Science will be the death of us all!

Rating: 6/10 (31 July 2011)

I've long suspected that James Franco will bring about the end of the world as we know it. No wonder he's Stephen Colbert's nemesis.
Here, Franco plays Will, an Alzheimer's researcher with a personal stake in his treatment's effectiveness. Of course, before human trials can commence, experimental drugs such as his must be tested on the creatures most closely resembling us (an unpleasant reality, but one that we must all accept as the price we pay for progress – or, instead, join some kind of militant animal liberation movement and stop wearing leather), which means apes. Which means chimps. Which means--oooh, adorable chimp baby! Chimp baby grows up, and due to the Alzheimer's drug, chimp baby grows up smart. Caesar by name (played by motion capture king Andy Serkis), he's happy enough living with Will and his Dad (John Lithgow), but longs wistfully for wide open spaces and playmates. When remanded into an improbably large and over-populated ape rescue facility after hurting an aggressive next door neighbor (STARGATE ATLANTIS' David Hewlett, in a small but pivotal role, attacked with gusto), he at first misses his human family, but soon comes to realize that, with his brains and his fellow inmates' (in-primates'?) brawn... and then, maybe, THEIR brains too... he could crown himself king of the concrete jungle.
What an unfortunate confluence of circumstance chances to unfold in this movie, and serves to bring about the apocalyptic events seen in 1968's PLANET OF THE APES! (For which, by the way, this movie is just one big spoiler. What's next? A prequel to THE SIXTH SENSE where we see Bruce Willis die?) First, James Franco goes and messes with ape brains to cure Alzheimer's... I mean, dude, have you not seen DEEP BLUE SEA? It's not a good idea to mess with ANY animal's brain to cure Alzheimer's. Then, David Hewlett has anger management issues, and is all up in John Lithgow's grill, much to Caesar's displeasure. And THEN Draco Malfoy himself, Tom Felton -- apparently typecast as kind of a douche now -- plays a sadistic ape handler who does humanity no favors at all.
Honestly? By the end of this movie, you'll believe we don't deserve any.
Sure, the film takes its time getting going. There is a long stretch in the middle where suddenly the whole concept just seems ludicrous, and you may even find yourself laughing at the unintentional comedy gold of Caesar, the chimp MacGyver. But what saves this movie from utter absurdity, among other things -- notably, the truly excellent effects from CGI wizards, WETA -- is a thrilling third act in which the apes begin their foreordained conquest of the world, one painstakingly plotted step at a time.
This is a movie that is designed to make you think, as is all the best science fiction. Whether it's a parable about racism, or a more straightforward advertisement for PETA, or a squint-and-you-can-see-it dire warning about gene therapies, or all three, there are a lot of larger themes here, without question. (Also, they threw some pandemic theory in there, just to help us all sleep at night.) And when the apes--ripped from their homes and mistreated and held captive and experimented on--get their revenge, it would take a far stronger apologist for human fallibility than I am not to cheer them on.
When the credits began to roll, I started giving the producers a whole lot of credit themselves... were they really NOT going to spoon feed this to us? Were they actually going to let us figure out the fate of all six billion humans on the planet for ourselves? But then... ah, the epilogue. No, they weren't. And here's another piece of ill-luck that dooms our race to the non-verbal, rag-clad future of the original movie: ape handler Franklin (REAPER's Tyler Labine) is a complete moron, who really should have consulted his doctor immediately, especially since he was standing RIGHT THERE. (Wait... is there a universal health care message in here, too? Jeez, movie, pick a controversy!)
I find I am conflicted about this film. On the one hand, there are some great performances -- Lithgow, Franco, hell, even Felton -- and the effects are top notch. The visceral appeal of revolution certainly tugged at me throughout, especially in that wondrous final act, and the fact that I found seeing weapons trained on gorillas and orangutans and chimpanzees so disturbing comforted me somewhat; I had been beginning to believe myself desensitized to such on screen horrors.
On the other hand, the story is quite silly in a lot of ways--really? It took Will THAT long to think of bribery?--and plays the callback-to-the-original card a few too many times for my taste. (I appreciated the clever sight-gags and not unexpected cameo, but there is one line of dialogue in here that is so completely obvious and groan-worthy it should be accompanied by a flashing "APPLAUSE" sign.)
In all, however, this is a movie worth the seeing, if only for the stunning visuals and the exhilarating liberation of a long-abused species (even if we're the ones who've done the abusing). I can at least say with confidence that RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is far from the worst prequel movie ever. FAR from it. It doesn't do any major disservice to its original (the five sequels, or the TV series... or even the novel), and, indeed, even adds something to the overall narrative. Plus, hey: at least it's a massive improvement over that Tim Burton PLANET OF THE APES remake/monstrosity of 2001. Of which the less said the better.
Talk about your damn dirty apes...
Rachel Hyland, Geek Speak Magazine -- geekspeakmagazine.com