Well done reboot of a dormant franchise...

Rating: 7/10 (8 August 2011)

...that thankfully ignores the disappointing Tim Burton misfire in 2001 altogether, "RotPotA" (now there's an acronym for you!) concentrates on setting the stage for what will hopefully be an inevitable sequel, i.e. a retooling of the original "Planet of the Apes." The husband/wife writing team of Rick "Eye for..." Jaffa and Amanda "...an Eye" Silver keep their story tightly focused on the singular progenitor of an eventual race of intelligent apes, the aptly named Caesar (Andy "I do motion-capture in my sleep" Serkis), never mind the human hand in all this, James "I lost mine in 127 hours" Franco. Crisply directed by Rupert "The Escapist" Wyatt, superbly lensed by Andrew "The Lord of the Rings" Lesnie, and well scored by Patrick "Henry V" Doyle, "Rise..." dispenses with the nuclear option in favor of pandemic decimation of the human race to pave the way for simian domination in future installments, but as mentioned, this tale is about the ascension of Caesar and his cohorts, and that's all it needs to be, contrary to the opinion of at least one reviewer for whom I have high regard.
I won't bore what few readers this blurb may have with yet another synopsis of what is pretty much an origins story (as the above mentioned reviewer duly noted), but will say that I was pleased by the plentiful references, veiled or otherwise, to the original Charlton Heston vehicle to which "Rise..." owes everything. Personal favorite: a brief glimpse of the young Caesar building a Statue of Liberty model.
Capsule sum-up: several entertaining hours at the movies. The motion-capture/CGI work is impressively well-staged and easy to follow, the acting is of a note, and the lead character, despite being unhuman in almost every respect, is captivating, compelling, and more than worthy of further attentions. If you don't leave the cinema with a sense of satisfaction and a desire to see the probable sequel, you're no "Planet of the Apes" fan. Recommended.