As a subcategory of the horror genre, the exorcism film does not have the best reputation. For every The Exorcist, there are a dozen Posessed’s and Beyond the Door’s. Yet, when done well, there is rarely something as profoundly [...]
Those familiar with The Planet of the Apes in its 1968 original appearance will remember a distant planet populated entirely by a civilization of fully sentient, creepily humanoid apes. Now, Rise of the Planet of the Apes reboots the original series with a leading backstory that just may mean it’s time to stop monkeying around on Earth. (Hey, they’re not monkeys, they’re apes!)
According to director Rupert Wyatt, the film, which does not fit into The Planet of the Apes continuity, is intended as mythology, and functions as “primarily a prequel to the 1968 film.” This means, you won’t see any fully articulate apes wearing armor. Instead, the film follows scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) in his attempt to find “the cure for Alzheimer's.” Motivated by a desire to help his deteriorating father, Charles (John Lithgow), Will develops a retrovirus that rebuilds damaged braincells and–in healthy chimps–actually serves to develop and enhance intelligence.
This latter effect becomes apparent with the introduction of Caesar (Andy Serkis), a chimp that Will rescues from the lab and raises with his father. The majority of the film occupies itself with Caesar’s origin story, splicing charming scenes of the ape swinging around the house with hints of dissatisfaction and aspiration for more than the role of a “pet.” The first half of the film s could have been clipped directly from Project Nim rather than function as the foundation for what has been billed as an action movie. The story progresses, at times, painfully slowly. While Lithgow manages some remarkable chemistry with a character that is largely CGI, watching them interact for an hour becomes repetitive and boring.
The scenes most lacking in human emotion are those, naturally, that involve the ape ensemble. With the exception of scenes where the apes sign to each other, their interaction lacks the clarity to be clearly interesting. While watching apes in a zoo as they play or challenge each other can entertain, these apes are animated in a bizarrely humanoid way, and makes the uncanny valley effect uncomfortably prominent.
The greatest disappointment of the film, however, is the lack of action and actual confrontation. With such a title and the mythology of the series, confrontation is to be expected. However, the film waits until the last twenty minutes to offer any real action, and there the violence is unsatisfying and shy, where explosions happen but no one ever dies. In the end, the film follows the environmental track of Fern Gully more than the traditional content of the series. Where fans of the original may be filled with the warmth of nostalgia at the film, this is more of a Forest of the Apes than the promise of the scope of the original Planet.
According to director Rupert Wyatt, the film, which does not fit into The Planet of the Apes continuity, is intended as mythology, and functions as “primarily a prequel to the 1968 film.” This means, you won’t see any fully articulate apes wearing armor. Instead, the film follows scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) in his attempt to find “the cure for Alzheimer's.” Motivated by a desire to help his deteriorating father, Charles (John Lithgow), Will develops a retrovirus that rebuilds damaged braincells and–in healthy chimps–actually serves to develop and enhance intelligence.
The scenes most lacking in human emotion are those, naturally, that involve the ape ensemble. With the exception of scenes where the apes sign to each other, their interaction lacks the clarity to be clearly interesting. While watching apes in a zoo as they play or challenge each other can entertain, these apes are animated in a bizarrely humanoid way, and makes the uncanny valley effect uncomfortably prominent.
The greatest disappointment of the film, however, is the lack of action and actual confrontation. With such a title and the mythology of the series, confrontation is to be expected. However, the film waits until the last twenty minutes to offer any real action, and there the violence is unsatisfying and shy, where explosions happen but no one ever dies. In the end, the film follows the environmental track of Fern Gully more than the traditional content of the series. Where fans of the original may be filled with the warmth of nostalgia at the film, this is more of a Forest of the Apes than the promise of the scope of the original Planet.
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