According to scientists the closest species to humans are apes. They have opposable thumbs, and have the ability to comprehended things better than any other species. The film, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” reintroduces the concept of what would happen if apes have intelligence that far surpasses that of mankind. Similar to previous films such as, “Jumanji” the notion that humans and animals cannot coexist peacefully is reinforced throughout the film.
The film plays into the emotions of its viewers as it uses vivid pictures and fast paced action to keep the viewers attention engaged in the film. Ultimately, the film is intriguing as it gives the viewer a mix of action, suspense and emotional fulfillment. However, the film lacks cohesion, because it does not focus on one specific character making it very difficult to relate to the film on a personal level.
The film begins with a cliché, packs of chimpanzees are frolicking the jungle, when aggressive hunters appear out of the blue and capture a chimp. The chimp is sent off to a scientific lab in California called “GEN-SYS” where it is placed into a confined room and carefully observed. At this point is it unclear whether or not this high tech lab is a positive or negative environment for the chimps. It is not until Will Rodman, played by James Franco presents the success of the drug he injects into the chimps, that the viewer understands the correlation between the drug and the chimps. One chimp in particular, “Bright Eyes” is given the drug and as a result her brain function increases rapidly. However, when Bright Eyes makes an audacious arrival during the presentation, it leads the viewer to believe that wild animals are unpredictable and cannot be trusted. Similar to preceding movies such as “Jumanji,” when animals go wild they are a threat to mankind and as a result must be killed. This is true in the movie, as “Bright Eyes” sudden violence results in her death because she causes destruction in the lab. When in fact, “Bright Eyes” violence is attributed to her maternal instinct to find her child who is taken by the scientists.
Bright Eyes dies, but her son Caesar lives and is taken care of by Rodman. Ultimately, Rodman is delighted to see “Caesar” develop mentally because the gene was passed to him from his mother. Caesar is essentially growing up an ape in a human society. In some ways Caesar does conform; for example, he wears shirts and pants. However, as Caesar ages into his teen years he becomes more aggressive in his pursuit to find his identity.
While watching the movie, the connection between the drug and Rodman was unclear, because the movie is very objective. The viewer has to assume a lot of things. For instance, there is a scene where Rodman’s father is playing the piano horribly and tries to recall where he put his car keys. With this, the viewer has to assume Rodman’s father has Alzheimer’s disease. The movie has the potential to be more personal if the Director introduced the disease through Rodman’s point of view. It would have given the movie a more personal touch this way because he is the protagonist and the viewer wants to be able to connect with him.
Moreover, Frieda Pinto’s role as James Franco’s love interest was insignificant. She is introduced towards the middle of the film as the doctor who treats Caesar’s injury, and later becomes part of the “family.” Pinto has no genuine connection with Caesar; she never has a moment to connect alone with Caesar. Rather, the main connection is between Rodman and Caesar and she asks as a mediator when there is a misunderstanding. For instance, in one scene when Rodman goes to the Redwoods, Caesar holds out the palm of his hand and Pinto, or Caroline tells Rodman the meaning behind Caesar’s gesture. In a sense, Caroline does help bridge the gap of understanding between Rodman and Caesar; however, these scenes are small in number. Thus, Pinto’s role in the movie is too small and should have been eliminated. Rather the Director should have focused more on Rodman’s strong relationship with his father to emphasize the degree of his father’s condition.
The movie ends rather abruptly, with the diseased Pilot who is on his way to work. The emphasis on the travel destinations suggests that perhaps the disease will spread across the country. The source of the disease is from the science lab, the disease itself; however is not the main focus in the film. Nonetheless, the scene before this ties the movie quite nicely when Caesar tells Rodman that he feels at home with his fellow chimps. Reluctantly, Rodman agrees to let him go, which is a rather cliché ending. Rodman was essentially doing Caesar more harm than good. In reality Caesar is an experiment and the cost of the experiment was at Caesar’s expense. He has a hard time finding his true identity. Consequently, Caesar has to choose between joining the aggressive and wild chimps or the unaccepting human society. Ultimately, he chooses the chimps because they have a common understanding with one another.
Overall, the film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is an interesting film to watch because it encompasses action, suspense, comedy, and even a little romance. James Franco plays the role of Rodman very well; his devotion to Caesar is evidenced numerous times throughout the film. However, it is a shame that the film does not offer a more personal connection between Rodham and his father; otherwise the film could have been well rounded in terms of its genre.
