Review-ish: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
The film works.
I almost want to stop there.
The thing is, the film is not what you are probably expecting from the ads. It has action – lots of it – but it’s not an action movie. It has apes becoming as intelligent or more intelligent in some cases than humans, but it’s not that movie either.
Really, the movie is a social drama that could practically have been written by John Osborne or Robert Bolt. In a weird way, it’s closer to The Help than like Transformers on the summer spectrum.
It’s not really a reboot or a rethink on the material. But it is a film of this time, not the late 60s when the classic Apes was conceived. In the original, Charlton Heston stood in for black people in the civil rights movement. The Apes – aka Us – were so involved in maintaining the status quo that only the high minded ever even considered the discrimination. The issue was forced when a pre-devolution human arrives in their world. We should know better than to consider anyone a second class life form.
Here, we are still Us. The Apes are still limited. And thus starts a complex journey that leaves the audience rooting for its own demise.
The achievement of drawing the audience in to rooting for a species that is not our species – with some broad caricatures at times, but mostly with normal humans doing not-always-good things – is remarkable. There is a coda, about 60 seconds into credits, that audiences will love… against all human logic. But we are that connected to the movie, outside of our own heads. Which is great.
Franco is fine. Frieda Pinto’s only time off of being The Girl is when she turns into Basilina Exposition for a moment here or there. I didn’t know who played Franco’s dad, so I won’t tell you. But good. Brian Cox doesn’t get to do much. Tom Felton makes a good asshole. David Oyelowo looks good in a suit.
But this is really Andy Serkis’ movie. More so than as Kong or Gollum, he is doing a full pantomime performance… a much wider range of emotions and concepts to grasp through his digital eyes than Kong attempted. And it is a triumph for the digital artists who are well onto the right side of the suspension of disbelief line. Yes, you may be conscious that you are looking at digital animals at times. But more intellectually than emotionally. And with movies, that’s what matters.
They are also very smart about context in this film. They don’t overreach and yet the consequences of individual actions are still felt and feel like they will reverberate widely. Spartacus wasn’t about all the slaves… but it was. Same idea here.
It’s not the best movie of the season for me… but it’s definitely in the top third. And best of all – for me, if not for opening weekend – it came as a complete surprise. That tends to get a good film overrated. And it might here. But it’s a very good genre film. Very good indeed.
What I want to know is what the monkey feet look like. What I think about this topic is what this professional industry blog is made of or at least ought to be. Look at what I want to talk about. REACT TO IT.
I thought the original Apes was about science versus religion, about the folly of creating policy out of a holy book rather than solid evidence. Of course, the belief in racial discrimination was built upon a misunderstanding of Darwinism so I guess it could be both…
I think the follow-up films took more of that turn, Palmy.
GexL… you may be looking for Hollywood Elsewhere.
I agree with Dave that “Rise” is a very good genre film, but it definitely felt like a reboot or “reimagining” to me–versus Burton’s oddly flaccid and disappointingly conventional remake of the 1968 original. The premise is so ingenious I’m quite frankly shocked that nobody thought of it years (decades) earlier. Or maybe they just didn’t have the tech capabilities to pull it off…until now. But they definitely pulled it off.
Not that it’s remotely in the same league, but Fox’s faith in a heretofore untested young British director reminded me of their blind faith decision to let Ridley Scott direct “Alien” once upon a time.
Overall, one of this mostly dreary summer’s few pleasant surprises.
And be sure to stick around for the neat coda after the end credits begin.
Did you just say you didn’t know who played Franco’s dad? Seriously? John Lithgow. It’s no secret. He’s in previews and clips.
I think what David means is that going in, he had no idea that particular actor was cast in that particular role, and he enjoyed the surprise and wished to preserve it for anyone else who might be similarly pleased.
Same as when he didn’t say in his GL review that Geoffrey Rush was Tomar Re, because he liked figuring it out.
For some reason, Mr. Poland’s use of the word “Us”, used to collectively reference everyone who is not black, seems like an awkward choice. Not offensive. Not racist. Not insensitive. Just awkward.
Apparently in today’s world, there are black people, and there’s us. I can understand generalizing, say, men vs. women. You’re either one or the other. But blacks and Us? Really?
Agreed, DP. A low moment. From now on posts only about HUMAN FEET.
While I guess you have some point in there, Brian, I think it’s a bit of overthinking.
I meant “Us” in the “audience it’s speaking to” way. And indeed, in my perception, the first movie was originally aimed at white audiences and is meant as a racial metaphor.
And the expansion of the “Us” in this film and this era to include other ethnic groups is, to me, a given. So yes, “Us” includes Black people and every other human in “1st world” nations.
