It could have been worse... it could have been better.

Rating: 6/10 (11 August 2011)

OK, let's start by saying that this film is quite reasonable, in fact I'd put it just above that. Now, the reason I say this is because the film gets the most important thing right: it makes sure that we connect with the main character, Caesar. We get to care about him, feel when he's in pain, and root for him when he finally organises a rebellion. Despite being a CGI creation, we, as viewers, are shown something that feels real. No, not in the tangible sense, for the CGI does fail a few times (not often), but in that we come to see the character as one that possesses depth. I have to admit to being fairly impressed with Andy Serkis and the animators in rendering Caesar better than I thought it would be. Yay for Caesar! However, I have to also say that the following is far less than praise.
***WARNING! The following might annoy fanboys!*** ;)
Now, Caesar is fine, the character we care for, his pain is our pain, etc. Good, that's the important thing that they had to get right. Without that, the film would be a failure. However, that doesn't mean that just because they've created a well rendered main character who is CGI, full of emotions and connections, that they should just stop there and think their job is done. See, I have to say that all the human characters in this film are fairly weak and one-dimensional. The villains tend to be black-and-white caricatures, simplistic and hollow. The original series of PotA had villains, but most of them were fairly rounded, not all pure "evil" (Doctor Zaius and Doctor Hasslein, even though they can be seen as generally the villains of the piece in the films that they were in, have their reasons for what they're doing; they're not purely "evil", so to speak), but it seems that that is a bit too complex for today's audience, so we're given easy to despise "baddies", who act in ways that seem as subtle as a Michael Bay film. Another thing is that the acting of the humans isn't up to much. Most of the actors don't really seem to be trying. Franco looks bored, Pinto seems lost wondering what to do, Felton seems like he still thinks he's in the Harry Potter set near Watford, while Lithgow, although he does throw some acting punches now and then, does seem like he could do better. Then again, the script doesn't help the human characters, so I suppose that doesn't help the actors.
Another problem with this film, especially if you want to compare it to the originals, is that it's fairly light in its political message and science fiction concepts. I'm not sure that the idea that society has moved on is a good justification for such weaknesses. There are plenty of hard hitting issues in the world that still need looking at, even ones that still affect us today like they did in the 1960s. The original series of films might not be the most intelligent films ever made, but they did try to come up with some thought behind them, and were certainly, at least in the case of the first film, intelligently written. Rise, unfortunately, seems to just push the "don't be cruel to animals" line as well as the "don't meddle with genetics", which seems to me to lack the impact of the social issues that the original films were tackling. I don't buy the excuse that things have moved on and that serious topics won't have a resonance.
Still, all the above isn't to say that the film is bad. Far from it, but I just think it could have been better handled. I think there were too many compromises in trying to satisfy non-PotA fans out there, giving us a watered down version. However, even though it's watered down (IMO, naturally), it still keeps interest as a film. The apes are the interesting ones, and I suppose it got that right. Once it got to the apes, the film gets impressive, earning respect. The story as a story was worth telling, despite its limitations.
Does it deserve a sequel? Yes, I think it deserves sequels; it's done enough for me to warrant that. I also think that a sequel to this story will bring about a more compelling one, with various conflicts between man and ape, and even those within the apes, bringing in more angles and points of interest. It's difficult to start off a series like this, particularly when you know roughly where it's going to lead, so in some ways I should be more forgiving towards Rise. Maybe they'll also be able to explore more weightier themes in the sequels, because they might well be given the chance to with new story ideas. Still, that's a big maybe, and probably a stretch.
So, please go and watch this film. It's not fantastic, it's not rubbish, it's more a popcorn film but on the better end of the spectrum. Enjoyable, but brain is optional.