"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Film Review by: Matthew R. Reis
Apetastic? Nope. (Now on DVD)
2 Stars
Blog Exclusive!
Charlton Heston's performance as Colonel George Taylor in 1968s "Planet of the Apes" was iconic. In 2001 Mark Wahlberg's turn as Captain Leo Davidson in the "Planet of the Apes" remake was ghastly. Now actor, director and Yale student James Franco has to deal with an ape infestation of his own in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." So how does all this monkey business translate to the big screen this time around?
Not well. Not well at all.
As a prequel a lot of people already know how “Rise” will end before the projector even warms up. Due to the film's lack of quality content "Rise" offers nothing worthwhile and fails to justify why a prequel was needed in the first place. Both diehard franchise fans and virgins of the series will be disappointed.
Besides above average acting and terrific visual effects this film is trash. The biggest problem stems from Rupert Wyatt's barking mad direction. For example: Wyatt's visual effects crew take full advantage of his ineptitude and throw numerous apes onto the screen. They neither advance the story nor look intimidating and just fill up the frame. Another issue is the random, uninteresting scenes scattered throughout. Thank screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver for this complete toilet paper roll of a script.
Speaking of the soiled script, the plot goes something like this. Caesar, a pet ape, learns human traits and mannerisms via ALZ 112 injections. This revolutionary serum has the potential to cure ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease, the drug's namesake. Put in the wrong hands, or paws, ALZ is capable of ending human world order. The drug’s creator Will Rodman, played by James Franco, works for Gen Sys (pronounced "Genesis") and is the man behind the curtain. He has a chance to become a pioneer not unlike Watson and Crick (who discovered DNA's structure) and accrue limitless money, fame, and admiration. Yet medical miracles, not fat checks, interest Rodman. At the epicenter of all this excitement is Rodman's steely boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo). Jacobs just wants to cash in on Rodman's intuition and even goes as far as ordering Gen Sys scientists to push the drug's newer variant, 113, through to human trials without fully knowing its effects.
A problem with the script is it's unbelievability. It's nearly impossible to imagine anything in the movie ever actually happening. Sure suspension of disbelief is normally employed to deal with such a scenario, but trying to rationalize apes destroying Northern California without military intervention is too much to ask. Other plot-lines are equally bizarre such as why Caesar, Rodman's pet, is allowed to roam around a house free of restraints when he is fully capable of ripping out a mans heart without much effort. Surely a super duper smart scientist is book smart, but apparently they don't have any common sense. Anyhow Caesar roams around suburbia causing a lot of collateral damage. He even attempts to play with a little boy. The cops only come around when Caesar bites off the finger of Rodman's neighbor Hunsiker (David Hewlett), a gruff airline pilot with a short fuse.
Technically Caesar’s the main character, but Franco gets more screen time. Luckily for the audience Caesar is "controlled" by motion capture vet Andy Serkis of "King Kong" and "The Lord of the Rings" fame. Serkis' familiarity with breathing life into inanimate objects is on full display as he utilizes every square inch of his full body motion capture suit. He elevates Caesar from a pretty looking effect to a fully realized, lifelike character infused with tremendous amounts of depth, likeability and darkness. Another performance worth noting is Tom Felton aka Draco Malfoy who brings unbridled enthusiasm to his role as a bloody disgusting, animal torturer. No wonder why the apes felt compelled to rebel after dealing with this yahoo.
So despite coming from a good pedigree "Rise" stretches it's potential too much and ends up snapping into itty, bitty slivers of ape shit. The editing, cinematography and other artsy, technical elements are magnificent yet director Rupert Wyatt fails to mold these bits into a sensible, worthwhile film. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” favors quantity over quality throughout its 105 minute runtime. Without the fine acting gluing all of these highly polished, but unfocused pieces together “Rise” would’ve been even more of a bad joke.
At least they didn't make this one in 3D. Maybe they are saving that for the sequel.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver with a premise suggested by Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel "La planete des singes" and directed by Rupert Wyatt.
P.S. Admit it French people like Boulle are absurdly talented. They are so artistic and can even make smoking fashionable. Just don't stand behind one.
Feel free to checkout Caesar and the apes shakeup the world below:
As always thanks for reading!
