Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Hello once again, today I am here to present a review of a very good review with some of the best references I have seen in the film and some great effects and voice over work.

As I sound bound in everlasting love with this film, I should probably start with a complaint, which is probably just controversial nit picking. I feel that the reference of the disease was too unrevealing and it would have been lovely to have some footage of people suffering from the disease rather than a few yellow lines running seemingly pointlessly across the credits, I mean get real! This is pivotal in terms of the series.

One piece of referencing I did like was the newspaper article that was talking about the men on a space voyage which beautifully ties the film in with the original planet of the apes and there were also plenty of others for the viewer to feast on. Another feature I liked was the last scene and how it was so delicately done, allowing the viewer to put the pieces together.

Carrying on with subtle and delicate, two words I will use 100 times each in this review. I felt the plot line was beautifully done, contrasting to last time! There were so many twists and implications implemented (tongue twister!) that I was thrown off my chair for example, when the father of the main character, Will got a recurrence of Alzheimer’s that was more severe than the original one gave me quite a shock and made me almost able to feel like I was experiencing it and when the Will went out with the paramedic… we won’t go there. I also thought it was very fitting of the genre of the initial planet of the ape’s film, which is always a bonus.

The acting was pretty average for a 21st century film, which obviously means it was of very good standard. Whether that makes any sense! What I’m trying to say is there wasn’t too much that was particularly special about it, apart from Tyler Labine who played the ape handler at Gen-Sys and who I really warmed to. Another mention is to John Lithgow (playing Will’s father), who I felt portrayed the original symptoms of the Alzheimer’s very well but didn’t show the realistic severity of the final stage of Alzheimer’s. However, I thought the voice overs were amazing and I was very surprised that it was done by human beings on my visit to the Wikipedia website, credit for the realism and the amazing sounds made.

I feel before I conclude, I must congratulate the dazzling effects team for the wonders that they created on the screen. The chimps seemed so real, many leagues above the original film and their movements and interactions were done so well it took my breath away. My only niggle would be that the baby Caesar seemed a little graphic and fake to me though I seriously don’t think I could have done a better job. I also loved the plane drop from the golden gate bridge, which has become a bit of a cliché item in films.

Overall, it was a great film that I would recommend watching and that I personally enjoyed, the rating is age appropriate though 12-year old’s may struggle to cope with the concept of apes taking over the planet and understand the references which may make it less enjoyable.