Rises Above the Terrible Tim Burton Version.

Rating: 7/10 (25 August 2015)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011): Dir: Rupert Wyatt / Cast: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton: It is often marvelled the intelligence of wildlife. Here apes and their potential intelligence is highlighted with extreme results. James Franco plays a scientist whose father suffers from memory loss. He attempts to find a cure through studies on chimpanzees. After an incident occurs where the apes are unfortunately put down, one female is discovered pregnant, and Franco sneaks it home where it grows to adulthood. Then the obvious problems occur that have the chimp placed in a facility that is actually abusive, unknown to Franco. The chimps, along with an orangutan and a big gorilla named Buck, break out and cause mass hysteria in a predictable climax. The special effects are top notch with the apes pretty much stealing the show. The human characters are the big drawback. Franco just got done an Oscar nomination for his work in 127 Hours, so it is unfortunate that he is reduced to nothing more than a caring observer in this over hyped film. Freida Pinto was the female lead in Slumdog Millionaire but here she comes into Franco's life so quickly that it hardly matters. John Lithgow steals moments as Franco's father but the role is so predictable that when he dies, we hardly care. Brian Cox plays the facility head whose treatment of animals is questionable. Tom Felton, who played a bully in the Harry Potter franchise, carries on that nature here. Strong theme regarding the intelligence of animals within a film that apes will be proud to be associated with. Score: 7 / 10