Rise of the Planet of the Apes

 

 

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VIDEO:

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes arrives at blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 2.35:1 encode. The transfer is simply gorgeous from start to finish. Considering all of the special effects wizardry undertaken by the WETA Workshop, you'd think Rise would've been shot digitally, but no--it was actually filmed on fine-grained 35mm stock, and that warm, natural filmic texture is still visible here, untouched by noise reduction or edge enhancement. The clarity and details are simply outstanding. Human skin and clothing textures are refined, but perhaps more impressive are WETA's CGI creations, which show a tremendous amount of detail, down to the individual hairs on the apes' faces. Colour is richly saturated too, with glowing skin tones, deep forest greens, and a generally warm cast, all bolstered by dark blacks and punchy contrast. (4.5/5)

AUDIO:

This lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is dynamically aggressive and consistently engaging. From the very first scene, where you hear frightened birds explode in unison from out of the jungle canopy, you get the feeling you're in for some powerful and carefully considered sound design. The rear channels stay active throughout, supporting the ongoing action with pinpoint directionality. Dialogue remains clean, balanced, and easy to understand. The climactic face-off on the Golden Gate Bridge sounds especially fantastic, with helicopter rotors thrumming through the surround channels, massive outward-rippling explosions, and bullets spraying in every direction. (4.5/5)

TRIVIA AND GOOFS:

This movie has an estimated budget of $93 million, but grossed $486 million worldwide. It was also nominated for Best Visual Effects Oscar, but lost to Hugo.

This is the second film in which Andy Serkis plays an ape, having previously portrayed 2005's version of King Kong. He was also the motion capture actor for Gollum in Lord of the Rings, where he bites off Frodo's finger. His ape character Caesar bites the neighbor's finger in this role, too.

The head of the research department Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) is named after Arthur P. Jacobs, producer of the original "Apes" franchise. His production company, APJAC, was often referred to as "ApeJAC".

This is Charlton Heston's 5th 'appearence' in the Planet of the Apes franchise. (1) He starred in the original; (2) co-starred in Beneath the Planet of the Apes; (3) was seen in archive footage (kissing Zira in a sepia yellow flashback) in Escape from the Planet of the Apes; (4) had a cameo as Zaius in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes remake; and (5) can be seen on the TV set in the Ape bunkhouse in the role of Michelangelo from The Agony and the Ecstasy in this movie.

In the original ending (which was actually filmed), Will (James Franco ) dies. One month before the movie was slated to be released, however, minds were changed, so Franco and Andy Serkis flew in over the 4th of July weekend to shoot the ending that stayed in the film.

Did you notice that on the Golden Gate Bridge, Caesar stands on the roof of a Nissan Maxima and raises his hand and roars as he stops the Apes advance, while in the next shot, Caesar is seen from the rear and the car is a Volkswagen Jetta?

FINAL THOUGHT:

I still treasure my blu ray box set of the original Planet Of The Apes (40-year Evolution) - 5 discs with a hard top book. It is displayed along side of my other box sets such as Ben Hur, Gone With The Wind, etc. In this 7th edition (counting Tim Burton's 2001 release), there is a sense of realism here that the previous movies could never even have tried to muster. Much of the credit goes to the famed WETA Workshop--which created the most realistic CGI apes yet seen on screen--and motion-capture all-star Andy Serkis, who is simply brilliant and absolutely the soul of the film. Highly recommended for all you apes fans! Further, at $19.99 (60% off) it is also a real bargain! I hope the above review is helpful to you.

2011 may go down as the year of remakes, reboots, and sequels. We had Footloose, The Thing, Straw Dogs, the end of the Harry Potter series. We had great prequels such as Xmen First Class, the best of the series, and now we have Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Having seen the first POTA with Charlton Heston, the fish out of water, topsy turvy, apes rule the planet is hard to emulate and surpass from a storytelling point of view, as is the mythology of the original story, with the enlightened though cruel apes having their own spin on the evolution of the planet.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes begins the mythology, shifting west from the Statue of Liberty to the Golden Gate Bridge. Scientists have a positive intention, such as finding a cure for cancer or alzheimers, and making money in the process, yet exploiting innocent creatures to do so. When this gets out of control we have unintended consequences.

