Get you paws off me, you damn dirty ape !

Rating: 10/10 (16 July 2017)

Are humans truly the most evolved and advanced species on the planet ? What makes us so special ? Our languages, our technology, our sprawling cities ? But are we really as superior to other savage animals as we think we are ? Do we not treat other animals like savages ourselves ? Keeping them locked up in conditions so horrible we couldn't imagine subjecting other humans to ? Do we not incite conflict between ourselves instead of working together as a species ? So are we really then as special as we think we are ? What if our primate brothers, the apes, became smarter than us ? Would they be able to build a society more peaceful than ours ? What if the apes do get smarter and decide to build a society or their own? what would would happen to us then, would we be able to co-exist? Or would we incite conflict like we always do? Would we go to war no matter the cost to life and nature ? Who would win such a war ?
Fascinating questions I suppose. Would be great if we had a movie trilogy that answers all or most of these ! Oh well, we do ! Rise, Dawn & War !
And like all all trilogies, the first one, Rise of the Planet of the Ape,s serves as the gripping origin story of the central character who would go on to change the world as we know it. A mama ape who just wanted to raise her unborn child peacefully in the jungle is captured, enslaved, experimented on and finally killed. But her baby survives thanks to her sacrifice and a couple of kind men who take the baby in as their own and care for him. Such is the origin story of Caesar. From a baby ape in a human's care, to captivity by the cruel members of our species, to his daring and ingenious escape back to the jungle where he would go on to become the leader of a new species so to speak.
A gritty, realistic storyline crafted masterfully on screen that elicits excitement, joy and sadness from the viewers as we witness Caesar come into his own. A strong performance from James Franco and from Any Serkis himself, the master of motion capture. Who would have thought that a movie about a bunch of smart monkeys could be so good ! The first movie delivers everything we want from a sci- fi origin story. Great characters, scientific tropes, some cool action sequences and a solid plot to tie it all together.
A rare successful reboot that breathes new life into what was an almost dead franchise!