Best of 2011: #9 Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I remember when I first read that they were making Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- must have been just over a year ago.  I scoffed at the idea, as I'm sure most people did.  It seemed like the prequel that no one was asking for.  No one could have predicted that this was rich territory for anything other than a quick buck, particularly after the abysmal Tim Burton/Mark Wahlberg Apes movie from a few years back. 

Okay, I'm sure someone somewhere predicted that there was a good movie to be made here, because, here we are.  Still...



Anyway, some might argue that this movie had the benefit of low expectations, that it was so well-received by the critics because they were expecting something truly awful.  That's just not the case, however.  Rise of the Planet of the Apes is first-rate storytelling.  Period.  It's a monument to the advancement of special effects and, more importantly, it featured one of the most compelling characters in any film last year.

If you've seen the movie, you know that I'm talking about the character of Caesar, who is, yes, an ape.  Through motion-capture technology, Andy Serkis, who pioneered this type of acting in The Lord of the Rings and King Kong, creates a complex, evolving character that just happens to be a chimpanzee.

Now the plot certainly helped with this performance.  Caesar is not a normal chimp, his genes have been mutated through the use of an experimental Alzheimer's treatment that was given to his mother.  So, he's a crazy-smart chimp, which gives the filmmakers a little leeway in depicting him with more human emotions, motivations, etc.

However, that could only take them so far.  The rest was up to Serkis and the obviously brilliant special effects team that made Caesar a believable starting point for an ape revolution...or at least as believable as such an event could possibly be.

And, it isn't just Caesar's character that looks amazing, all the apes in the film look incredible.  While there are, admittedly, a few moments where it is obvious that you're looking at mostly computer-generated characters, the vast, vast majority of the shots render almost photo-realistic images of apes interacting, learning, and, eventually, revolting against their human slave masters.

Yes, I'm aware that the last sentence sounded a little goofy.  I'm over it.

You've probably noticed that I haven't discussed the plot very much up to this point.  I don't really think I need to.  Most of you have probably either seen it or can infer from the title what happens in this movie.

That said, the obvious general plot doesn't really go down the way you think it would.  Rather than setting up the movie as a series of action sequences -- as is typical for this type of big-budget, summer-blockbuster release -- the writers strike a slow, deliberate pace, showing us how and why Caesar is what he is and what ultimately pushes him over the edge.  In the end, the movie doesn't skimp on the action, but when the climactic scenes finally start to take shape, you're invested in the characters, so much so that you're actually rooting for the apes to win out.

I suppose I should mention that there are human characters in this movie.  James Franco is fine -- nothing too flashy -- as Will Rodman, a scientist so desperate to save his father from Alzheimer's that he'll do anything.  John Lithgow plays the father and is...well...John Lithgow.  David Oyelowo plays the ostensible villain, a cartoonish executive from a pharmaceutical company.  And, Freida Pinto is really hot.

But, ultimately, this movie belongs to Andy Serkis.  He is truly a pioneer, exceeding by miles the great work he did as Gollum and Kong.  Dude deserves an Oscar nomination.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes demonstrates that it is, in fact, possible to make intelligent, high-quality movies that can please the summertime masses.  It also shows that, even if you start from the stupidest movie premise imaginable, committed filmmakers, writers, and actors can deliver in the end.  Seriously, after seeing this movie, I actually think Dude, Where's My Car? could be remade into an Oscar winner.