Go Ape! - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2011/145 min                                                         

It is unthinkable to write about this latest -so far-  Planet of the Apes installment, without  travelling back in time, in the year 1968, and  mentioning the one that started it all, starring the action hero of his time -call me Ben Hur,  call me Moses-  Charlton Heston .

The first Planet of the Apes  movie, was based on the French sci-fi novel with the name: "La Planete des Singes"  -1963  written by Pierre Boulle.

Veteran filmmaker  Franklin J. Schaffner, later director of  unique movies  like  "Patton" -1970 , "Papillion"  -1973  and "The Boys from Brazil"  -1978,  with the use of  minimum visuals but revolutionary -Oscar awarded- makeup techniques, tells the story of astronaut George Taylor, whose spacecraft crushes  on a planet inhabited by an advanced breed of apes  and where people are inferior and used as slaves .

In spite of the heavy makeup,   the best roles in this movie, are played by the ... apes :  Roddy McDowall's  Cornelius, Kim Hunter's  Zira and Maurice  Evans'   Dr. Zaius,  steal the show.

Sophisticated cultured monkeys against  primitive barbaric people.

The film,  the screenplay of which, was co-written by Rod Serling, creator of the unforgettable Twilight Zone series, can be very pleasantly watched even today, while the unsuspecting prospective viewers should know that this movie, has not only one of the best endings of all time but also one of the best lines:"Take your  stinkin ' paws off me you damn dirty ape"!!

Not forgetting   THE  kiss!

You can find the original  movie  on  Blu-ray  and  DVD

And here is the original trailer

After the first planet,  followed a series of films with titles like (breathing in):  Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1969),   Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971),  Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1974)  plus two television series  (breathing out) until the year 2001, when Tim Burton helms a remake of the first film, starring Mark Wahlberg  and an exceptional assembly of actors  in the roles of the apes:  Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth and Paul Giamatti.

The great expectations of the fans of the series were not met, despite the more sophisticated and expensive visual effects and Burton's   artistic filming.

The changed finale of this film, although interesting, cannot be compared to the original, which remains far better and more subversive.

Thus we come to year   2011 and   the Rise . 

Here,   British  director  Rupert Wyatt,  takes us  to the past of the Planet of the Apes, when the planet was  still  of the Humans  and explains what happened and how we came to fall off our place at the top of the food chain.

The story in a nutshell:  
Talented young scientist Will Rodman (James Franco), in his research to find a cure for Alzheimer disease,  discovers  ALZ 112,  a revolutionary formula  that can not only repair the cerebral  damages of  the  patients  -his beloved father being one of them-  but also greatly improve the cognitive skills of  all men.

He starts administering the experimental medicine to chimpanzees and the results are dramatic.

During the presentation of his research to his employers, the board of a multinational pharmaceutical company, everything goes wrong.

The laboratory is shut down and all the animals are killed .

In a cage, Will discovers a newborn baby chimpanzee and secretly carries it out of the laboratory to his home, where he brings it up like a child .

Over the years the chimp,   named  Caesar shows incredible intelligence and ability to communicate , which was inherited to him by his mother, to whom  ALZ  112  was administered , while  she was pregnant.

Growing   up,   Caesar tries to understand  his place in the world and when he realizes it , he rebels and then it is too late for all of mankind.

  
Reasons to see this movie:  Again, like all previous films, the ... apes  steal the show.

Here we have a chimpanzee named   Caesar.

So the one who really steals the show is   Andy Serkis.

The glorious King Kong, the miserable Gollum of  the Lord of the Rings trilogy and  Tin Tin's  Captain Haddock,  are all  played  with the facial expressions, the voice,  the moves,  the intelligence  of the same actor, who  -with the help of  the motion capture technique,  gives life to a... lifeless  image made on a computer.

When we see Caesar on screen, we don't see an actor who plays a chimpanzee.

We see a chimpanzee  who  plays a role.

  
WETA's technology serves the artistic effect of the film   -just like it did with Avatar-   and pushes it up on another level .

The storytelling is also a big plus   regarding character development . Right from the start we sympathize with the young scientist who agonizes not only for the good result of his research, but also for the health of his father (John Lithgow) and the future of his "adopted son".

We are moved by Caesar's efforts to integrate into the society of man and his anticipated failure.

It is ironic but true: We're on his side when one by one  he  overcomes  all obstacles on his way to freedom, even when this will ultimately lead to the final extinction of  the  human species.

For the older fans of the series the Rise holds many surprises. Names, symbols, television news programs,  connects it to the first -the mother of all films- and pays it tribute at every opportunity.  

The   much expected action sequences, the audience requires from the typical blockbuster, may be delayed but compensate,  are enough and lead to the aim of the film industry:
The sequel.

When the majestic Caesar escapes,   crossing and destroying the pride of San Francisco,  the Golden Gate Bridge, we know that this is only the beginning.
 
First  San Francisco,   then the world.

Ave   Caesar !  Those who are   about to die salute you.

You can find  Rise of the Planet of the Apes on  Blu-ray και DVD. 

You can find the greek version of my review HERE

The first official trailer for the third chapter of the franchise, entitled 'War for the Planet of the Apes' came out a few days ago and it looks promising. 

Vikings (My -not so- guilty pleasure)