Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)

Rise Of the Apes represents a big Hollywood studio trying to reinvigorate a franchise that know one has talked about since Tim Burton's awful remake 10 years ago. This new movie is a prequel to 1968 Planet Of The Apes, but it wants to stand on it's own two feet and be recognised as a alternate story and also as a great summer blockbuster. Thankfully it manages to achieve it's target and surely become the surprise hit of the summer.

The film follows Will Rodman (James Franco) who is researching a cure for Alzheimer's by using chimps as test subjects. Will takes home a baby Chimpanzee after it's mother died due to a failed experiment. Cesar, the Chimp, shows great intelligence and starts to question his place on a human run planet. After meeting other Apes at a impound, Cesar decides to build an army.

Ten years ago, Tim Burton failed miserably at remaking Planet Of the Apes, now, Rupert Wyatt gets a shot at adding to the Ape saga with a alternate version of how Apes came to rule the world. Fans of the original will be pleased with the many references to the original (Caesar playing with a Statue Of Liberty puzzle, the opening scene, a exact recreation of the when the apes captured Heston.) For those who have yet to see any of the Ape movies, this film is a good starting point.

Regardless of  what other critics are saying, the 'human actors' in the film are all OK, giving well intentioned performances for what are basically supporting roles. Make no mistake, the Gorillas, Chimpanzees and orangutans are the stars of the film. Or more precisely, the actors who play the Apes are the stars. Andy Serkis who plays Caesar gives one of the best performances you'll see this summer. No other actor can do motion capture as good as Serkis and his performance makes Caesar the most sympathetic and fully realised character in the film. He owns this movie.

The film is short on action, with the majority of the film showing Caesar growing up and what happened to make him want to fight humans. It's not until Caesar gathers his army of Apes and sets out to the Golden Gate Bridge that the action kicks in. But when it does, you'll get to see a great action set-piece that shows the humans having absolutely no chance of beating these Apes.

Audiences will find Rise Of The Apes an enjoyable film that's also a solid entry into the franchise. It's emotional, exciting and above all entertaining. After the early success of the film in America, expect sequels to come over the next few years.