I finally caught up to Rupert Wyatt’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” tonight and thoroughly enjoyed every frame. It’s easily the best blockbuster of the summer season and, I’d say, the best film of the franchise (including the classic first installment, which is far better as a concept than it is as a film). It’s also a real shame Fox couldn’t build some steam by showing it earlier and getting the word out, because I think a bigger box office might have been in the cards. We’ll see how it does Sunday, but for now, midnight screenings should be letting out shortly on the east coast. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so head on back here with them when you get around to the film this weekend.
Comments
56 responses to “Tell us what you thought of ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’”
Is this a standalone feature? I’m virtually in the dark on this franchise, unfortunately, so I’m wondering if it’s worth seeing now or if I should catch up first.
It absolutely works as a stand-alone feature, ground zero for a new franchise (batman begins/casino royale/star trek style), and is actually a big improvement over the fun but schlocky and very dated series. Wyatt is a true film-maker, and though there are things that could have been better (the human characters – villains especially) what works works so, so well, that criticism falls by the wayside. He understands composition, momentum, tone, and mercifully plays the climax as character catharsis rather than blockbuster excess. Serkis as Caesar is one of the most iconic, emotionally satisfying `hero’ story arcs in a blockbuster that I can remember. So glad the critics are behind this, really hope it’s as big a hit as it deserves to be.
i loved it. extremely satisfying… especially as summer action flicks go (beyond that, perhaps the best of the season)… particularly, the visual effects stand out (oscar!)… the 2D exceeds even what most 3D films accomplish these days. immersion without distraction.
i even wish it would’ve been an hour longer.
if i had to complain, the story was “paint by number”, but who cares? i sympathized with the lead character (the ape of course, not james franco) more than any other in recent july/august memory…
a very enjoyable summer flick… recommended.
Absolutely amazing! I really hope positive word of mouth spreads like wild fire. It would be great if this movie could set a summer movie standard for summers to come. If I have to complain about anything its that the movie needed more Lithgow and Caesar interaction. maybe more Lithgow in general.
Since the Academy probably isn’t ready to give him the lead or supporting nod, Serkis most definitely should be given a much deserved honorary Oscar for his outstanding contribution to performance capture.
Pretty solid film. Had some issues that bothered me, particularly the girlfriend’s character. Great CGI, a wonderful score, and it avoids the possibility of a sequel. At least for now.
i think the film was set up perfectly for a sequel…..
I am glad you say the original works better as a concept than a film. It is interesting in bursts, but overall it is a grind to finish.
Daniel Hardy makes a great point about Wyatt. There are some inspired choices throughout the film. I thought the leaves falling sequence was particularly Spielbergian as a clever reveal.
Dropped on Metacritic (70) and RT (81%), but I’m still excited.
Kris, is it better than Harry Potter DH P2? Say it ain’t so!
I thought it was great. In fact, I thought it was just as good if not better than the original “Planet of the Apes”. And talk about a movie that could NOT have been made (well) just a few years ago.
Dana: Definitely.
I finally saw it. I thought it was a good film. I really like the fact that they took the time to develop the story. The visual effects were also good. There were a number of shots where the effects were subpar especially during the young Caesar scenes and during the battle, but the majority of the work here was done well. Weta is one of the best visual effects companies out there, so my guess is they just didn’t have enough time and/or budget to make those scenes spotless.
Some of the characters like Caroline were kind of meh, but they were insignificant distractions. It’s really Caesar who is the important character here, and Serkis played him to perfection.
Overall, it’s a decent film. It’s a forgettable film, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. For me, it’s a 3/5 stars film.
I’m lonely on this one. Y’all really liked it or loved it. My packed crowd seemed to really like it. I wanted to really like it (for SO many reasons) … but I found it only so-so.
The last 20-25 minutes or so of action are fantastic. Truly.
I liked James Franco, here; despite the negative mentions in all the reviews. I think it’s his earnest, puppy dog-like demeanor in this role.
But overall, I just found the movie kind of plodding, at times. And I felt intermittently sad and/or angry by what I was watching for most of the running time.
I also didn’t feel this catharsis for Caesar that everyone’s mentioning, or feel a big ‘yay’ arc, either.
I saw it with 3 friends. One didn’t like it (“boring”). One thought the effects were “awesome” (I thought they ranged from awesome to mediocre). And the other friend thought it was okay, like me.
I will say that it’s still better than I ever could have imagined 2 weeks ago. But I hope I don’t remain the sole ‘it was okay’. :)
JJ1, agreed. All the action scenes were terrific. Everything else was hokey and labored, so that probably averages out to “okay.”
Labored I could maybe give you but “hokey?” How? Outside of Draco Malfoy.
Enjoyed it quite a bit. The CGI was amazing; they should have the FX Oscar in the bag unless there’s something really stunning coming out that I don’t know about.
