Outstanding (but too short!)

Rating: Null/10 (11 August 2011)

I was prepared to pan this movie, but about an hour in caught myself thinking, "this is *incredible.*" I'm nearly certain this is the only movie I've taken my time to review - and it is largely because it was sooooo good.
This is an excellent "founding" for the universe the Planet of the Apes takes place in. Like another reviewer, I found myself wishing this movie was a bit longer (and I can't remember EVER thinking that). It almost feels like a tease.
The CGI is pretty well flawless - Avatar was cool, but it was creating a cartoon world, so you couldn't compare it to anything to really tell how well they'd pulled it off. In this film, they're recreating things you can see in the world around you and they do it so well it requires ZERO suspension of disbelief (and - unfortunately - I spend a lot of time trying to spot the artifacts/quirks/errors of CGI). You will believe in intelligent apes! The characters are believable (and I always love John Lithgow), though they could've been better fleshed out, and their relationships could've been better established. This is where an additional 10-15 minutes would've come in very handy (and been very welcome).
I really loved the little nods to the original Planet of the Apes via a few of the names and a few quotes. I love that stuff.
For as fantastic a story as this is - it's entirely believable - and that may be the biggest accomplishment here. I can't believe I'm about to type this, but I'm really looking forward to the next installment(s) in this story. I was sorry when it ended.