The story is solid. The visual effects great. And Andy Serkis is tremendous.

Rating: 8/10 (11 August 2011)

Based on the long running Planet of the Apes franchise, the film stars James Franco as Will Rodman, a scientist trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer 's disease. The experiment ends in tragedy, but there's still hope, in the form of an incredibly intelligent chimpanzee that he adopts, and names Caesar. Several years later, Will's experiments are working well, but Caesar attacks a man in his neighborhood, and he is locked in an ape sanctuary, wherein his whole world is turned upside down, and in secret, he plots revolution.
This is a really stylish, solid action movie. Much to thank for that is director Rupert Wyatt's even tone and pace, and a sense of excitement that never overbears the audience. It really takes what it's doing seriously, and never loses that strong emotional core. But it isn't perfect. Notable faults include the fact that the film falters whenever focusing on a romance subplot between James Franco and Frieda Pinto, the latter of whom has near nothing to do in the film.
Still, for whatever conceptual problems it has, it makes up with its aesthetics. The action sequences, what well used few there are, are quite exciting, and I was also unsurprised to learn that the film was shot by one of my favorite DPs, Andrew Lesnie. Job well done.
The biggest praise I must make are for two things.
1: The Visual Effects designed by the one and only Weta Digital of Avatar and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The apes are completely convincing, and the motion capture technology is put to great use.
2: Caesar being the best character in the film. We're fooled into thinking he's a real being, and he really submerges us into his emotional state, something that the film benefited from big time. For the rest of the year, you can expect to hear me giddily singing the praises of Andy Serkis, who gives us another one of his fantastic motion capture performances, and adds another character to his roster alongside Gollum, and King Kong.
While not perfect, Rise of the Planet of the Apes provides solid entertainment, and I give it *** out of ****