Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Despite all the positive reviews of this film, I found it absolutely awful.Yes the special effects were excellent, but the story left a lot to be desired.They should have called this movie simply... The rise of the Apes. This movie had no connections whatsoever to previous Planet of the Apes films....As soon as this movie started in the Jungle where Apes were being chased by their captives, I knew the bottom line.1 out of 10 from me.

An Intelligent blockbuster that's better than it had any right to be, I mean expecting a prequel to a forty-three year old franchise (at the time of release) to be any good is almost asking for disappointment, and yet here we have what is easily one of the smartest big-budget Hollywood productions of this decade. 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)' swaps out soulless spectacle for keen character development and manages to make you care about an entirely digital ape protagonist. The action-sequences, while well-done and generally quite entertaining, are actually the weakest part of this picture and that truly speaks volumes. The combination of a smart script and stellar performances, including those done in motion-capture suits, add up to a feature that's not only enjoyable but also emotional, and it's not afraid to let its audience think. 9/10

It's fair to say I was intrigued by this film. All the ideas about the morality of the humans and apes was very interesting and drove the narrative of the film quite effectively for the first two-thirds of the film. The final act was more action-orientated but was directed well.The acting was consistently good across the board, with obvious mention going to Andy Serkis' portrayal of Caesar who did brilliantly well in a motion-capture role, conveying so much through body language alone. And when he does speak it is an amazing moment, that sends shivers down your spine. As it was a prequel there were a few nods to the original 1968 Planet of the Apes film which were well handled, as you see mentions of a astronaut crew that had originally gone up to Mars and then got lost in space. Then you get the first few hints of how the ape takeover happened with a virus spreading amongst humans from the ALZ-113 serum, which I can wait to see explored in the following two films.In terms of negatives the pacing isn't consistent throughout, and when you are away from Caesar it becomes rather dull. Aside from Caesar speaking for the first time and the final fight scene on the Golden Gate Bridge there wasn't anything that really stood out for me, but overall this is a solid film and one worth checking out.

Back in 2011 I remember when I saw the teaser for this movie in the theater, I actually got a bit excited, the original Planet of the Apes movie from 1968 was a sci-fi master piece and while the 2001 reboot was disappointing to say the least, the cast and filmmakers behind this project gave me enough confidence to be a bit excited for it. The movie was definitely a pleasant surprise, something this movie did right was going back to the more though provoking ideas that made the franchise famous to begin with, instead of focusing on the action, this movie has a lot of themes of humans using science to play god and the consequences that come with that, and is all handled really well. Andy Serkis delivered an amazing performance, definitely one of the best in his entire career, James Franco and Freida Pinto also did a good job, though I feel the script didn't gave them much to be as memorable as Caesar. Also I feel that Rupert Wyatt's directing in this movie is a bit underrated, true, it isn't as stunning as Reeves' directing in the next two films, but Wyatt did an excellent job giving this movie a slick and beautiful look. The third act, is also just great, that is where the action starts and is done really well and is a good glimpse of what is to come later in the franchise. This is both a reboot and a prequel done right and it has become one of the greatest trilogies of all time and people should always give credit to the one that started it all.