The Summer’s Ultimate B-Movie – Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I’m two weeks behind with this entry, but I had to write about the surprise movie of the summer. From the dreadful (Pirates to Captain America) to the much-hyped but merely entertaining (Cowboys & Aliens), this summer’s blockbusters have been a big letdown (though I didn’t see Thor, which many seemed to like). Only HP:7, Pt. 2 passed mainstream and critical muster. Yet, just when studios lose steam and release movies they don’t suppose will be summer tent poles, comes the franchise reboot/prequel nobody knew they wanted, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 
I went into Rise with three thoughts: 1) the trailer didn’t look so hot, 2) how many reboots, reimaginings, and remakes do we need? and 3) can I stand James Franco for ninety-plus minutes? All my presuppositions were wrong. I don’t know whether Rise will reboot the Apes franchise or function as just a one-off, but if moviemakers can make compelling, well-acted summer fare like this, I say keep them coming.

Rise begins in the African jungle where a captured chimpanzee is taken to a U.S. lab. where Franco works developing experimental drugs meant to rebuild decayed brain tissue. He hopes to use one day to fix his father’s (John Lithgow) Alzheimer’s. Franco experiments on the chimp, it goes berserk, and is killed. Here, the chimp was protecting its baby, Caesar. Franco takes Caesar home, raises him, and finds his mother has genetically passed him the experimental drugs, making him smarter than your average ape.

Cut to five years later. Caesar signs like a fully grown human. He wears clothes, has a range of emotions, and uses silverware at dinner. Franco now has a cute girlfriend (Frieda Pinto), the romance of which is never shown. This is good, as too many movies like this are sunk by cheesy, undercooked, obligatory amorous subplots. No worries here. Apes! Apes!

Franco’s father’s Alzheimer’s hasn’t abated, however, and one day an altercation between Lithgow and a neighbor causes Caesar to defend his adopted grandfather. He bites off the neighbor’s finger and gets sent to a primate sanctuary run by Brian Cox and his son, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy from the HP movies—still a bastard). While in this pseudo-prison, Caesar begins the ape revolution heralded by the movie’s title.

That is all the plot I’ll give away. See it yourself. It’s at once everything you ever expected from a movie called Rise of the Planet of the Apes and yet nothing you did. Or at least, you never expected it to be this good.

First, the astounding computer animation: never has it looked so seamless. With Andy Serkis (Gollum from Lord of the Rings) as Caesar, the CGI ape carries the movie’s weight all the way. He is the star. Caesar is emotional, intelligent, and a bit of an egomaniac. Yet, you have to love a movie that makes the audience root against mankind in favor of well-developed primates. The rest of the ape animation is great. Maurice, the old wise circus orangutan, was my favorite, along with the gorilla. Imagine any war movie and you’ll be able to stick the apes in the stock character roles. Because of the modern setting, however, it works.

Second, the acting: James Franco does well (his best role is still Daniel Desario in Freaks & Geeks). I’ve read reviews saying he looks bored. That could just be his face, which has never been too expressive. Frieda Pinto plays the good-looking, ape-loving doctor/girlfriend. She looks pretty when she has to and says her lines with conviction. At least they didn’t cast an anorexic blonde.  I agree with Roger Ebert’s take on the Lithgow character: he functions to do exactly what he does and nothing more. He does a good job, though the scene where he forgets how to drive a car is a bit Dick Solomoniesque.

The film’s supporting roles are well-cast. Felton, as in Harry Potter, is a great dick, always will be. David Oyelowo is the white-collar boss. “You make the drugs, I make the money,” he says to Franco. He is an appropriate, if underdeveloped, villain. The saddest casting is Brian Cox, the great Scottish character actor. He is wasted as the “ape warden.” It requires him to grumpily shuffle around the sanctuary and grunt, “They’re just apes.” If he wore a shirt that read, “I Hate Animals,” you could cut most of his lines. This is a shame, since he's always a great villain. The film sets him up as one, only to cut him short in the end. Watch the scene where he reacts to the fatal aftermath of Caesar’s escape—does it feel like there’s been a cut?

Overall, Rise is a great B-movie. It’s not Casablanca, but it doesn’t try to be. There’s nothing clunky in the writing or direction. The film meets its simple goals: entertain with great ape action, standard human characters, and don’t go overboard with any cautionary sci-fi nonsense. It’s a great ride, although I do have one question: for apes smart enough to pick locks and perform military strategy, they love jumping through windows. This pervades the movie myth of easily breakable glass panes. I hope no one tries to jump through a window like Caesar and his buddies. That’s nothing to monkey around with (insert more ape jokes here). B.