Apes Together Strong!

Rating: 10/10 (23 February 2016)

I went into this movie thinking I wouldn't enjoy it. I had never been into the Planet of the Apes franchise and just wasn't interested. I only watched it because a friend made me. I came out of it obsessed and with a new favorite movie!
The plot is enjoyable and well paced. Its very interesting to see Caesar grow up and really find himself through a series of unfortunate events. Instead of giving up and giving in, he... well, rises. And man, is it satisfying when he does! I haven't found myself rooting for an animal in a movie so strongly for a long time, and that's saying something, because I almost always root for the animals!
The emotional highs and lows in this movie are surprisingly intense and I haven't yet met anybody who watches this movie without feeling something. Some of the tracks on the soundtrack alone give me chills. I never would have expected such an emotional ride from something in the Planet of the Apes franchise.
The acting was incredible, especially for the apes, and especially for Caesar. When you can insert a hyper realistic animal into a live action movie and make the audience forget that Caesar isn't really there, you're doing something right. When you accomplish all of that and also manage to make the audience feel more for a character who expresses themselves entirely through body language and facial expressions than they feel for the more communicative characters, you've really outdone yourself.
I wish I could experience watching this movie for the first time again. It takes a lot for a movie to actually frighten or startle me, but this movie definitely got my heart pounding in one certain scene. People who have seen it know exactly what I'm talking about. I won't spoil it for those who haven't.
I really can't praise this movie enough. If you haven't seen it, go give it a try, even if you don't think you'll like it. I'm so glad I didn't make the mistake of skipping out on Rise!