a successful reboot that firmly establishes the mythos of the Apes' franchise in an updated and modern setting

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2019)

Led by Andy Serkis as the talking ape Caesar and James Franco as Dr. Will, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a successful reboot that firmly establishes the mythos of the Apes' franchise in an updated and modern setting. Despite the short running time, the character development is strong enough to present proper motivations and a moving story. Caesar grows from a household pet to a strong leader. He seeks acceptance in humanity's world, but upon realizing the cruelty to which his fellow apes are subjected, Caesar uses his intellect to free his people and leads them on a separate and self-made destiny. Caesar's character overall growth is coming to terms with him being part human in terms of intellect and part ape in terms of physical appearance. The writing does justice to the character by presenting it organically. Andy Serkis' tortured performance demonstrates yet again why he is king of motion capture acting.
While Rise is ultimately about Caesar, the human co-lead, Dr. Will, is equally important to the story. Will is Caesar's owner, living with a father who suffers from Alzheimer's. His character aims betterment by curing his father and raising Caesar. Unintentionally, his goals are what would separate Caesar from him. Through Will, much of the story and inner politics is anchored. Behind all the character work is a thematic backdrop on the ethics of biomedical engineering, corporate greed, and animal cruelty. David Oyelowo and Tom Felton are effective villains representing the corporate greed and animal cruelty themes of the movie. Rise is filled more with character interactions than action scenes but of the few of them, all are heart-pounding and in line with the characters' journey. The climax is a clear demonstration that apes were equal to humans, battling the security forces without firearms and coming out victorious.
Serkis' performance wouldn't have been done right without excellent CGI. If Caesar was all CGI, the emotional connection to the character wouldn't be so firm and ingrained to the audience. The direction from Rupert Wyatt is also really impressive. The technical aspects are on point. Rise only really needed to be much longer and drawn out. The sequels have done this, which is why they are better but does not negate how good of a movie Rise still is.
8/10