With a raving Charlton Heston the most abiding memory of the original franchise, the awkwardly-titled Rise of the Planet of the Apes seemed destined for failure. Well, dirty and stinking they may be, but these apes will catch you off-guard.
A San Francisco-based scientist, Will Rodman (James Franco), is researching a drug that has the potential to repair brain cells—a possible cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Trials of the drug are conducted on chimpanzees and one in particular shows remarkable improvements in cognitive ability. However, as she’s about to be exhibited, she flies into a rage and is shot, leaving behind a newborn baby. Rodman raises the young chimp, naming him Caesar, who inherits his mother’s intelligence. But, as Caesar matures (portrayed through motion capture by Andy Serkis), the conflict between his instincts and his intelligence takes him down a path that sees his kind challenge the dominion of humans.
The most unexpected thing about Rise is the way it makes you understand and feel for the apes who have almost always been the villains in the franchise. The startlingly realistic primates are the stars, and the most riveting moments of the film are those with Caesar and the other apes grunting and gesturing without the presence of humans. It’s unspoken character development of the Toy Story order. Franco’s performance is as compelling as his turn in 127 Hours, though despite being furnished with an extensive supporting cast, it still feels as if he’s about the only human actor in all this. John Lithgow, who plays the Alzheimer’s stricken Rodman senior, is excellent though. His portrayal of a man fighting mental deterioration is particularly moving.
Adding a bit of fun, the film gives a number of nods to the 1968 original, some more obvious than others, from a Statue of Liberty puzzle to Charlton Heston’s legendary line. One might say that Rise is a bit of an environmentalist’s dream (seeing lab chimps dispatch “evil” scientists falls just short of whales making whalers implode with high-frequency songs), but it isn’t heavy-handed in delivering its “don’t play God” message. It’s mostly an edge-of-your-seat, high-action, escape film that’ll leave you wanting more. We say: Go ape.