That was kinda my point with much of what I wrote. The perspective has changed significantly. Part of it is the launch point of the story. But part of it is that our ability to understand oppression beyond race, creed, and color is assumed by the filmmakers.
When I wrote, “we are still Us,” I meant that in the context of the film. Humans are still the higher form of intelligence.
Fair enough?
Why did Caesar have a human face from birth? He’s just a normal chimp right?
This is what a chimp looks like.
http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/007/cache/young-chimp_763_600x450.jpg
Small complaint and understandable why they did but if you’re going to say that these are apes then they should have the appearance of apes and not Andy Serkis pinching a loaf.
Palmtree – I thought the original Apes was about science versus religion, about the folly of creating policy out of a holy book rather than solid evidence.
I could see a case that Taylor’s “faith” is his belief that he’s on a different planet, and the historical evidence of the Forbidden Zone lifts the veil on his reality.
But policy from a holy book? The Lawgiver stuff?
The production of these movies was very disorganized, so I doubt anyone outside of Serling was thinking that deep into the context.
Just look at Beneath POTA. The original survivors were Taylor and Nova who were going to start anew, ala Adam & Eve. Once Heston changed his mind, Zanuck opted to kill everyone…until they felt like making Escape. Escape makes Zira/Cornelius/Caesar Mary/Joseph/Jesus. Caesar then becomes Spartacus for Conquest and then back to Jesus for Battle. At the end of Battle, the statue of Caesar cries a tear of blood, so wouldn’t that mean he’s a weeping Christ statue, making their faith legitimate?
What about the mutants in Beneath? They manifest an image of the bleeding Lawgiver to scare away the weak-minded faith believers. Yet the mutants are hyper-strong minds of genetic mutation that literally pray to hard science – the bomb – as a god. Couldn’t I argue Beneath is saying blind devotion to science is religion by another name?
Not going after you personally, Palm.
JBD-
“Why did Caesar have a human face from birth? He’s just a normal chimp right?”
Nope. He’s not.
Golem? 🙂 That typo does, however, suggest an intriguing future role for Serkis.
LYT – you know what I mean.
Don’t the apes in the other movies look less like apes? Why wouldn’t they they here as well?
Forget this shit. You need to instead MAN UP and see BELLFLOWER this weekend. ALL WILL BOW. Best last 35 minutes of a movie ever, like GOD COME TO EARTH.
One question. Is this some kind of alternate universe where machine gins don’t exist? Unless it is then this movie is gonna loose credibility with me. The re olution should be over I. Five
Minutes. Plus herearent that many apes in North America.
No, Chris. There are machine guns.
As I note, the movie doesn’t go to the length where your concern becomes a problem. This is the first blush, where the surprise of the change in this band of creatures counts for a lot.
No idea what the tracking is or what it cost to make, but Guru is predicting $41 million while Ed Douglas predicts about $48 million. Would the low-to-mid 40s be considered a good opening for this? In May or June who ever would have guessed that it would be at 83% on RT.
That’s got to be very good for a movie budgeted at $90 million. Right?
I’ll admit I didn’t think this thing would find an opening audience, but it definitely looks like it’s catching a wave.
Yes I think so. Didn’t realize it cost $90 million. Would have guessed more than that.
They saved some money by having James Franco as their biggest name in the movie.
That number’s only according to IMDB, so use it with a grain of salt.
Brack – you get it. They really took a lot of classic POTA and said “how would this be applicable”? Why do they live in adobe-like homes, look ape with humanoid apects, wear clothes, etc…
JBD – I don’t know quite what you mean. Caesar in this film is not a normal chimp. He’s the child of an artificially evolved mother. Makes perfect sense that his features might be a bit more human.
Certainly far more sense than in the original Conquest, where only Caesar was born of evolved parents, yet every other ape looked like a dude in a rubber mask too.
If Rise is as good as everyone says, and Fright Night turns out to be schlocky fun, we could have the best popcorn films coming out in August.
LYT – Artifically evolved mother? Ha Ha you’re an easy lay LYT. She put a few blocks in order dude, she wasn’t turning into Selma Blair. Curing Alzheimers through cell reconstruction is a long way from physical transformation. The major evolution was intelligence. Not a human face appearing. It’s totally nitpicking but your free pass makes as much sense as why there are suddenly a thousand apes in the climax. S’pose you got an easy answer for that one too Chief?
I do hope it’s a hit as I’d love to see this series evolve. I made a funny.
The original Fright Night was schlocky fun, one of my favorite vampire movies EVER. This one looks dreadful, like it takes itself too seriously. NOT FUN AT ALL.
