-Written by John Cajio.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a film that does not suck. Excellent direction, solid writing, and a terrific performance from Andy Serkis easily overcome the occasional but glaring deficiencies in visual effects and plot.
The film tells the startling ascension of Caesar (Andy Serkis), a young, brilliant chimpanzee from infant to leader of an ape uprising against humanity. Will Rodman (James Franco) is frantically trying to find a cure for Alzheimer’s because his father, Charles (John Lithgow), is deep in the throes of the devastating disease. After mistakenly thinking a chimpanzee’s rampage is due to a side effect of experimental viral drug ALZ-112, they learn the truth: the chimpanzee just gave birth to Caesar and she was merely trying to protect him. Will takes Caesar home with him, where the baby chimpanzee bonds immediately with Charles. The film takes off from there.
There is a lot to like about Rise of the Planet of the Apes and little to dislike. The story is written well by husband-and-wife duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. For the most part, it sticks to the rules it establishes, and so the film makes logical sense. There are a couple of glaring plot holes that stretch credulity, however, and which detract momentarily from the experience before you get sucked back in.
Rupert Wyatt’s direction is excellent. Every scene was clearly planned and plotted out with clear precision. He extracts good performances from all of the actors. Brian Cox, in particular, stands out as the smarmy director of an ape shelter. The true star is Serkis, though, as the performance capture artist for Caesar. Just as he did with the character Gollum in Peter Jackson’s rendition of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Serkis again pushes the boundaries of what performance capture is capable of, in conjunction with the excellent folks at Weta Digital. Caesar feels alive because Serkis inhabits Caesar and truly transforms into him.
The other technical components work strongly together. Andrew Lesnie’s cinematography is simultaneously gorgeous and simplistically effective. In one scene, we have sweeping wide shots of the Golden Gate Bridge or the north California redwoods that are breathtaking. In another, Lesnie and Wyatt focus the camera very briefly on a certificate on the wall, in order to silently tell us that Charles was a beloved music teacher before being stricken with Alzheimer’s. Then the camera pans to the left and pushes in to reveal Charles sitting at the piano attempting, and failing, to remember Claude Debussy’s famous “Clair de Lune” to drive home the calamity of his disease. These camera movements are repeated in a similar fashion later on to great positive effect.
Weta Digital had their work cut out for them with this film, with almost every ape seen on screen being digitized in some way. In some cases, multiple actors donned the performance capture suit with Andy Serkis to capture the movements of the apes. In scenes with large numbers of apes on screen, most of the apes were entirely digital. For the most part, it works and it works absolutely fantastically. But on the rare occasion it doesn’t work, it is distractingly bad.
Patrick Doyle’s music score is effective, even if it is often subdued. It never gets in the way of the drama and the action, but quietly helps lift it. Occasionally, Doyle lets the orchestra off its leash for some magnificent moments.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes represents a fantastic reboot to a longstanding series of films that is worthy of your time.
Directed by Rupert Wyatt.
Written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver
Starring Andy Serkis, James Franco, John Lithgow, Frieda Pinto, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, and David Oyelowo.
8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
