Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Rupert Wyatt, 2011)
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:35 pm
Surprised there's no thread already out about this film. I've been a huge POTA fan ever since I was a kid back in the '80's & saw the original films on network TV. So, when it was announced that a new POTA film would come out in 2011, I was cautiously optimistic. When I finally saw the film in August of that year, I was amazed; and, I ended up seeing it two more times in the theatre, which is something I almost never do anymore. Even now I am still reeling at how incredibly good ROTPOTA was. I haven't seen a movie in years that has moved me the way this film has. IMHO, this is the best Apes film so far - and, this is coming from a fan of all the previous films:
- Great beginning, i.e. the capture of the Apes in the remote jungle - and it was very ironic that, in a sense, the beginning of the end for humanity started in a place far from civilization.
- The CGI on the Apes was truly incredible - amazingly real movement & expressions - You really felt these were actual creatures, and not something created by/in a Computer. The Apes (especially Caesar) are the most fully-realized characters created by CGI that I've seen in any film, period. They all seemed very real, with excellent detail right down to the hair, body movements, facial expressions which expressed anger, sadness, rage, compassion, etc. Very well-done. And, the CGI was far, far superior to the CGI creatures/characters I've seen in any other film, period. Caesar obviously stole the show, but the other Apes in the film were amazing as well, including the main Gorilla, the Orangatang, and the creepy-looking scarred Chimpanzee.
- I was very impressed by the progression of Caesar from cute Chimp to the much more menacing adult Ape - the passage of time when he was climbing the tree in the forest was particularly effective; and, the later scene when he turned around and suddenly growled at the barking dog was both shocking & chilling, since you didn't see it coming.
- The scientific explanation as to how the Apes became intelligent was very well-thought out and, from a fictional movie standpoint, completely plausible IMHO. The idea that Caesar was the most intelligent since his mother had been injected with the substance and he had been born with it already in his bloodstream made perfect sense. And, the later scene when he exposed the rest of the Apes in the compound was plausible also, given the idea that the toxin/virus was also shown to be airborne. (Note that in all of the previous Apes films, there was no reason given as to how/why the Apes became intelligent).
- I liked how Caesar was at first bullied by the Apes in the compound until he later asserted himself - this established him as a leader & led to leading the Apes to freedom.
- The sadistic worker at the compound was great as the guy you love to hate, and his death was classic. I felt his "Take your Stinking Paws off me..." line was very effective, and was a nice homage to the original film.
- The "NO!" said by Caesar was a great jolt, since you weren't expecting this; very well-done.
- The battle sequence at the end in the city streets and on the bridge were very well-done and plausible. I was not expecting a full-blown military-type battle with tanks & heavy machine guns against the Apes, so this small-scale battle made perfect sense in the context of what would probably happen if a large group of Apes escaped from a zoo/compound; The authorities would first try to contain this with the local police force/SWAT teams before calling in the military. The sequence when the Apes used the bus as a shield was excellent - their new intelligence really showed through here.
- I enjoyed the scene when Caesar came riding through the smoke on the horse (on the bridge) - very effective & unexpected. I'm guessing this was an homage to the original film(s) as well.
- I liked how Caesar was a nuanced character - he was not depicted as being completely vicious & violent, since he showed remorse when he bit the finger of the jerk neighbor, and he also kept the gorilla from taking out the SWAT team member. Yet, the character was not always compassionate either, since he let the head of the research facility die when the helicopter fell off the bridge. I kind of saw him as someone who ended up being forced to do what he did, i.e. fight back when cornered & eventually lead his people to freedom, even though they had to fight to get there.
- The scene when the gorilla jumped at the helicopter was great (even though you knew this was coming from the trailer).
- The virus that made the Apes intelligent & which is also presumably going to kill off a lot of humans was a very good plot-point, and made perfect sense in the context of the film itself; it made the eventual downfall of man & the eventual take-over of by Apes much more plausible. I.e., if the virus is already starting to take effect at the time of the Apes' escape, it will already have started spreading at this point, & humanity will soon be dealing with this horror rather than worrying about the group of Apes living in the forest. And, when the humans are dead/dying, the Apes will eventually take over.
- Going along with the above, I also saw this toxin/virus as a classic case of "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"- the scientist (Franco) had completely altruistic reasons for making this substance, i.e. to treat Alzheimer's patients and give them back their quality of life. However, the head of the research facility where the scientists worked was primarily interested in the bottom line (i.e., $), and this ultimately led to humanity's downfall.
