Although 1968 was the year in which 2001: A Space Odyssey was released, it was also the year of the apes, or to be more exact: Planet of the Apes. This sci-fi classic saw Charlton Heston surviving in a world where humans are enslaved by the highly-evolved apes, and climaxes with one of the greatest twists of all time. Following four sequels (including the mutant-featured Beneath the Planet of the Apes), as well as the rubbish Tim Burton remake that had one baffling conclusion, 20th Century Fox “reboots” this forty-plus year old franchise with this instalment in which apes will rise.
James Franco plays Will Rodman, a San Francisco scientist who has been trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s disease by testing a genetically engineered retrovirus on chimpanzees. Following a failed experiment, the test apes get put down except for one newborn that is then secretly kept in the care of Will, who names him Caesar (mo-cap performed by Andy Serkis). As he gets older with a high level of intelligence, Caesar witnesses the cruelty of humanity and the abuse towards his own race, which causes him to form an ape rebellion against the superior race.
Now for those who are Apes purists will have a sense of deja-vu as the premise is similar to the controversial fourth instalment: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, but it is officially not a remake. As much as I liked the factual story of Nim Chimpsky (the main subject of James Marsh’s documentary Project Nim, I found the fictional Rise to be a more engaging and emotional journey of a chimp who starts off like a cute cuddly baby and then all the way to the leader of the soon-to-be dominant species. One can say the story isn’t entirely original as it is very much a Frankenstein story since Franco is playing the young, ambitious scientist who is tackling a project that might start as a success, but soon goes south as his creation leads to dangerous results (David Hewlett from last year’s Splice even appears in a small but surprisingly significant role).
What makes the film unique is the characterisations of the apes, digitally created by Weta Digital through motion capture. Since nearly every scene involves ape action, the mo-cap performers including Andy Serkis not only capture the physical movements of apes but triumphantly provide a strong sense of drama throughout the film. Serkis, in particular, deserves much recognition for his performance as Caesar. Having played King Kong in Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake, Caesar is a real step-up as he is such a sympathetic character, starting all cute and cuddly, and later just really menacing, he makes you not want to look at apes the same way ever again.
As for the human characters, they are less developed in comparison with the apes, as they are a lot more caricatured, particularly Sir Brian Cox as the primate facility owner and Tom Felton as the owner’s violent son. While Franco is at least trying to do a more dramatic performance than his usual repertoire, his co-star Freida Pinto doesn’t get to do much in her underwritten role, which is a shame for those who love Slumdog Millionaire. On the other hand, the standout human is John Lithgow as Will’s Alzheimer’s-infected father who has an emotional arc that is a good subplot to support Caesar’s journey.
Despite the worry of the first act in which some scenes seem fairly quick, director Rupert Wyatt clearly understands the drama of it all as he has a clear focus on the characters, particularly the apes. While the action really does kick off in the final act involving the Golden Gate Bridge, there are some breathtaking VFX sequences throughout that make you wonder how they achieved them. However, you won’t see this as a visual effects show as this is an emotional and adventurous sci-fi which may not be in a par with the 1968 original, but truly reignites the franchise for the future. Roll on the sequels!
DIRECTOR: RUPERT WYATT
STARRING: JAMES FRANCO, ANDY SERKIS, FREIDA PINTO, JOHN LITHGOW, BRIAN COX, TOM FELTON
RUNTIME: 105 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: USA
Film Rating: 