The weakest parts were, oddly enough, with a lot of the human characters. Franco was okay; Pinto looked pretty, but was barely in the movie at all; Lithgow was easily the most successful actor. In a film that’s otherwise rather nuanced, they gave Felton the cartoonish villain, and he played it more or less as required.
Serkis and WETA did amazing work with Caesar.
I found the stuff with David Oyelowo’s character a little odd, because despite all the harping on his greed and how it’s a mistake to continue the experiments, all of the bad stuff that happens has everything to do with things James Franco did and nothing to do with anything Oyelowo does above-and-beyond that.
It was a generally enjoyable night at the movies, which is all it wants to be. I will admit disappointment, though, in the lack of carnage and bloodshed. I wanted limbs ripped off and heads crushed. Oh well.
I do think it showcases the best of what CGI can do so far. Other than a few minor instances, the apes looked pretty real to me.
I think I was the only person in the theater that got the Icarus reference, unfortunately.
Well made? Yes. Enjoyable? Sure. But in the grand scheme of things, we went from no where to no where in a bit less than two hours. Some cops were harmed, some mean spirited people killed. Alright. Caesar was an interesting character, hell I even liked his circus gorilla friend. It was the people who were clearly after thoughts. Its another in a long line of tolerable summer flicks.
On a side note, that mind altering drug gave the monkeys the one thing Che needed, some intelligence.
Just got back from it. Thought it was really great. Exciting and moving, well paced, and I thought it had a bit of depth too.
The only misstep it makes is (Spoiler) that ‘dirty stinking apes’ line which was such a massive misstep it could’ve derailed the whole thing. I find it really hard to believe that they could edit together such a great film and get to that scene and go ‘yeah, this throwback line is going to be great, let’s make sure we put it in the dramatic high point of the film, people will love it’. I’m sure there were lots of high fives in that meeting. There is no justifiable reason for it to be there.
The first trailer I saw for this did not appeal to me at all (it led with ‘brought to you by the SFX team behind Lord of the Rings, which, for me, is not a great lead in). That it turned out to be so excellent is a pleasant surprise.
Where was the Icarus reference, James? I missed it.
Sam: Totally agree. The film’s best moment (Caesar speaking, which I actually wasn’t anticipating, weirdly enough) is soured by the inexplicable need to put that stupid ass line in there. I cringed, but then he spoke, which was awesome, and I tried to let it go.
Completely agree with Al.
Quite well made, top notch visual effects, great performance by Andy Serkis.
But I left the theatre with no real feelings about the film. Very underwhelming I think.
All I could think about on the way out were:
-What was the chick from Slumdog Millionaire doing in the film? What was the point of her character? An unsuccessful attempt at throwing a female presence into the film I think.
-What the hell happened to John Lithgow? (I kept expecting them to visit him in a nursing home or something but apparently he died and that was that)
-And just what was it that Caesar and the rest of the apes were trying to do at the end? Get a nice view of the city, then take over the world?
I could just be missing something or looking at this the wrong way but that shouldn’t be the case with such as simple formula.
I wish Wyatt had taken just a few steps back and looked at his film as a whole rather than just focusing on compiling a series of great scenes. Most moments work really well on their own, crisp and precise, but the big picture is blurry.
It could have been so, so much better.
@Kris
I had no idea the speaking was coming either, and I think the film moved on quick enough and well enough that it was forgotten. I’ve forgiven much worse in films before, it just baffles me that they could make so many good decisions with this film only to risk it with a silly pandering line.
@Douglas
I thought it was pretty clear that John Lithgow died. Franco was in a black suit, they were clearing out his stuff, I thought it was quite well handled, actually.
Sign me in for the sequel. Great fun, Serkis better than ever before. Pinto can`t act for s***, though. Can`t decide who was worse, she in Apes, Lively in GL, Jones in X Men:FC or Wilde in C&A. I`m leaning Jones but damn, they were all f***in terrible.
But Serkis is a phenomenon. Definitely give him something. Lifetime Achievement or other Special. cause they won`t give him best Actor nod and Supporting would have been category fraud of the highest order – Caesar is defacto lead character.
Oh, I’ll see the sequel. I am glad to see that it may make up to $50 mill this weekend. I had a decent time watching it.
But aside from Serkis and the climax sequence, I just left feeling an overwhelming “okay”, rather than – “well, that was refreshing. Really enjoyed that”.
Kris: In the middle of the film, a television quickly mentions a manned mission to Mars, and that they might be lost in space.
re: hokey
Everything with John Lithgow* and Tom Felton.
*In the movie in my head, there is no John Lithgow storyline. You have to tweak how Franco’s allowed to develop the 113 testing, the naming of Caesar, and other things, but most everything involving the humans was amateurish and hard to sit through and then paled in comparison to the ape-centric scenes. The movie could still exist and be 20 minutes shorter and all the better.