©2011 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
2 Stars
Blog Exclusive!
Charlton Heston's performance as Colonel George Taylor in 1968s "Planet of the Apes" was iconic. In 2001 Mark Wahlberg's turn as Captain Leo Davidson in the "Planet of the Apes" remake was ghastly. Now actor, director and Yale student James Franco has to deal with an ape infestation of his own in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." So how does all this monkey business translate to the big screen this time around?
Not well. Not well at all.
As a prequel a lot of people already know how “Rise” will end before the projector even warms up. Due to the film's lack of quality content "Rise" offers nothing worthwhile and fails to justify why a prequel was needed in the first place. Both diehard franchise fans and virgins of the series will be disappointed.
Besides above average acting and terrific visual effects this film is trash. The biggest problem stems from Rupert Wyatt's barking mad direction. For example: Wyatt's visual effects crew take full advantage of his ineptitude and throw numerous apes onto the screen. They neither advance the story nor look intimidating and just fill up the frame. Another issue is the random, uninteresting scenes scattered throughout. Thank screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver for this complete toilet paper roll of a script.
Speaking of the soiled script, the plot goes something like this. Caesar, a pet ape, learns human traits and mannerisms via ALZ 112 injections. This revolutionary serum has the potential to cure ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease, the drug's namesake. Put in the wrong hands, or paws, ALZ is capable of ending human world order. The drug’s creator Will Rodman, played by James Franco, works for Gen Sys (pronounced "Genesis") and is the man behind the curtain. He has a chance to become a pioneer not unlike Watson and Crick (who discovered DNA's structure) and accrue limitless money, fame, and admiration. Yet medical miracles, not fat checks, interest Rodman. At the epicenter of all this excitement is Rodman's steely boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo). Jacobs just wants to cash in on Rodman's intuition and even goes as far as ordering Gen Sys scientists to push the drug's newer variant, 113, through to human trials without fully knowing its effects.
A problem with the script is it's unbelievability. It's nearly impossible to imagine anything in the movie ever actually happening. Sure suspension of disbelief is normally employed to deal with such a scenario, but trying to rationalize apes destroying Northern California without military intervention is too much to ask. Other plot-lines are equally bizarre such as why Caesar, Rodman's pet, is allowed to roam around a house free of restraints when he is fully capable of ripping out a mans heart without much effort. Surely a super duper smart scientist is book smart, but apparently they don't have any common sense. Anyhow Caesar roams around suburbia causing a lot of collateral damage. He even attempts to play with a little boy. The cops only come around when Caesar bites off the finger of Rodman's neighbor Hunsiker (David Hewlett), a gruff airline pilot with a short fuse.
Technically Caesar’s the main character, but Franco gets more screen time. Luckily for the audience Caesar is "controlled" by motion capture vet Andy Serkis of "King Kong" and "The Lord of the Rings" fame. Serkis' familiarity with breathing life into inanimate objects is on full display as he utilizes every square inch of his full body motion capture suit. He elevates Caesar from a pretty looking effect to a fully realized, lifelike character infused with tremendous amounts of depth, likeability and darkness. Another performance worth noting is Tom Felton aka Draco Malfoy who brings unbridled enthusiasm to his role as a bloody disgusting, animal torturer. No wonder why the apes felt compelled to rebel after dealing with this yahoo.
So despite coming from a good pedigree "Rise" stretches it's potential too much and ends up snapping into itty, bitty slivers of ape shit. The editing, cinematography and other artsy, technical elements are magnificent yet director Rupert Wyatt fails to mold these bits into a sensible, worthwhile film. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” favors quantity over quality throughout its 105 minute runtime. Without the fine acting gluing all of these highly polished, but unfocused pieces together “Rise” would’ve been even more of a bad joke.
At least they didn't make this one in 3D. Maybe they are saving that for the sequel.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver with a premise suggested by Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel "La planete des singes" and directed by Rupert Wyatt.
P.S. Admit it French people like Boulle are absurdly talented. They are so artistic and can even make smoking fashionable. Just don't stand behind one.
Feel free to checkout Caesar and the apes shakeup the world below:
As always thanks for reading!
©2011 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
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