Shockingly good.

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2012)

The Planet of the Apes movies started around the 60's and faded away as the years went on. But in 2011, someone made a wise decision of explaining the origin of them, which is basically the premise of 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a shockingly good prequel to an old series.
The last stab at the series was Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes back in 2001, which wasn't so successful. But bringing back the series was a good idea, especially because it made a lot more money than I had predicted.
James Franco plays a scientist trying to hunt for a cure for Alzheimer's so then his father(John Lithgow) can get better. And as it turns out, chimps are their best idea. So he begins raising an ape named Casear(played fantastically by none other than Andy Serkis) who, as years go on, grows smarter and smarter.
I've always thought that the premise of the series was creepily... realistic. And he new one just proves my point even further. I mean, when Casear screams no at Tom Felton, I started holding myself.
Serkis definitely deserves some Oscar recognition here. Though snubbed for Gollum, he should definitely get it here. Really, I can't imagine anybody other than Serkis behind the monkey. Really magical performance.
Other than that, it's a smart movie that doesn't focus on action sequences or anything on that level. There's only maybe 2 or 3, which is fine with me. And it's very entertaining while it lasts. Most of you will be as surprised as I was. See it.
B+