Since Tim Burton’s lackluster remake of Planet of the Apes, audiences haven’t exactly been crying out for a new installment in the series Hence when early previews of Rise of the Planet of the Apes surfaced, people suspected they were in for a tiresome CGI romp coasting on a brand name’s mileage. Yet the surprise here is that the film is actually rather good: patient, confident, involving, not without thought, fascinating in its special effects, and with present-day relevance to burn.
The film stars James Franco as Will Rodman, an impatient scientist who is racing to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. He is testing an experimental drug on chimpanzees that he one day hopes to use on his father, Charles (John Lithgow), whose been diagnosed with the disease. A scary lab accident causes Will’s experiment to be shut down, but not before rescuing a baby chimp from being disposed of like the others. Naming the small monkey Caesar, Will decides to take the infant home until he can decide what to do with him.
Years go by and Caesar grows into a teenaged ape being raised as a surrogate son by Will and his girlfriend, Caroline (Freida Pinto). Having his genes altered by Will’s serum, Caesar shows remarkable signs of human behavior, including advanced communication skills and a great understanding of human emotions. But pretty soon, Caesar reveals his animalistic nature through violent outbursts and gets himself placed in an unpleasant ape shelter overseen by John Landon (Brian Cox) and his vile son, Dodge (Tom Felton). The cruel treatment of Caesar by this father-son duo reveals to him a horrible side of human nature he never knew existed.
Caesar decides to use his resourceful intelligence to rebel against his human captors. He creates a bond with the other abused primates at the shelter and finds devious methods to allow his fellow inmates to become as smart as he is. Pretty soon, Caesar and his simian army plot not only an escape from the shelter, but a rebellion against all human kind!
Since this is a plot based on Nature’s Way vs. Man’s Ignorance, you can expect the usual fixings of greed damaging science and the bizarre consequences of tampering with nature. Most of the film’s musings suggest a low-rent Project Nim or Project X. What actually keeps us involved every step of the way is the mesmerizing CGI performance of Andy Serkis as Caesar. Serkis is the actor famous for using motion-capture technology to uncover the tortured souls in CGI characters. From Gollum to King Kong and now Caesar, Serkis had made himself a Boris Karloff of our times by bringing human dimensions to other-worldly creatures. His acting efforts bring an enormous amount of sympathy to Caesar’s plights, blasting startling feelings and emotions into a special-effects concoction. The computer-assisted performance has the amazing effect of making Caesar the most human character in the entire film.
Perhaps Caesar’s surprising humanity is assisted by the one-note simplicity of the human characters. The film’s casting strangely traps gifted actors into wooden characters far below their usual potential. James Franco can be such an imaginative actor that he could play one of the apes with no problem. Yet here he is plopped into a straight-faced scientist role that greatly underuses his talents. His presence probably makes the role more compelling than it deserves to be, for we keep expecting his inherent strangeness to peak out from behind his poker face. Pinto radiates with such beauty and can convey such intelligence that its rather jarring to see her character have absolutely nothing of any consequence to do. The best human performance comes from Lithgow as Will’s Alzheimer’s-stricken father, nailing every nuance the role demands. This is the second movie this summer (after Friends With Benefits) that showcases this disease in a silly Hollywood outing, bringing weight to a plot that might not deserve it.
The diminished human characterizations, however, conveniently make the apes the most sympathetic characters in the entire film (which is why PETA is endorsing the prequel). Considering what obvious CGI creations they are, this is a rather remarkable feat. One of the widespread criticisms of CGI animation is that it makes seemingly-real entities appear way too cartoonish. Indeed, the apes at first glance look about as real as Jar-Jar Binks. Yet the special effects department give such rich detail to their behavioral patterns and expressions that the apes take on a heightened fascination, which makes sense for primates evolving towards humanity. The apes’ movements take on a jaunty, visceral quality thats especially exciting in a climactic sequence where the simians take over the San Francisco Bridge. As the primates swing through the air and attack police vehicles, the scene develops a fierce energy that makes this bouncy CGI ballet good fun to relish. Would real stunt men and puppeteering have made these apes appear more realistic? Perhaps. Would they still be as thrilling and ferocious? I have my doubts.
One of the kicks of good science-fiction is the creative ways it can comment on real world issues within a wildly imaginative realm. I suspect if this film ends up becoming a big hit, it won’t be because audiences just want to see packs of apes running amuck. Present day America has seen the lower and middle classes dealt hurtful blows from the greedy and incompetent politicians in power. So perhaps this tale of powerless creatures rebelling against an oppressive power is providing a release anxiety that’ll hit home harder than most people realize. You’d have to be mighty obtuse nowadays not to get a certain wish fulfillment out of a battered group overthrowing greedy businessmen and a system of harsh conformity. This may sound outlandish, but remember that Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, the most direct influence on this new Apes flick, got its violent imagery from the Civil Rights movement and other social rebellions. I may sound crazy, but you have to ask yourself why this film ends on such a positive note.
But don’t expect this flick to be the deepest societal statement. If you truly just want to see mad apes stick it to human bozos, then Rise of the Planet of the Apes will give you your money’s worth. Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay it is that it does away with any bad memory you may have of Burton’s misguided remake. Planet of the Apes was a franchise founded on curious ideas regarding nature and society, and this new installment doesn’t betray those ideas.
1 comment:
Good Review! This is that rare summer movie that has brains and emotion in addition to the spectacle. It is also such a great film that it makes us forget about the 2001 piece of junk that Tim Burton tried to do but actually failed. Check out my review when you can!
Post a Comment