The only problem I have with the idea of Andy Serkis getting a nod for best supporting actor is that he was not a supporting actor in this film.
I’ve never seen the original Planet or I did see it but have completely forgotten it. I like how this is a prequel and now I can go straight into the “sequel” with Charlton Heston.
SPOILERS
I feel so left out here, but I really did not enjoy it outside of some moments in the last half an hour. I thought all of the human characters were very poorly drawn and ill-defined. I’m still not sure if Freida Pinto lived in that house, if she and Franco were married … I’m not even sure I know anything about her. How did they meet exactly? Can you just wheel a chimp into a zoo and get a vet appointment? These characters aged 8 years? Didn’t buy it. James Franco’s character stole a wild animal from the laboratory that attacked a man and bit off his finger, and he’s still working at that laboratory and allowed to work with these animals? Nu-uh. Who was that guy with mental problems at the chimp enclosure? Was he related to the other two guys? What exactly is Franco’s power in that lab anyway? At some points, it seemed like he was telling the guy who I thought was his boss what to do, but then their roles would reverse. They went to the Redwoods with Caesar for 5 years, and this is the FIRST time they’ve run into people with a dog?
I guess what I’m saying is that I didn’t understand who any of these characters were, what they had to do with each other, and what they wanted. I know some people will say that it’s all about the chimps, but I guess I’m a heartless bastard. I love animals, but I need an entry point here. Anyway, f this is about the chimps, why did we spend so much time with all of these incredibly stupid human characters? These people are scientists?
Totally missed that, James. Wow.
Every movie has problems. Some have a ton. Some have only a few.
Some – we choose to ignore said problems because we intangibly liked the movie overall (the actors, the tone, mood, technical work). Some – the issues can impede our enjoyment of the film.
will ^ was basically able to put down in writing most of the issues I was having that impeded my overall enjoyment (other than the fact that I also cringe with any kind of animal cruelty, CGI or otherwise).
I should have liked the film a lot less than I do. But Franco, Serkis, Lesnie, CGI, and the last 20 minutes went along way in making me ‘okay’ about it.
The issues will mentioned in the above post are very sound.
^well put. I’m happy for everyone who enjoyed it. It’s a risky project, and it’s always good when that pays off for a studio. I just couldn’t get past some of these things.
I`m hoping and praying that dead-eye s*** in Tintin doesn`t win SFX over this. That some mo`cap will win is a no brainer cause it`s AMPAS fave SFX. But, please, don`t go after big names, choose the rightful winner (Apes, Apes,Apes).
That said, Serkis is defacto lead. Can`t get that nom, don`t even bother with Supporting because it`s embarrassing.
I don’t know if I want to see ” Rise of the Planet of the Apes ” because most of James Franco’s acting performances are lifeless and detached- like Keanu Reeves ( I find it both simultaneously laughable and creepy . ) . After watching him, on this past Oscars , I realized that is just part of his persona. In a recent Playboy interview, James trashed this movie and the director . That is enough for me not to go see this over-the-top CGI sci-fi film. James is becoming a tool,
@Sam @Kris – My friends and I agree that Draco uttering the classic line almost ruined the moment, but we all decided that it was actually GENIUS for them to slip in it right before Caesar talks. The whiplash of emotions/reaction from the audience was AMAZING. Everyone went “Haha! OMG! So corny! Ha!” to “WHAT! WHOA! DID THAT JUST HAPPEN? OMG!”
@Ryan
That’s a good way to look at it, I guess. I don’t think it excuses it. I would’ve been okay with it if the quote was halved, so he just said “Take your stinking paws off me” and that’s it, or reworded it so it was a clear throwback but not a direct quote.
Still, you’re right that it pulls you out of the movie enough so that when Caesar speaks you get thrown right back into it.
I think another thing that kills that line for me is that no young person nowadays says “stinking”. You can be sure that Tom Felton’s character would be the kind who’d fill that sentence with a string of f-bombs. Tom Felton’s character as a whole I could tell was just being completely set up so that we could hate his guts and root for his death. And, lord, Freida Pinto really does live in “The Bubble” to get all these great parts, doesn’t she?
Anyway, aside from those two grievances, I thought the rest of the movie was pretty awesome. I loved that at the end it didn’t become a good guys vs bad guys kind of thing, it was just a thrilling confrontation to watch. A friend of mine called the second act “Oz for chimps” which I thought was a great way of describing the character building and transformation we see Caesar go through in captivity.
VFX were much better than I had anticipated from the featurettes. There was only one point in the third act where I was like “Oh, right, I once had doubts about the effects.” Not flawless but still damn impressive. And Andy Serkis. What more can be said about that man. My only thing about an Oscar nod is that I know the Academy would probably think what I did at one point, which is, when does Andy’s performance actually begin? At the kitchen with the milk? The first visit to the redwoods? Just more crap that’ll keep him from getting nominated I guess.
