baby chimp in her cage. Will takes him home and gives him the name Caesar (Andy Serkis). Caesar has seemingly inherited his mother’s genes and shows great intelligence. After an incident Will meets veterinarian Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto) with whom he strikes up a relationship. Seeing his father’s condition worsening, he decides to inject him with his banned serum, which seems to work. At first, Charles seems cured of his illness but eventually the disease returns. At one point, Caesar ends up getting in a fight to “save” Charles and he is taken to an ape centre (detention centre) run by Jon Landon (Brain Cox). The apes here are tortured by John’s son Dodge (Tom Felton) and Caesar has a hard time adapting.

Meanwhile, Will starts developing a new drug, one that improves on his first creation while Caesar’s intelligence increases and he starts to change the way he looks at humans and life in general.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a very delicious surprise. When I heard that a movie inspired by the Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) was in the offing, I was not all that enthusiastic. The 2001 Tim Burton remake had been unsatisfying and interest in the franchise seemed to be dead in the water. Enter Weta Digital, Peter Jackson’s special effects company behind Lord of The Rings and King Kong, and my interest was stoked. With no real big stars the film opted for a strong plausible storyline, updating the story and the result is a spectacular and gripping film that demands to be seen on the big screen. Not only does the film revitalise the franchise but it takes it into directions that had not been previously explored. At the same time, it opens up for a totally new audience, made up of young people who have never seen any of the originals or even the Tim Burton movie.

Director Rupert Wyatt has two aces up his sleeve. First off, there are the special effects. This film sees the end of men in monkey suits and brings performance capture animation, the likes of which we have never seen before. This mix of acting and animation is incredible. Watching Andy Serkis – who also played the Gollum in Lord of the Rings – play Caesar is simply enthralling. Just do an internet search after you have seen the movie to see him in a bodysuit covered with blue dots and see how the effects were worked in. Academy Awards have always stayed away from this kind of performance but how can they ignore such a performance?

The second ace is the script which does take some dramatic licence – apes from the wild are not supposed to be used in animal testing and so on – but here it presents an entirely believable and plausible setting. Imbued with a sense of urgency as soon as the film ticks over the first part, the script includes homage like the classic line “Take your paws off me, you damn dirty ape!” but, most of all, goes for the jugular as it piles on the thrills.

The film climaxes in an escape sequence masterminded by Caesar that is simply spot on. The final sequence presents us with an image of a chimpanzee on horseback that will definitely be one of modern cinema’s powerful contributions to pop culture. Pure entertainment.