Creating a prequel to a classic sci-fi movie isn't an easy feat. Unfortunately, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" proves this. The movie lacks warmth, charm and vivid characters.
You know a movie sucks when the CGI chimp has more personality than the majority of the human cast. This movie should have been subtitled "That Chimp is Totally Pissed Off, Dude!" The apes are truly the only part of this movie that consistently display any emotion at all. And when your audience is more empathetic with a film's CGI, you ought to consider a new director.
It's disappointing because the idea had promise, especially with the cast of the film. However, it's ultimately disappointing, especially for fans of the original "Planet of the Apes."
The plot centers on Will Rodman (James Franco) and his quest to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, which afflicts his father, Charles (John Lithgow). So Will studies the disease and finds a possible treatment in ALZ 112, a virus that can repair brain cells. Along with his buddy Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine), they study the effects of the virus in chimpanzees.
Will is certain of the potential of the virus strain and begs his greedy, self-centered boss (David Oyelowo) for a chance to present to the board. The boss relents and emphasizes to Rodman that he needs to talk about the profit potential, not curing diseases.
Predictably, something goes terribly wrong and suddenly Franklin has to kill all of the chimps in the lab. And predictably, Franklin can't kill an infant chimp and he hands him off to Will. Will raises the chimp, which appears to have inherited the strain that was applied to his mother, "Bright Eyes." The chimp, Caesar, becomes incredibly intelligent and even wears clothes at one point.
However, predictably, something goes wrong again. Caesar gets stuck inside an animal control holding cell with a lot of apes and a few workers, one of whom is incredibly cruel for no apparent reason (Tom Felton). Caesar then leads the apes to freedom.
This movie is technically well done. The scenery, the sets, the edits and cinematography are all excellent. The special effects and CGI are, again, well done, except the apes move just a bit too smoothly to be truly believable. This doesn't save the movie, though.
Franco does an adequate job of portraying Will, however knowing the caliber of actor Franco is, the performance is disappointing. We see very little development or actual emotion from his character. It's rather obvious that Franco wasn't into the concept or the character.
The vast majority of the characters in this movie are flat and undeveloped. Only Lithgow and Labine manage to bring warmth to an otherwise cold film. Lithgow is moving in his struggle with Alzheimer's, and Labine brings a life to what could have been a forgettable role. His animal-lover chimp scientist wasn't on screen nearly enough.
But those two performances aren't enough to carry this film. There are other major flaws in the work, such as throwing out a huge plot point of "Planet of the Apes." Sure there are a few Easter eggs for fans ("Bright Eyes," the statue of liberty toy, the hoses and of course, "Get your paws off me, you damn dirty ape"). The last Easter egg should have been left out — the moment was forced and Felton didn't have the chops to pull it off.
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" fails on multiple counts. It fails first and foremost because it can't pull off the sci-fi elements. Good sci-fi is ultimately a discussion on morality and humanity. This comes off as a lecture on how the science of animal testing will doom us all.
rhiannonroot@dailynebraskan.com
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