Interesting though not amazing

Rating: 6/10 (4 September 2011)

I felt what dialogue there was was pretty poor and this let the film down a bit - nevertheless the acting (especially from James Franco) was top notch with what the cast were given.
I was a little apprehensive about seeing 'The ROTPOTA' since being a prequel, I felt the plot couldn't get too interesting since we knew it's final destination (the trailer didn't help). However, the journey itself took me by surprise. I was frustrated by the first half hour or so (and personally thought some of it was a litte daft) though this may have been mainly due to the fact I didn't feel all too impressed by the CGI. It felt too surreal and it took me a while to accept and connect with 'Caesar' - but I got there in the end.....maybe a little shallow of me I don't know - it just felt too cheesy to begin with.
Once the pace got going though I was fascinated! The expressions conveyed by the Apes were amazing and I felt quite moved - definitely have a new appreciation of the animals, even if they are computer generated.
The revolt was brilliantly written - and though all visually based the body language was amazing to watch - I literally couldn't look away. Though I grew to like the chimps I think the real icing on the cake for me was the two other larger apes which Caesar encountered - a male gorilla (very king-Kong like) and this beautiful orangutan which I felt stole the performance. The CGI was so brilliantly done for the orangutan I suspected in parts he was a real animal performing (couldn't tell) and very humorous.
By the end, I felt the ticket had been worth it. Tons of subtextual meaning and references to the other films. It felt like it belonged with them - and although the script was far from perfect they made up for this with a blockbuster that got me riled up enough to come on here and review it. A great family film too!