Drop the leash

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2012)

While I'm a part of the minority who just f****** liked Tim Burton's PLANET OF THE APES (considering the hate towards that movie, this is like the bravest thing I will ever write here!), I do want to start this comment with a very small comparison between RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and Burton's picture; a comparison that, obviously, places Rupert Wyatt's film (did someone knew this director before 2011?) as the superior modern version of "Apes". And is all related to the "sometimes the simpler the better" kind of thing. ROTPOTA is as very simple as effective, awesome and soulful. I guess the very best thing about it is that it left me wanting MUCH MORE; it's a masterpiece of a beginning in a film series, and I just can't wait to see part two.
There's nothing confusing going on here. It goes simply with three main things: evolution in a species, coming of age and revolution (its tagline "evolution becomes revolution" is quite accurate!). The key thing is certainly the coming of age part of the story; is when the whole thing becomes soulful and when you get to know the main character: Andy Serkis' Caesar. That someone will not LOVE Serkis' Caesar (or any of the other apes actually – I personally loved the crazy-looking one that perfectly knows everything related with laboratories) is something I just can't think in. Or that someone will not care about him. Such a perfect, and quite bad-ass, lead character (and, at the beginning, very cute too! Your girlfriend will love him!). And what else can I say about the work of Serkis? What else can I say about Weta? What they did here is simply a masterwork. Hope they get the Oscar for visual effects!
Last year I took a not-very-famous movie tour in San Francisco, California. They took us to some locations of movies like DIRTY HARRY, and of course to the quintessential San Francisco landmark: the Golden Gate Bridge. Hands down, this movie has the necessary to become a sort of classic San Francisco movie. There's the really nice use of, for instance, the famous cable cars.
I think ROTPOTA is closer than Burton's movie (so yes, here's another small comparison!) to create an iconic image that can function as an equivalent to the beyond spectacular ending of the original PLANET OF THE APES (even when the ending of Burton's one did go for the shocking element). As Caesar is unforgettable, many of the scenes are too; going back to the San Francisco element, the use of the Golden Gate Bridge is fantastic. Is there better action on the bridge than this? I don't think so. Yes, as an action picture, ROTPOTA it's just freakin' awesome! And it's, easily, one of my favorites of 2011.
*Watched it on January 28 and February 02, 2012 (Blu-Ray). Previously on October 02, 2011 (cinema).