I was on the edge of my seat for nearly all of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” not because the movie was suspenseful or intense, but because it teeters precariously on the verge of camp for two solid hours. I kept waiting for the storyline to take an absurd turn, or for a laughable special effect, or for something unintentionally funny, but none of those things happened.
Instead, the movie contains just the right amounts of sci-fi silliness and real world drama. It never becomes stupid, and it never takes itself too seriously. “Apes” will be remembered, at least temporarily, for its uncannily realistic computer animation. When “Avatar” hit theaters in 2009, I thought movies had reached an apex that would be difficult to beat for several years. I was wrong. Instead, Weta, the same company that created the special effects for “Avatar,” has delivered the next generation of CGI, and it’s...
I want to write “amazing,” but that might produce the wrong image in your mind. There’s nothing otherworldly or extraordinary about the chimps in “Apes”. They simply look like the real thing, complete with skin texture, weight, and solidity. Muscles twitch and affect other muscles; limbs move with none of the stiffness seen in other movies; and the expressions of the apes reveal genuine emotion and thought.
This is not true of the shots showing several primates from a distance. Those moments suffer from a drop in quality. Perhaps the makers of “Apes” opted to spend all of their money on the close-ups. Whatever happened, there were shots that made me think, “That HAS to be a real chimp,” but then the shots in which the primates did things an actual ape couldn’t looked just as authentic.
Some of the praise must go to actor Andy Serkis, who performed the part of Caesar, the central ape in the movie, using the same technology used to create the Navi in “Avatar.” Fans of the recent “Lord of the Rings” movies will remember Serkis as the actor behind Gollum. So the visual effects in “Apes” are worth the price of admission. Fortunately, so is the story.
“Rise” is an origin story set in present day San Francisco. It stars James Franco as Will Rodman, a scientist at GEN-SYS who’s attempting to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s. When he tests a genetically engineered retrovirus on a female chimp, the animal develops remarkable cognitive abilities overnight.
As luck would have it, the ape goes bonkers because she believes a scientist is threatening the baby to whom she secretly gave birth. As she rampages through the GEN-SYS facility, she disrupts a meeting and attacks the company’s board members, who have gathered to hear Rodman’s pitch on why they should start producing the retrovirus.
They shut him down instead. In the chaos following the attack, Rodman decides to take the baby chimp home. He soon discovers the animal, which he’s named Caesar, inherited his mother’s human-like intelligence. Three years later, Rodman administers a new version of the virus on his father, who has Alzheimer’s. For a time, his father improves, but his condition soon deteriorates again, and he tries to steal a neighbor’s car. When the neighbor yells at the father and shoves him, Caesar comes to his rescue. The result is not pretty.
To protect the population, the authorities force Rodman to put Caesar in a primate facility. This sets in motion the events that will lead to a climactic battle between the apes and the police. While “Rise” treads familiar ground, it’s one of the better entries in the science-gone-wrong genre. Plus, the human elements of its story are compelling, especially how Rodman and Caesar come to see each other as father and son.
And no movie since “The Empire Strikes Back” has done a better of job of setting up a sequel. Since “Apes” is doing well at the box office, a follow-up will likely happen. I hope it keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Rated PG-13 for violence, terror, brief sexuality, and strong language. Three stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.