My #2 of the year behind Harry Potter (I haven’t watched some heavy hitters like Midnight in Paris or Tree of Life). As much as I’d like HP to win a sentimental VFX Oscar, for which I thought it would handily be the frontrunner, I really can’t deny the groundbreaking work that happened here.
A marvel of special effects and yet another sign that Andy Serkis needs to get more recognition.
I talked about this more on my blog, but did anyone else find the neighbor to be a bit of a cliche? The “dirty stinking ape” was didn’t bother me too much. (It was fairly harmless.) But I found the neighbor scenes to be almost slapsticky and out-of-place.
Other than that, it was a fun, reasonably predictable (especially all of the disease stuff) romp at the movies.
(Oh, and yeah… Freida Pinto had pretty much nothing to do, but look at those UK posters and you’d think this movie was Pearl Harbor starring Franco and Pinto.)
Yeah, the elongated neighbor yelling at Lithgow sequence was PAINFULLY bad.
I almost wanted to look away, thinking, “Is this really happening? Who chose this edit of this scene?”
How was it “painfully” bad? I mean, there are painfully bad things out there, and maybe the actor playing the aggressive guy was a little too strong, but Jesus, a little perspective. And how was it overly long? It was brief and succinct, I thought.
You know what it was – I felt like the movie was trucking along fine for what it was. And then this scene came along setting things in motion (for Caesar to end up at the facility), and I thought both the tone of the scene and the actor flipping out was out of line with the general solid quality that the film had been to that point (iffy science, thin characterization aside).
For me, it was as if that neighbor had to be so over-the-top as to have Caesar ‘do’ something; which led to the lock-up and everything after.
When really, a more level, authentic playing out of that scene is all that was needed. It came off BIG for no reason; given how the film was playing out beforehand.
Please excuse my PAINFUL comment. And when I said elongated, I may have exaggerated, but again, I feel like the neighbor constantly pushing and yelling the same thing over & over again at an ill, older man was inauthentic (car wreck or not).
I really loved this movie. Serkis was award worthy.
The neighbor was no biggie at all. A brand new Mustang being destroyed would send anyone over the edge, and he didn’t even hit the guy either.
The dirt ape line was lame, but the No! was badass. I loved King Kong’s shock and awe face there.
I`m hoping and praying that dead-eye s*** in Tintin doesn`t win SFX over this
Tintin is an animated movie and no it doesn’t have that problem. (Which may be the most overblown I’ve ever seen, even in Zemeckis’ films. It’s funny you say this, because it’s the same f/x company too.
* I meant overblown criticism
Tintin actually does have the uncanny valley (“dead-eye”) problem, sorry to say. From everything I saw at Comic-Con, anyway. Maybe things will be rendered further for the finished product or something, but of what I’ve seen, I think it has a lifeless quality. The only thing really having me jazzed is the way the scenes are handled visually, with Spielberg’s fingerprint on the celluloid. Wasn’t expecting it to be so of a piece with his work.
I still have no clue what people even mean by it honestly. Pixar’s large, flat eyes are more unnerving, and even then it has no effect on the movie. (And it has nothing to do with replicating humans; we know it’s I don’t know what people think they see in real life eyes that makes it so different than the animated ones. Compare Frodo to Haddock or Tintin:
http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/8157/hrtheadventuresoftintin.jpg
http://www.hecklerspray.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/frodo-auenland.jpg
What’s the difference? With Zemeckis’ films, the eyes weren’t the problem. It was the animation of the faces that weren’t that great. (Though it did improve more so by Christmas Carol.)
For starters, the difference is in motion, not stills.
In Zemeckis’s films, yes, the issue was largely waxy skin and just an overall fakeness (though in Polar Express, I think it dovetailed stylistically). But I still think Tintin isn’t fully there, and Avatar caught a break in that the Na’vi were aliens and weirdness in the eyes was therefore not all that unsettling. But in every other motion capture film, including parts of Apes (though it is way out ahead of the lot right now), there’s a deadness there. The technology just isn’t fully up to snuff yet, but it’s getting increasingly better.
To me, The Two Towers, Return of the King, Avatar, & Rise of the Planet of the Apes have been the only films that have nailed motion capture.
With animation, it’s not just the ‘dead eye’ in motion, it’s the elasticity of the facial/body movements that proves problematic, at times, as well. I still think it’s all really cool – but sometimes takes me out of the narrative.
God, I couldn’t find a single thing to like in this film. How bad is everything else released if this is what’s considered good summer entertainment? Honestly, I just don’t get it.
^^shocker.
Haha, just kidding, I’ve always found your opinions interesting. Anything specific you’d care to share?