A Great Addition to the "Apes" Franchise

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2016)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Rupert Wyatt and is the first film in a trilogy of prequels to the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, in which an astronaut finds himself on a planet completely run by apes. Rise of the Planet of the Apes displays just exactly how the apes came to power on Earth, and the early life of their leader, Caesar. Caesar was a test subject for a drug that was said to cure Alzheimer's disease, and became irregularly intelligent due to it. Once the creator of the drug, Will Rodman, smuggles Caesar home to raise him, some difficult things start to happen.
After the cinematic disaster that was Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001), I was very uneasy about the thought of a prequel to the original 1968 film, which still holds a landmark spot in cinematic history. However, I was completely surprised in every single way. Almost everything about Rise of the Planet of the Apes is very good, and it's easily one of my favorite films of 2011. The acting, direction, and especially special effects (namely motion capture work) of Rise of the Planet of the Apes was exactly on point, and I loved almost every minute of it.
The one thing I simply have to mention about this movie is the motion capture work and acting displayed by Andy Serkis. Not only does Andy Serkis give an Oscar worthy performance (seriously, give him an Oscar) in this film, but he does some of, if not the, best motion capture work ever put to film. The incredible depth and emotion given to Caesar's character, played by Serkis, was absolutely flawless in any way possible. Serkis' performance mixed with the fantastic writing given by the script made for an all around flawless character with that of Caesar.
All of the other performances are also very good. James Franco does really good in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Although I was doubtful of his ability to play a scientist, he did very well, and exceeded any expectations I had for his performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. His relationship with Caesar was given a large amount of depth; the exact amount of depth it required to work in the film. Tom Felton pretty much played his best known character, Draco Malfoy (from the Harry Potter franchise), but he still played him well. His character earned much hate from the audience, which is exactly the way the filmmakers wanted it. All of the other acting, such as John Lithgow and Brian Cox, was also very good.
The main issue I had with Rise of the Planet of the Apes was the smaller characters that were written in to serve a single purpose, and nothing more. Some of the characters seemed to be in the film for one specific reason, be it a setup for a sequel, or exposition for the climax and resolution of the film itself. Not many characters were like this, but there were some. Once these characters had done the actions required by the script, they were erased from the movie one way or another. This got under my skin, but was only apparent after evaluation of the film.
Other than that small nit pick, I had no issues with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I enjoyed the film overall, and it was a very fun film to watch. Great direction, amazing acting, and absolutely perfect motion capture work by Andy Serkis added for a fantastic film, revitalizing the Apes franchise.