The creation of a new Ape myth

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2011)

Having seen the original 'Planet of the Apes' films I was curious to see how the new version would compare. Some differences are immediately apparent, most obviously the apes are no longer people in costumes; instead they are CGI and do look like real apes. Rather than starting with a man arriving on a planet full of talking apes then gradually explaining how that situation arose it starts in a lab using Chimpanzees for medical research and accidentally increasing their intelligence. When one gets violent the project is cancelled and the apes destroyed apart from a baby which is taken home by the scientist who led the project. This baby, now named Caesar, shows signs of much greater than expected intelligence as he ages but ends up in an 'ape sanctuary' after biting a neighbour. Here Caesar is mistreated and eventually revolts; he escapes but rather than hiding returns with the new improved drug the make the other apes intelligent; it doesn't take long before he is leading them in a revolt; first in the sanctuary then through the streets of San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge.
This was an interesting retelling of the classic story; creating a new myth about the origins of the 'smart apes'. I think this was an improvement over the way they were created in the original series. The CGI was very good; while one could tell they weren't real apes they were very close to it. While the CGI apes were the stars of the show the human cast did a decent job. Given the subject I was surprised that it was not more violent, this does at least mean it won't frighten older children; I watched it with my nephews, aged ten and thirteen and they both loved it! Having seen this I look forward to the inevitable sequels that will no doubt expend the new Ape mythology.