RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Movie Review

Where to begin? Do I start off with the fact that this was my most anticipated movie of the year or with the fact that I am a HUGE fan of the 'Planet of the Apes' saga? I own all the movies, the t.v. series (non-animated and animated) and a few little gadgets here and there. I remember watching the series with my uncle when I was younger when it came on t.v.after Star Trek. Guess I thought it was cool to see talking apes that looked almost human. In any case I wasn't sure what to expect when I sat down to watch it. I actually told myself to keep an open mind and to try and just sit back and enjoy the film. There were so many thoughts running through my head like "Was this going to be a prequel?", "Is it loosely tied to the originals or are they just ripping off the franchise?" and even "Are any of the original cast going to make a cameo?" Good news is enjoyed the movie a great deal but am on the fence as to whether or not they needed to tie the whole movie in with the Planet Of The Apes series. It could have been a movie on its own separate from the franchise but either way it was great.

Actor James Franco has been making a bit of a name for himself lately. With his character Franco in the soap General Hospital, his co-hosting the Oscars with Anne Hathaway earlier this year and his roles in most recent films 127 hours, The Green Hornet and Your Highness, the former Freaks and Geeks star is on his way up in Hollywood. He did a great performance in the movie however it was Andy Serkis role/CGI character Ceasar that truly stole the show. Before watching the movie I had heard on Electronic Playground that the movie's beloved apes where all done with CGI and no live animals were used. Interesting enough I thought the CGI was done very well and Andy's role was very captivating. The visual effects company bringing his character to life was WETA Digital which is the same company used for the film Avatar (just a little side note for you all!). John Lithgow also stars in this movie as Franco's character Will Rodman's father Charles. What can I say about his acting? He's flawless.

Will Rodman is a scientist that comes close to finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease that he hopes will cure his father. Something goes wrong at his workplace with one of the test subjects and the whole project gets closed down. With the knowledge and left over viles of formula Rodman makes some rash decisions of his own. He takes home a baby chimp and starts testing it with the formula, happy with what he discovers he decides to test it on his father. From here the story develops into the rise of the apes. I could tell you what happens from this point on but that would just take away from the element of surprise and interest in the movie as a whole.

If you are as big of a fan of the franchise as I am you should easily spot quite a few references to the older films. Here I will just name a few. There is a version of the spaceship from the 1968 Planet of the Apes featured under the name Icarus in the film. One of the main characters Dodge Landon is a combination of the names of the two astronauts in the original. The nick name "Bright Eyes" was also used in the original. Charlton Heston is seen on a t.v. set in the ape holding area. Two famous lines from the original series are also included in this film, "It's a madhouse! A madhouse!" and "Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape!" Needless to say that one liner made me smile. If you pay close attention you too should be able to pick out quite a few play on names and references throughout the film.

To sum it all up, the movie was awesome! I can't complain about anything really. After the previous failed attempt to recapture interest in the franchise with Tim Burton's rendition of the original one could only have imagined how successful this film would be. A big thank you to Rupert Wyatt, Pierre Boulle, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver for reviving one of my favorite movie franchises of all time "Planet of the Apes". As much as I hope they don't touch it anymore and leave it on a good note I would still go out to watch a sequel if it's the same team of writers. This $93 million dollar budget movie is well worth the watch!

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