Apes come out of the jungle and into the human race.

Rating: Null/10 (19 August 2011)

If it isn't on your list of things to do this weekend you need to add Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Apes starts with a profit seeking pharmaceutical company that employs a researcher Will Rodman(James Franco) trying to do the right thing. The drug he is testing on healthy apes does more than just heal the affects of Alzheimer disease in humans, it raises their IQ. After a falling out with his boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo), over an incident that scared off some investors, Will takes a baby ape, Cesar, home so he won't be destroyed. Will then begins testing the drug on his father Charles (John Lithgow). The effects are amazing in the father. Cesar, the ape that is the star of the movie, was birthed from an ape that had been given the treatment. When Will discovers Cesar is showing signs of increased intelligence he starts teaching Cesar as if he is a human child. Cesar becomes many times more intelligent from the drug passed to him from his mother. Then a few episodes in his life make Cesar realize he is way more than a pet. As the movie progresses Cesar's intelligence allows him to learn about his environment. Then he changes that environment as we humans have learned to do. That ability put us at the top of the intelligence ladder. The apes in the movie are even better than the humans in the movie at realizing the difference between right and wrong. They are still capable of doing wrong but realize their actions have consequences. Writing that into the script is what makes this movie so good. The script complexities make this movie into more than the typical action movie. That is why the ending is different than you might expect.
Definitely one of the top 5 movies of the summer. Right up there with Harry Potter and the Avenger movies. Great, keep you on the edge of your seat story. This is not your mother's Planet of the Apes. If you can't see animal abuse without throwing up don't go. The animal lovers out there will cry at some parts. The writers certainly left Apes ending open for a sequel. If you like this one you will be open to a sequel as well.