As a general rule, prequels are pretty ordinary but I was very pleasantly surprised by Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes particularly since I didn't really like the original or the remake of the original.
Set in present day San Francisco, Will Rodman (James Franco) is working on creating a cure for Alzheimer's, which his father is inflicted with, and is testing his drug on chimps.
One particular chimp is showing amazing signs of cognitive development but in a frenzy escapes from the cage and runs amok before being killed.
It turns out the chimp was only protecting her baby, and Rodman ends up taking the infant home.
It quickly becomes apparent the young one is very smart, a side effect of the drug testing on his mother.
As he grows, Caesar keeps learning and becoming more intelligent.
Unfortunately, Caesar intervenes in a scuffle involving Rodman's father (John Lithgow) and is impounded - something the chimp takes very hard and, in the end, very personally.
In an effort to escape from his prison Caesar goes to extraordinary lengths to mobilise his fellow apes and march towards freedom.
Setting the movie in the present was a masterstroke. The original Planet Of The Apes wasn't as accessible or easy to relate to, but you can't help but feel for Caesar.
Set in present day San Francisco, Will Rodman (James Franco) is working on creating a cure for Alzheimer's, which his father is inflicted with, and is testing his drug on chimps.
One particular chimp is showing amazing signs of cognitive development but in a frenzy escapes from the cage and runs amok before being killed.
It turns out the chimp was only protecting her baby, and Rodman ends up taking the infant home.
It quickly becomes apparent the young one is very smart, a side effect of the drug testing on his mother.
As he grows, Caesar keeps learning and becoming more intelligent.
Unfortunately, Caesar intervenes in a scuffle involving Rodman's father (John Lithgow) and is impounded - something the chimp takes very hard and, in the end, very personally.
In an effort to escape from his prison Caesar goes to extraordinary lengths to mobilise his fellow apes and march towards freedom.
Setting the movie in the present was a masterstroke. The original Planet Of The Apes wasn't as accessible or easy to relate to, but you can't help but feel for Caesar.
My expectations were about medium because the trailer did look reasonable, but I have to say I can't recommend this highly enough. It's cute, entertaining at times, but also very clever, very unsettling and very ominous.
Most of the apes look pretty realistic and the face work with Caesar is amazing, you can really tell what he's feeling. Fortunately the film does give you a direction as to how things progress (naturally being a prequel we know where it is heading) and it is a very interesting development indeed.
Thoroughly enjoyed it, one of the best films so far this year. 9 out of 10.
Thoroughly enjoyed it, one of the best films so far this year. 9 out of 10.
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