The mythology of the birth of Caesar under unusual circumstance, to a mother dosed with performance enhancing drugs parallels the birth of Moses, who would grow up to lead his people out of Egypt (San Francisco) to the promised land (Muir Woods). Human hubris, leads to the fall of humanity and the rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Following the purging of the 12, Caesar as a baby, is discovered not in the rushes but in a cage, and secretly raised by a scientist (James Franco, and his girlfriend (Freida Pinto). We know that he has extraordinary abilities, that must be kept under wraps. Nevertheless Caesar has to contend with his own instinctive nature, and acting with the intention to protect gets into serious trouble. Caesar observes, and learns from his mistakes. When we see a recurrence of a similar situation he handles it differently.

Living in San Francisco I loved how these scenes played out in familiar locales, such as downtown San Francisco, and Muir Woods with the 150 foot high redwoods, which Caesar climbs, the panoramic views, and I particularly loved the confrontation scenes on the Golden Gate bridge, and how the fog was able to help with battle. I don't normally recommend special effects, except to say that they are outstanding.

Andy Serkis, who previously played King Kong, plays Caesar, and movie magic from WETA captures the almost human facial expressions, and makes us empathise with his situation, we can see his thought processes. I loved the prison scenes, and how Caesar rises to become leader, how he contends with the alpha male, his captors, how he organises his fellow inmates. Evolution becomes revolution.

Although the original with Charlton Heston is hard to beat, I loved this version. When a franchise runs out of steam, and a story runs out of possibilities, it is perhaps time to go back before the beginning, and start anew, and free of the restrictions of the original story, come up with something fresh and emotionally engaging. They did it with Batman Begins. That franchise was bereft of life.

Now they have it with Planet of the Apes. For once. I would love to see a sequel, where Caesar perhaps has a love interest, she gets captured, they have a kid, and there is a power struggle within the apes, betrayal, escalation with the humans. The possibilities are endless.

I think you will enjoy it, and I hope this was helpful.

Rabid fans of the Planet of the Apes series have long dreamed about a proper follow up to the established films, and a reprieve from Tim Burton's disastrous remake. 'Rise' is quite simply a magnificent origin story that flows well with the established canon of the original films while adding extra layers of complexity and personal touch to its running time. The film stars James Franco in a brilliant portrayal of Dr. William Rodman, a scientist on the verge of a breakthrough towards curing Alzheimer's disease. While a billion dollar biotechnology firm is backing Rodman's research, his is a much more personal stake. His father Charles (John Lithgow) is slowly succumbing to the disease, making everyday life intolerable. Rodman begins racing against the clock to perfect drug ALZ-112, which he tests on approximately a dozen chimpanzees. The drug performs magnificently with an unexpected side effect. The chimps have all gained massive intelligence. Things do not remain peaceful however, and before long a female chimp named Bright Eyes feels that her baby is threatened, and executes a rampage that culminates with a disastrous interruption at a meeting of the Board of Directors. Progress on ALZ-112 is halted and all remaining chimps are put down, save one: baby Caesar. Rodman raises Caesar in his home from birth while noting an unexpected side effect. Caesar has inherited his mother's hyperintelligence. As Caesar grows into adulthood and becomes more difficult to keep in the house, he also begins displaying heavy cognitive and comprehensive abilities which allow him to see the injustice being inflicted on ape-kind by humans. When Caesar lashes out a next-door neighbor and causes massive property damage, Rodman is ordered to turn him over to an ape sanctuary designed to rehabilitate traumatized primates. The sanctuary is a ruse however, led by the sadistic John Landon (Brian Cox), his son and several employees. Caesar falls victim to a festering contempt of humans, and begins manipulating events to plan for the eventual escape and triumph over their oppressors, which will have even farther-reaching consequences.

