A reboot done right

Rating: 9/10 (17 August 2011)

When I saw the trailer to this movie, I felt very under whelmed. Casting James Franco as the lead is always a bad call for me because I can't take him seriously ever since Pineapple Express because he really is like that a bit. I know he can act very well as proved by 127 Hours but I seem to always never take it into account. Also I tend to not like CGI animals because you can always tell they're fake although, the effects were really good.
Now the movie has tons of references of the past Planet of the Apes films, some subtle, some not so much. Fans of the series will definitely be on the lookout for hidden clues and references to future films of this reboot.
James Franco does a great job of portraying a guy whose doing everything he can to cure his father (played by the magnificent John Lithgow) of Alzheimer's. Lithgow gives a heart wrenching performance and you really feel for Franco having to deal with such a tough situation. Of course they both take a backseat to the incredible Andy Serkis (who most notably played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings franchise.) who plays the role of Caesar. With the great technology we have in this day, he is able to make CGI characters come to life!
This movie does a summer blockbuster right. Instead of focusing on explosions and action, it makes it focus the story and the characters first. I mean besides Caesar, there are other apes who also get to show their uniqueness as well. There's a nice shot of Caesar with his 3 main accomplices on the hood of a police car which is amazing! Some people dislike the final act of the film but I find it to be a big payoff and what the majority of the average movie goers went to go see the movie for. The apes break free and cause havoc among the streets of San Francisco. Sure it's a little far fetched how smart they become so fast when it took Caesar years to develop but its a movie about apes taking over so suspension of disbelief is needed.
Overall it's an amazing movie and all other reboots should aspire to be this good.