Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

A substance, designed to help the brain repair itself, gives rise to a super-intelligent chimp who leads an ape uprising.

Director:

Rupert Wyatt

Writers:

Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver,

Stars:

Andy Serkis, Karin Konoval, James Franco

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Serkis	...	Caesar
Karin Konoval	...	Maurice / Court Clerk
Terry Notary	...	Rocket / Bright Eyes
Richard Ridings	...	Buck
Christopher Gordon	...	Koba (as Chris Gordon)
Devyn Dalton	...	Cornelia
Jay Caputo	...	Alpha
James Franco	...	Will Rodman
Freida Pinto	...	Caroline Aranha
John Lithgow	...	Charles Rodman
Brian Cox	...	John Landon
Tom Felton	...	Dodge Landon
David Oyelowo	...	Steven Jacobs
Tyler Labine	...	Robert Franklin
Jamie Harris	...	Rodney

Storyline

At the story's heart is Caesar (Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee who gains human-like intelligence and emotions from an experimental drug. Raised like a child by the drug's creator, Will Rodman (James Franco) and a primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto), Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and imprisoned in an ape sanctuary in San Bruno. Seeking justice for his fellow inmates, Caesar gives the fellow apes the same drug that he inherited. He then assembles a simian army and escapes the sanctuary - putting man and ape on a collision course that could change the planet forever.

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Plot Keywords:

ape | experimental drug | alzheimer's disease | attack | cure | 

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Taglines:

Evolution Becomes Revolution

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense and frightening sequences of action and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [de]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Sign Languages

Release Date:

5 August 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caesar

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$93,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$54,806,191 (USA) (5 August 2011)

Gross:

$176,740,650 (USA) (16 December 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Dune Entertainment, Chernin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was one of a number of movies that were in competition at the 2012 Academy Awards that was related to France and French culture in some way. The films included The Artist, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, The Adventures of Tintin, Puss in Boots from the French fairy-tale by Charles Perrault, Rise of the Planet of the Apes based on the novel by Pierre Boulle and A Cat in Paris. Interestingly though, there was no French film nominated for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award (Oscar) in 2012.

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Goofs

After the roof of the bus is riddled with bullet-holes the action cuts to a side on view of the apes advancing. In this shot the bus is unscathed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Robert Franklin: [administering chimp intelligence test] Okay, okay. Here you go. And let's go again.
[gives Bright Eyes treat and clocks timer]
Will Rodman: Which one's this? Number nine?
Robert Franklin: Yeah, this is number nine. Bright Eyes, we call her. Are you watching this? This is unbelievable.
[Bright Eyes does the tower fast]
Robert Franklin: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Bright Eyes: [grabs treat and eats it]
Will Rodman: How many moves was that?
Robert Franklin: 20.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The end credits appear over a map, showing the virus spreading around the world.

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Connections

Features The Ten Commandments (1956)

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Soundtracks

"Prelude and Fugue No. 15"
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by James Bartlett

User Reviews

The Best Planet of the Apes film since the original

There was a lot of hype going into this film. I was very excited to finally see another Planet of the Apes film. I am a big fan of the original and had fun with the sequels and even after Tim Burton's remake I was still excited for this film and I got to say this is the best Planet of the Apes picture since the original.

This story is an origin story about how the Apes began to rise to power and about a man who is bent on curing Alzheimer's and raising an ape who has been past on the genes of the cure from his mother and what the effects this has on this one ape named Caesar.

The very surprising thing about this film is how story based and character based it really is. From the trailers it looked like just another cure gone wrong and a lot of violence happens but I was truly surprised by this film's story and how well told it was. I do think it needed to be just a tad longer in the beginning showing a little more of Caesar's childhood but it's a small fault and can be overlooked. But it is something truly wonderful to see how truly well fleshed out these characters are in this film especially for a "summer blockbuster." All character motivations are known throughout the film. James Franco's character named Will Rodman really wants to make this cure so he can cure his father. So a lot of us can really connect with him and in seeing he is making this cure for the best intentions. And his boss is the classic wants the cure for money type of character. But the best most drawn out character is the character of Caesar. The chimpanzee that becomes increased in intelligence is the true star of the film. He cannot talk and he is a computer made image and yet you really understand him, love him, and feel for him. Caesar is played by motion capture actor Andy Serkis (his second film as an ape, the other one being King Kong (2005)) brings so much to the table. He breathes so much personality into this ape and it's just truly something to wow at and the writers are very wise to really shift the story over from Will to Caesar as Caesar gets sent into an Ape refuge. While there he gets smarter and learns of the true nature of how apes are treated inside there and decides to take action.

I think it was very smart on the filmmakers to shift the apes from makeup to cgi. I wasn't thrilled when I first heard they would make the apes in the computer but after viewing the film I've realized this was the only way to go really. It would look incredibly cheesy if they tried to do what they did in this film with makeup. The motion capture is some of the best to date and the apes look very real. None of the makeups did as good as job as the motion capture did at creating real ape behavior and also by not making them talk I think was a smart move. I don't think making them be able to speak would make it very realistic which seems to be more of the way the film tries to go with rather than a fantasy.

The action is all mostly at the end of the film which is mostly seen in the trailers. While granted there is a little bit here and a little bit there it's all really at the end. It all is very entertaining and the apes do fight like real apes. There are moments where the filmmakers truly capture an ape aggression and what they are truly capable of. Not a lot of people know just how strong and fierce they can be and the film does a good job of showing that.

But something I don't think is mention a lot is that there a nice magical quality to it. The scene in the redwoods is a very magical scene and I really liked it and never liked how it isn't mentioned.

The acting is all very good and is a driving point of the film. James Franco is great, so are John Lithgow and Brian Cox. Also Tom Felton and David Oyelowo are good. Freida Pinto is good and all but I wish her character was given a better purpose and is one of the few faults with this film.

The Music I thought was very good too. It had a very magical yet dark and exciting feel. Composer Patrick Doyle really gives out his best score in years. It will by no means become be considered a masterpiece it just is an above the average movie score and is a score that I would buy when the soundtrack was released on CD.

The Directing by Rupert Wyatt is very good too. He handles the story written with such care. His choices in camera movements and how to properly handle the story is makes him a great choice. Also he uses cgi to better the project and only really uses it when he needs too which is something I always respected in a director these days.

The writers Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa have crafted a great story and pay so much tribute to the original films. There are so many nice nods to the original which Planet of the Apes fans will enjoy. They also really know how write convincing dialogue and leaves the door open for a sequel but it could be just an make you think type of ending.

The Bottom line is this is a very good story driven film that includes great special effects and matches the original and is the second best film of 2011

Final Score 9/10