'Rise' does one thing very well. It takes its subject matter seriously. This in itself is a feat that propels the movie to a level of quality that deserves high respect and praise. Rather than focusing on humanity's own bigotry and short sightedness in the form of the ape, 'Rise' opts for social commentary on the dangers of genetic manipulation, decay of morality and the rise of social injustice and division among the population. It allows the viewer to see that with increased intelligence comes increased risk of inaccurate judgment and an overwhelming desire to steer one's destiny, no matter who gets hurt in the process. Caesar is a sympathetic character played brilliantly by CGI veteran Andy Serkis, and he shows a great degree of personal introspection and increased awareness that the world around him is wrong. His bond with William goes beyond pet vs. master, into father/son territory, making his eventual rise all that much foggier. Caesar is not evil, or bigoted or violent. He is a product of his surroundings that consistently clash with his good nature and sense of right and wrong, making his actions that much harder to pinpoint as either heroic or villainous. The most clouded aspect of the character is his decision to grant his fellow (and far less intelligent) primate brethren with his own super intelligence. The director wisely chose to leave that open to interpretation as to whether Caesar follows through for the sake of feeling like he belongs, or whether he genuinely wants freedom for his brothers.

The film can best be summed up as a techno-thriller, for there is little in the way of action save for the final act. Nevertheless, the story never felt slow, or uninteresting. The dichotomy between Caesar and Rodman is played out very wisely as their relationship begins to come apart at the seams under the weight of their positions in the world. By the time the apes manage to free themselves, Rodman realizes all too late that his personal quest to save his father has caused horrible repercussions. Whether the viewer chooses to tie this movie into the very first 'Planet of the Apes' classic is their choice. There are certainly enough strands to form a cohesive connection between the two, despite their vastly different themes, time periods and commentaries. Credit can definitely be given to the team for providing an excellent backstory to this hellish road which was quite literally paved with the best of intentions. Even if you're not a fan of the 'Apes' movies, this prequel can easily stand on its own as an example of smart storytelling, great integrity and some excellent thrills.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The best of the series in my opinion. The apes are very lifelike, and I'm still not sure which were actors and which might have been SGI products. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Henry

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible movie!!!
I've never been a fan of the Planet of the apes movies. However, I've heard great things about Rise of the Planet of the apes! Read more

Published 2 months ago by Q. T. Vo

4.0 out of 5 stars Good movie night
I bought this as a gift for my husband at xmas. He seemed to like it. I felt sorry for the main character Ceasar. Hope he does well in the sequel. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Elizabeth Mutschel

5.0 out of 5 stars planet of the apes review
simply a fantastic film, lots of suspension and build up to an excellent final sequence. It'll leave you wanting more but in a good way. Read more

Published 4 months ago by craig

5.0 out of 5 stars Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I really enjoyed this movie. The computer generated apes are so real that you forget they aren't. Lots of fun at the beginning when the ape is young and a compelling story line... Read more

Published 4 months ago by pemberka

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Perfect: THE Planet of the Apes Film
This is a must. Period. It was so completely gratifying to see this long revered tradition 're-booted' with such ultimate style and intelligence. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Richard S. Warner

1.0 out of 5 stars Rise of the planet of the apes
This re-make of the old or new Planet of the apes was the worst attempt at trying to capture any one of the previous films. Very disappointed.

Published 4 months ago by Murph

4.0 out of 5 stars Wow this really didn't suck
I loved the original series of films from this franchise but did not think a good remake was possible. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Stephen Bieth

5.0 out of 5 stars Really awesome movie! (spoiler-free)
It's nice to see Hollywood producing good, quality movies. This is a classic example of how to get it right. The acting is top-notch and the story is believable. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Carmella

3.0 out of 5 stars For a non-fan of the franchise, I was pleasantly surprised.
First off, I was never a fan of the franchise. I like sci-fi but always found this franchise, well- lame. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Michael

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