Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

A substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.

Director:

Rupert Wyatt

Writers:

Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver

Stars:

James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Serkis	...	Caesar
Karin Konoval	...	Maurice / Court Clerk
Terry Notary	...	Rocket / Bright Eyes
Richard Ridings	...	Buck - Ape
Christopher Gordon	...	Koba - Ape (as Chris Gordon)
Devyn Dalton	...	Cornelia - Ape
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 - Shelter Assistant

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 | chimpanzee | alzheimer's disease | when animals attack | fire | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Will tells Gen-Sys board members that Bright Eyes was given her name because of the green flecks that appeared in her eye pigmentation after exposure to the drug.

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Goofs

In some shots on on the Golden Gate Bridge there are four lanes of traffic going one direction and two lanes going the other way, while in other shots there are three lanes of traffic going in each direction. Additionally, the movable divider pylons that separate the northbound and southbound lanes of traffic are missing from the majority of the scenes on the bridge.

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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

Referenced in Family Guy: Scammed Yankees (2016)

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Soundtracks

Clair de Lune
Written by Claude Debussy
Performed by James Bartlett

User Reviews

I really wanted to like this film more -- and I'm sorry...

...but it didn't do it for me. I'm a huge fan of the series (excluding the Tim Burton disaster, of course) but this didn't have nearly the depth nor the intelligence I was expecting. Like most I was initially skeptical at the idea of attempting to reboot the franchise -- but as positive reviews kept flowing in regarding this "smart" script and Avatar-like CGI, I began to get excited again. With the surprisingly high box office numbers and positive feedback from most who saw it, I got more excited.

I finally ponied up last night to check it out.

The good news: The CGI apes stuff works pretty well. Serkis does his usual great job (although I thought his King Kong was better). Action sequences and set pieces are all good.

The bad news: There's no Rod Serling-style, Twilight Zone-ish, philosophical themes or moral messages here. It isn't "smart" compared to the original films. This one is more like POTA for Dummies. It relies on a trite storyline that's been beaten to death (Don't play God; Don't mess with Nature -- yada, yada, yada) with nothing more interesting or thought-provoking. The original series was not afraid to hit you in the gut and make you think. Those movies were much heavier in every way; while this plays much more like a straight action film. Entertaining from that aspect -- along with Caesar himself, but not much else. So, I don't know where all this "smart" talk came from. If this passes for smart then our standards have dropped.

Next is the acting. I don't blame the actors b/c it didn't seem that they had much to work with. Franco, Pinto, Felton, Cox and the rest are all one-note characters with little depth. All the humans are cardboard clichés in this film. I know Caesar is the protagonist -- but to have the other actors be so uninteresting is a real drawback. And this -- along with the trite story -- reminds me a bit of Avatar. A by-the-numbers retelling of Pocahontas or Dances with Wolves -- where all the characters are one-dimensional. Visually stunning, yes -- but with shallow characterizations. In Avatar, military guy = bad, corporate exec = bad; in ROTPOTA, drug company exec = bad, neighbor = bad, chimp worker = bad. There's not much else to say about them since we're not presented with their context.

No one wanted to like this more than me. I was hoping the flavor of the original series had been brought back -- but I'm afraid if we can't resurrect Rod Serling or enlist a writer of his caliber, we'll never see it again.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA UK Canada

Language:

English Sign Languages

Release Date:

5 August 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Planet of the Apes: Genesis

Filming Locations:

Wellington, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$93,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$54,806,191, 7 August 2011

Gross USA:

$176,760,185

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$481,800,873

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Dune Entertainment, Chernin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Dolby Surround 7.1 SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1