Movies that explore the relationship between both man and animal certainly probe ones thoughts. What would happen to the human race is animals once thought to be inferior, acquire immense intelligence and surpass us both intellectually and physically? The film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, was particularly thrilling and invigorating, and was made as a prequel to the 1960’s-70’s fan-favorite “Planet of the Apes”. The film was met with positive reviews, and for good reason. The script wasn’t short of humor nor did it lack enticing action sequences. The New York Times called it “an amusingly cheerful film about the end of humanity that’s PETA and critic approved.”
The first Planet of the Apes explored a world where primates ruled and were intellectually and physically superior to human beings. The film’s story takes place in a present time that seems much like our own. As a prequel to the original, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, depicts how the world fell under primate rule. Wyatt’s interpretation provided great insight into how the primates came to rule and how their leader, a chimpanzee name Caesar, came to become the head of the tribe.
The story follows Will Rodman, played by James Franco, a lovable, serious, and sympathetic scientist that effectively turns into the modern day Dr. Frankenstein. He bustles through his day without much fuss, making science look like good fun. However, it is revealed that Dr. Rodman is currently in the process of testing a new gene-therapy experiment on chimps in an effort to cure Alzheimer’s. The most successful chimp, a female dubbed “Green Eyes”, goes on a rampage while Rodman is presenting his cure to the Board of Directors and interrupts the meeting. The animal is shot and killed on sight, and after seeing the effects of the gene therapy, Rodman’s experiment is shut down. Upon further investigation, the chimp handler discovers a baby chimp in “Green Eye’s” cage and figures that the chimp acted so violently because it was trying to protect is child. Rodman decides to take the child home and call it his own. The chimp is introduced to Rodman’s father, an Alzheimer’s patient, who quickly baptizes him as Caesar. Caesar grows quickly, fast becoming a lively, curious, very smart young thing.
Then begins the playful stretch of the film. Caesar is show swinging and jumping around his room, i.e. the attic, becoming more intelligent each and every day. Time passes, Caesar continues to grow stronger and smarter, Will finds a new love, and his father’s Alzheimer’s grows worse. In an act of epic hubris, Will decides to play the role of God and test his cure on his father. The plot thickens as Caesar increasingly feels alienated from his human “relatives” when he is taken away to live at a home for primates. Feeling alone and angry, Caesar organizes and puts into action his ingenious plan.
Despite its awkward title (it really is a mouthful to say), “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is engineered to entertain and does a great job of that. The movie is generally easygoing, including the inevitable climax and the human and digitally assisted performances. Among the computer generated “actors” is Caesar, portrayed by Any Serkis, who also brought to life “The Lord of the Rings” Gollum. When Caesar scowls, which he frequently does, you don’t only see digital wizardry at its best; you see an angry, thinking character. The film is largely upbeat, easy to understand, and finished off with great acting. As R.E.M. so brilliantly put it, “It’s the end of the world as we know it” and the chimps are feeling fine.
