Four Thumbs Up

Rating: 8/10 (31 August 2013)

Beautifully constructed morality tale from Rupert Wyatt featuring some really remarkable visuals. The effects work and the actors' interactions with their 'props' are so assured that the outcome is convincing to the point that you won't notice the join, and it's a great accomplishment that should deservedly catapult Mr. Wyatt into the big leagues.
It's a good if rather predictable story, but satisfying to spot the carefully placed traces of continuity that link to the later (in time-line) phases of the PotA franchise. In the first half at least John Lithgow is the emotional heart of the film and his performance is very touching and effective. James Franco's is a strong turn too, and Freida Pinto provides a strong counterbalance to his character's increasingly reckless pursuit of his scientific goal. It's also good to see Tom Felton casting off his robes and discarding his wand (although just as nasty as ever).
In relation to Caesar and the other apes, it is difficult to comprehend the skills that must be necessary to perform effectively with what must be highly invasive technology. Andy Serkis is obviously a skilled actor in his own right, as evinced by his performances as Ian Dury and in The Prestige, Brighton Rock and Little Dorrit (tv) to name a few, but is he really the only guy who can play these marquee motion capture roles? I don't mean to be critical, far from it, I think Mr. Serkis will be remembered as the first and possibly greatest exponent of this newest branch of thespian-ism, but possibly only because of him stepping out from behind the virtual mask and making the transition to 'live action'. It is interesting to consider whether any of Serkis's fellow mocap-ers will ever have the profile that he has deservedly achieved, and if not, why not? In the end, RotPotA is a very enjoyable effects romp, but is best, perhaps unusually, not in its big set pieces but in the personal interactions at the film's heart.
All four thumbs up - bring on the Dawn...