August 12, 2011

• Rise of the Planet of the Apes

  Ugh, I still can't over how overly long that title is.  They'd have been better off calling it, "Rise of the Apes," though that one doesn't hint a connection to any of the previous movies at all, which is probably what they weren't going for.  Bleh. Whatever.  At any rate, what an excellent, EXCELLENT movie.  I don't even really know where to begin.  I just loved it.  This isn't really going to be a review, however, since I'm still out of practice with movie reviews.  But if it turns into one, so be it.  

  *SPOILERS*

  Whether or not this is meant to be a prequel to Burton's ape movie, the original Heston movie a few decades ago, or a prequel all its own for a new franchise altogether, it was a successful accomplishment nevertheless.  We discussed it rather vigorously when it was all over, and came up with some rather interesting conclusions.  In fact, I'd say it's safe to say that based on our discussions, I have a pretty good idea of where the movie will go in upcoming sequels, thanks to the the various clues scattered throughout the movie.  But I'll get to that later.  

  The movie itself was definitely a success in my book.  The realism of the story was just so effective; it actually made the possibility of such a situation to be very believable.  It wasn't a ridiculous notion at all, and it played out smoothly.  I can't pick a point where there was even a loose, forgotten end to tie.  It was just so well put together, this movie.  Though the premise reminded me of the plot for "Deep Blue Sea," which was a TINY downside, it was definitely forgivable.  Instead of sharks being rounded up for their brains as a cure to Alzheimer's, we've got Apes being given a biological serum that acts as the cure itself.  In both movies, the creatures got smarter as a side effect. That's the only similarity. But a premise as close to home as the very real disease of Alzheimer's is one that you can't really get mad at.  Finding a cure for that is more than likely a very real mission in the world, no doubt.  And that's why this movie worked. You'd almost believe that apes are being used as test subjects because it's so perfectly portrayed in the movie.  

  Needless to say, the smartness being boosted in the apes is where things get quite interesting.  The star is Caesar, a nicely done CG chimpanzee who was birthed by his mother before she was killed after going on a rampage to protect him.  Gotta love that Andy Serkis for contributing his skills yet again to bringing alive the star of the movie.  The only thing I wasn't convinced of was the actual size of the full-grown Caesar.  Being at the same height as James Franco, and already too human-looking, was...eh...not believable.  But that doesn't cheapen his character at all, really.  It was only noticeable for a couple of scenes with the two of them standing side-by-side, so definitely able to be overlooked.  It's amazing the mannerisms and facial expressions that was pulled off in this movie.  ILM has certainly got its work cut out for it with competition like THAT starting to skyrocket. As far as Caesar goes, only when things start to go horribly wrong do they suddenly go oh so right for him.  Sure he bit off a man's finger after pummeling him a few times which thus got him thrown into an ape jail and having to mingle with "lesser" apes who aren't as smart as him as well as the jerk of a human in charge of "caring" for the apes, but still.  If none of that happened, he wouldn't have singlehandedly brought on this ape revolution.   

  I loved the progression of the film. It was a little slow, yes, but it had to be.  If you want to cheer on the apes, you have to spend some time on the apes, get to know them, get attached to them. You have to feel Caesar's struggle to be what he feels he is supposed to be as his intelligence, awareness, and emotions start to sprout beyond all human control until he becomes more...well...human.  You have to feel bad for him and the remaining apes, and then start to resent the fact that you're the same species as the "bad guys" in the film.  Well, so to speak.  They had to make the humans less appealing than the apes in the movie for it to work, and I definitely feel like that was pulled off rather nicely.  You find yourself really looking forward to the time when the apes get to shine and make fools of the humans.  Caesar's ability to remember, plan, and initiate the revolution was pretty fun to witness, from stealing a knife to pick the lock, or teaching the apes to share and be respectful of one another, or swiping more of the "smart serum" to spread to the other apes.  Caesar was FUN. And also tragic. But in a good way.

  And oh the cleverness.  As I said, I can't tell if this movie is meant to tie with either of the previous films or not, but it was still clever in its preparations for being a prequel.  The mars mission that eventually became "lost in space." Obviously, this is a means of saying that the crew will likely find their way back to a planet ruled by the apes that thrived on what ravaged the human population.  Is that meant to be Charlton's ship? Or Walhlberg's ship? Or perhaps it's meant to be neither of their ships, and this is just the smart start to a franchise all its own? I'm leaning on the latter.  But I totally think it could work tying either of those movies to itself. So genius.  I think that's also what makes this movie so great; it was careful not to leave loose ends, at least loose ends that have the likelihood of effecting where the franchise is going.  Sure, there were the minor things I had problems with, like how Caesar looked a little TOO human when he became an adult. He was too upright and it was a tad distracting. However, on the other hand, it was also helpful to help me accept the fact that the apes are a dominant force to be reckoned with, which is the point.  And oh when Caesar first spoke?? WOW. I was not expecting that, and was pleasantly surprised. I had forgotten that the apes are supposed to be talking, and man oh man, was that exciting to witness.  And it wasn't like this crystal clear voice that sounded like it was used to being used. No, it was raspy and rough, as if it was only just being broken in.  SMART!

  I don't know what else I can really say about this movie, but damn, so awesome.  

   

  • 2:10 am
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