Not a classic, but still a great movie

Rating: 7/10 (25 January 2012)

I think one of the reasons why the original Planet of the Apes in 1968 was so good was because back then, special effects were so non-existent that films had to rely more on plot, deep character development, and the skill of great actors like Charlton Heston. With that said, I liked the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, because (while it's no classic like the original film) it manages to capture some of the old school formula that made the original so great.
I'll admit that this film is rather too slow for my tastes, but it's slow because it needs to be. Trust me, there's nothing more powerful and moving than when you first hear a chimpanzee talk, screaming "NOOOOOOOO" to the top of his lungs at a surprised handler at an ape facility. It comes late in the movie, but man, it's worth the long build up. You see, while James Franco gets top billing for this film, no human is the main character as in the original Planet of the Apes or its remake in 2001 starring Mark Wahlberg. The star here is Caesar (Andy Serkis), a baby chimp taken in by a young scientist by the name of Will Rodman (Franco) doing research for a cure of Alzheimer's disease. Caesar's mother is killed after an experiment goes awry, where she's injected with a substance that increases intelligence. You might have guested it, the substance is passed along to Caesar and he soon develops more and more human-like characteristics. It also helps that Caesar is raised in Will's home, which Will shares with his parents. As with the original movie, there is plenty of character development here and we actually care about Caesar and his fate, not to mention we develop a soft spot for the bond that the chimp shares with Will's father (John Lithgow), who if you haven't also guessed it, is suffering from Alzheimer's.
The only downsides to this movie are that the various primates in the movie look decidedly digital. I prefer the actual primate costumes that were used in the previous Planet of the Apes movies. The ending was rather abrupt, and only seemed to serve as nothing more than a set up for a sequel. Also, Franco's role towards the end was pretty much useless. They could just have easily written him off the last 20 minutes and been just fine. What a waste of a talented actor.