Unless they have Farrell in Horrible Bosses mode. Or Miami Vice. I’d take either.
Based alone on the commercials which are been marketed like Fox used to back in 01-02, “In 5 days, 4 days…etc.”, i’m impressed that the action takes place in the daylight. Fox will be 2 for 2 in this category, with First Class’ finale in daylight too.
He looks like he’s having a good time in Fright Night. The same can’t be said for the rest of the cast
David Tennant looks to be having fun in the Peter Vincent role, and he’s the whole reason some Doctor Who fans want to see Fright Night.
“Curing Alzheimers through cell reconstruction is a long way from physical transformation.”
Except there was physical transformation from the getgo, with her eyes developing shiny green spots. Then later, Franco explicitly states that the virus is doing more than just cell reconstruction; it’s improving on what was there before. You look at stills of Caesar’s face, and I’d have to say it’s not that different from that of a real ape. It’s the way it’s more expressive after the fact – emoting like Andy Serkis – that makes it look humanoid.
“It’s totally nitpicking but your free pass makes as much sense as why there are suddenly a thousand apes in the climax. S’pose you got an easy answer for that one too Chief?”
SPOILERS, MAYBE:
That’s a better question. Did you count them? It was the apes in the sanctuary plus the apes in the lab plus the (admittedly excessive) apes from the zoo. Best out the filmmakers have on that question is that we have no idea how many chimps were ordered for that last round of testing.
@LYT: thanks for your explanation of what Poland meant when he said he didn’t know who was playing Franco’s dad or Tomar-Re. I was shocked both times to think he had missed something that either was clear from the previews or had been announced in the press. But your idea that he simply didn’t know what part the actor was playing makes sense.
@DP: I love your reviews, but you might rethink how you word those “I didn’t know who was playing X” statements–that’s twice now that it sounds like you didn’t know something that was presumably common knowledge to folks who follow the movie biz….
Bordwell – this is who Caesar is based on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_%28chimpanzee%29
Science or Discovery runs a docu on about him on a regular basis.
I just saw ROTPOTA and really loved it alot. My ONLY quibbles were the David Oyelowo character being this really bad guy when really, he didn’t do anything “bad.” It felt like he was being shitty to everyone in an earlier cut but they chopped that stuff back later. His comeuppance is undeserved and his character is underdeveloped. Again, I bet there was more to it that got whacked.
I also didn’t understand where ALL those apes came from. If I’m not mistaken, the shot that showed them running over the mountain en masse towards SF was when they were en route to the lab and then to the zoo so it made no sense. That being said…
I like how the film didn’t try to do too much and succeeded under it’s own terms. Maybe I feel that way because this summer everything feels like homage or origin stories and these things all need to stack up to some geek bible ideal of what can and cannot happen in the world onscreen. (Another good example of the behavior I speak of is the freaking out over set photos this week.) APES has an end game, we know what’s going to happen with the franchise as DP points out. The movie just goes with it though and lays the groundwork for what I think can be a pretty awesome and solid franchise for years to come.
Martin, I never used the words belief or blind devotion. Having beliefs or blind devotions doesn’t make someone religious. Science is not a religion by virtue of the fact that it requires evidence and proof to be valid (although whether scientists can manufacture or distort or simplify evidence is another matter). And I’m not going after you personally either.
What I originally meant was simply that, using the inverted ape/man relationship, the film was trying to show how certain scientific truths are often negated by religious decrees a la Galileo, etc.
“Science is not a religion by virtue of the fact that it requires evidence and proof to be valid”
That’s not strictly true – many widely accepted scientific theories are based on reasonable, but unproven, assumptions, and the whole “scientific” movement is based on the principle of continual improvement. That is, throwing out theories when the assumptions are less likely to be true with respect to other theories which are gaining in acceptance.
So science often requires belief more than proof in the development of new theories, and certainly has a high level of blind devotion in its perpetuation – I’ve never personally examined the vast majority of scientific theories, but I blindly believe them to be true because I was told that someone else has. In many cases I have no idea who that “someone else” even is.
The movie worked for me – why? Because I was able to give up a modicum of disbelief when the forces that be just didn’t blow away the apes (c’mon, rifles
BUT I LOVED, LOVED THAT CODA IN THE CREDITS!!!! Just too cool BUT does give a plausible explanation as to how the apes would find the wedge they needed to take over.
I also enjoyed the tributes to the original and was particulary amused with the gender/species twists, i.e. Bright Eyes for a female chimp and Cornelia.
Question: was Taylor on the lost mission to Mars???
Now after Lithgow and Jenkins, I hope this is the last I see of the dementia dads for the rest of the summer if not the year!