We meet Will Rodman (James Franco) a scientist desperately searching for a cure to Alzheimers and Dementia. Early on we discover his research is far more important to him personally than it is professionally as his father Charles (John Lithgow) is suffering with Dementia.
A female chimp affectionately nicknamed 'Bright Eyes' given the drug ALZ-112 shows miraculous progress in the testing stages and Will attempts to take the drug to human test level. Will is presenting to a board of decision makers when the female chimp seems to react wildly when being encouraged out of her cage in what is presumed as a 'side effect' to the drug. She smashes up the lab, bursts in to the board room and is fatally shot by a security guard. The following scene shows us her behaviour was in fact a display of protective instincts; she had secretly given birth in her cell.
Having been forced to put down the remaining tested chimps, the handler discovers the baby and asks Will to look after it so it doesn't have to share the same fate as the others. It quickly becomes obvious that 'Caesar' as Will and his father name him, is far more intelligent than is normal for such a young primate. They keep him and he soon becomes a part of their family. Will sees the effects the drug has on Caesar through the tests his mother underwent so sneaks samples of it from the lab to treat his father with.
Caesar's intelligence continues to increase as he grows older and Will teaches him sign language. The strange family the Rodman's have created is a tender and believable one. When the drug inevitably stops working for Charles he attempts to use a neighbours car and crashes, the neighbour is overly forceful with him, as a result Caesar becomes angry and protective and attacks.
Caesar has to be taken to a sanctuary in a heartbreaking scene; we have seen his development within a human family and the love and affection he shares with them makes it gut wrenching when they must be parted. After a struggle to fit in with the other primates at the sanctuary, Caesar uses his incredible intelligence to establish himself as alpha and to release all in the sanctuary, the lab and the zoo, showing us how the tale of Planet of the Apes began.
When the drug stops working for his father and he loses Caesar to the sanctuary, Will is determined to develop this drug further. In his quest to do so he creates something that dramatically enhances the primate brain activity but is fatal when humans come into contact with it.
During this story there is a relationship forged between Will and vet Caroline (Freida Pinto) and while it is fairly unconvincing and under-developed, as individual characters they put in solid performances. Franco especially encapsulates the agony and anguish Will experiences in an understated 'playing it from within' manner throughout.
As a sidenote, Tom Felton is fist clenchingly infuriating as the evil Dodge Landon and I truly hope this film is the start of a prosperous career for ol' Draco!
While these performances are strong, the real triumph here is Andy Serkis as Caesar. He impeccably displays the movement and characterisation of this simian and makes Caesar one of the most relatable non-human characters for probably, well, ever. This is the man who also bought us King Kong in Peter Jackson's remake in 2005 - making him an ape-like genius! When he performs Caesar's first ever spoken word, the Empire audience gasped in unison - this was one unexpected and stunning cinematic moment.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is far more fast paced than it's title; it's engaging and entertaining but it did lack in some areas of character and relationship development. Being 1 hour and 45 minutes, you feel if it was that extra half an hour long, that the lacking depth could have been rectified. Having said this, would this have made it drag? The answer probably being yes, so what do I know?! The action scenes, however, are visually spectacular - large amounts of the films' imagery is beautiful plus advances in technology have made it so the primates are amazingly lifelike.
The closing scenes show us the beginnings of the effect developed drug ALZ-113 has on humans, leaving this film open to a sequel. This is also slightly obvious from 'Rise' not finishing where the original began. To be honest after how surprisingly exciting this film is, it's the only sequel-begging film of the year that I'm not angered by!
This summer blockbuster is a must see - I did not check my phone once during 105 minutes of non stop captivation - it must have been good!
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