All in all, I really loved the film & am glad it did so well both critically & financially - And, I liked the movie so much that there's not ONE thing I think should've been done differently, or been changed.
The trailer for the sequel (Dawn of the POTA) came out today; and, this looks amazing. It looks like it will be building on what we saw in Rise, and I'm guessing it may have homages to the original films as well....
- Great beginning, i.e. the capture of the Apes in the remote jungle - and it was very ironic that, in a sense, the beginning of the end for humanity started in a place far from civilization.
- The CGI on the Apes was truly incredible - amazingly real movement & expressions - You really felt these were actual creatures, and not something created by/in a Computer. The Apes (especially Caesar) are the most fully-realized characters created by CGI that I've seen in any film, period. They all seemed very real, with excellent detail right down to the hair, body movements, facial expressions which expressed anger, sadness, rage, compassion, etc. Very well-done. And, the CGI was far, far superior to the CGI creatures/characters I've seen in any other film, period. Caesar obviously stole the show, but the other Apes in the film were amazing as well, including the main Gorilla, the Orangatang, and the creepy-looking scarred Chimpanzee.
- I was very impressed by the progression of Caesar from cute Chimp to the much more menacing adult Ape - the passage of time when he was climbing the tree in the forest was particularly effective; and, the later scene when he turned around and suddenly growled at the barking dog was both shocking & chilling, since you didn't see it coming.
- The scientific explanation as to how the Apes became intelligent was very well-thought out and, from a fictional movie standpoint, completely plausible IMHO. The idea that Caesar was the most intelligent since his mother had been injected with the substance and he had been born with it already in his bloodstream made perfect sense. And, the later scene when he exposed the rest of the Apes in the compound was plausible also, given the idea that the toxin/virus was also shown to be airborne. (Note that in all of the previous Apes films, there was no reason given as to how/why the Apes became intelligent).
- I liked how Caesar was at first bullied by the Apes in the compound until he later asserted himself - this established him as a leader & led to leading the Apes to freedom.
- The sadistic worker at the compound was great as the guy you love to hate, and his death was classic. I felt his "Take your Stinking Paws off me..." line was very effective, and was a nice homage to the original film.
- The "NO!" said by Caesar was a great jolt, since you weren't expecting this; very well-done.
- The battle sequence at the end in the city streets and on the bridge were very well-done and plausible. I was not expecting a full-blown military-type battle with tanks & heavy machine guns against the Apes, so this small-scale battle made perfect sense in the context of what would probably happen if a large group of Apes escaped from a zoo/compound; The authorities would first try to contain this with the local police force/SWAT teams before calling in the military. The sequence when the Apes used the bus as a shield was excellent - their new intelligence really showed through here.
- I enjoyed the scene when Caesar came riding through the smoke on the horse (on the bridge) - very effective & unexpected. I'm guessing this was an homage to the original film(s) as well.
- I liked how Caesar was a nuanced character - he was not depicted as being completely vicious & violent, since he showed remorse when he bit the finger of the jerk neighbor, and he also kept the gorilla from taking out the SWAT team member. Yet, the character was not always compassionate either, since he let the head of the research facility die when the helicopter fell off the bridge. I kind of saw him as someone who ended up being forced to do what he did, i.e. fight back when cornered & eventually lead his people to freedom, even though they had to fight to get there.
- The scene when the gorilla jumped at the helicopter was great (even though you knew this was coming from the trailer).
- The virus that made the Apes intelligent & which is also presumably going to kill off a lot of humans was a very good plot-point, and made perfect sense in the context of the film itself; it made the eventual downfall of man & the eventual take-over of by Apes much more plausible. I.e., if the virus is already starting to take effect at the time of the Apes' escape, it will already have started spreading at this point, & humanity will soon be dealing with this horror rather than worrying about the group of Apes living in the forest. And, when the humans are dead/dying, the Apes will eventually take over.
- Going along with the above, I also saw this toxin/virus as a classic case of "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"- the scientist (Franco) had completely altruistic reasons for making this substance, i.e. to treat Alzheimer's patients and give them back their quality of life. However, the head of the research facility where the scientists worked was primarily interested in the bottom line (i.e., $), and this ultimately led to humanity's downfall.
All in all, I really loved the film & am glad it did so well both critically & financially - And, I liked the movie so much that there's not ONE thing I think should've been done differently, or been changed.
The trailer for the sequel (Dawn of the POTA) came out today; and, this looks amazing. It looks like it will be building on what we saw in Rise, and I'm guessing it may have homages to the original films as well....