Rise of the planet of the apes Review

Prequel SMH

THE MOVIE: CRITIC'S TAKE

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. LMAO! I know times are hard but I didn't think Hollywood needed money that bad. That's what I was thinking when I saw the trailer. Having James Franco as the star didn't help either. Don't get me wrong. He's a good actor, when he cares, but seeing him as a scientist and the such didn't sell me on this film. I was not expecting much when I hit the theater. I figured it couldn't be worse than the last remake. Good to know that I gave it a chance. It is one hell of a thrill ride.

STORY

The story begins with a raid of the jungle. They managed to capture an ape and use her as a lab rat. They give her a serum that was made to cure Alzheimer. The serum made her smarter and after a few tests she was ready to show her talents to the board of directors. She instead goes ape shit on them and they cancelled the project. Turns out she was protecting her young. James Franco character, Will, learns that she was able to pass on the serum to her young. This made for an interesting find.

They are going to kill me

He quickly exceeds his mother's intelligence and continues to get smarter. Soon he starts to wonder about his own existence. Will is desperate in finding a cure to help his father and illegally take a sample and gives it to him. It works but only temporally. The disease is coming back stronger and he needs a stronger serum to take over the damaging cells. They begin the tests for the new and stronger virus but his ape gets into trouble. Protecting the father, he bites the finger off of a neighbor. He has no choice but to go to ape prison.

New play thing

There he learns how it is to truly be an ape... and a leader. He understands human behavior and now wants to free himself and his kind from their confinement. There's one problem though. Most apes are stupid. Will couldn't wait to see the results of the new serum and gives it to his father. The father dies that very night and he chalks it up as him being to sick. If he paid attention to his friend he would have known that the virus doesn't help humans but kills them.

Karma is a bitch

The ape learns of the new serum and gives it to all of his friends. They begin a rampage through the city to reach their freedom. Will is trying to get to him so he doesn't get hurt. It ends the way it should. Exciting, breathtaking, and one fun ride. This film was truly unpredictable from start to finish.






ACTING

The acting was decent at best. I didn't buy James Franco character for one second. His relationship to the beautiful Freido Pinto seemed forced. It seemed like they barely knew each other. The real star of the film were the CGI apes and his father, played by John Lithgow. He was the only real actor here and he stole the movie away from James. Despite the apes not speaking they showed more personality and emotion than the humans. That alone was shocking.

Isn't love grand

SPECIAL EFFECTS

The effects were breathtaking. You could tell that some of the apes were CGI but it won't be a distraction. The apes looked real enough to pass a reality test and their emotion was flawless. I cared more about the apes than I did the humans. It has to be one of the best CGI movies in recent years.

King of the world

WRITING AND DIRECTING

The movie was written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa. They wrote the apes flawlessly but the humans needed some work. I can blame the actors though because I didn't think any of them fit their roles. Despite that the dialog was believable and the human reactions to the apes seemed reasonable. The film was directed by Pierre Boulle. He did one hell of a job. The action is crisp and plentiful. He should get more offers after this because it truly was a work of art.

THE END

A must see for everyone. It will surprise you and go beyond your expectations. I want to see it again because the apes truly rose to the occasion. One of the best films this year. It will be hard to beat when it comes to quality and hope the future films can continue on this road.

OVERALL


STORY - 8 out of 10
ACTING - 7 out of 10 (thank the apes)
SPECIAL EFFECTs - 9 out of 10
WRITING - 8 out of 10
DIRECTING - 9 out of 10


OVERALL 8 out of 10 (MUST SEE)