Slashdot Mirror
Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
It's a hollywood blockbuster, so the plot is simple: James Franco is a scientist testing an Alzheimers cure that goes wrong. The test-chimps are all put down, but one was unexpectedly pregnant. Franco has to adopt the baby, whom he raises and teaches. He eventually uses his meds to cure his sick father, and Caesar is taken away to an animal sanctuary where exciting 2nd and 3rd act plot points lead to an action finale.
James Franco really seems to pick good movies to be in. From Freaks and Geeks on, he really seems to land good roles, and this movie was no exception. I've never had a problem buying him as a stoner or spoiled rich kid, but in this movie he gets to show emotion for his Alzheimer's stricken father, passion for his scientific work, and of course love for his ape "child" Caesar. The first half of the movie hangs on this relationship, and Franco holds up his end of the bargain.
Of course, the other side is the CGI rendered, Andy Serkis acted 'Caesar.' The ape was the unexpected child of a mother used to test Franco's Alzheimers cure, which goes horribly wrong and is cancelled. Caesar is a genius monkey who learns to communicate and solve puzzles far beyond a human child of the same age. It must kind of suck being Serkis: his work as Gollum and Kong has typecast him as the 'Performance Capture' poster child, but he does a great job. I buy the emotion in most of the scenes: it's only a few of the action shots where the weight felt wrong to me. For the film to work, Franco, Serkis, and the SFX had to all be pretty much perfect. And for my money, they were.
The rest of the film has some problems: The "Bad Guys" are so unbelievably "Bad" that it makes you want to wince. The zookeeper. The jerk neighbor. The bad boss. They are drawn with such thick black lines, I felt like we lose a lot of the potential for the story. The fact is that Franco is violating medical ethics, there is cruelty being done to animals, innocent people are hurt but because the "Bad Guys" are ludicrously bad, many of the hard issues are glossed over. Franco: Good. People who disagree with Franco: Bad.
As I said above, my fear for the movie was that it would simply be a Transformers style action film. Now, I like Transformers 3 just fine for what it is, but the majority of those movies are simply non-stop, boring action sequences. And I don't much care for that. I love action, but if that's your entire movie, it's pretty tough to carry 2 hours. Fortunately this movie is mostly about the development of Caesar: him struggling to figure out what he is, and finally learning to survive and escape imprisonment. These scenes are interesting and fun. So when we finally get to the dramatic finale atop the Golden Gate Bridge, it's nice to just have the big action release.
Plus Apes wreck stuff. It's pretty awesome.
Also, I don't recommend singing the Simpsons Planet of the Apes Musical during the closing credits. Your wife will get mad at you, even if it was the part you were born to play.
I love you Dr. Zaius!
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
The two reviews I've read of it basically said the movie was written by monkeys - for monkeys. If you're a human of even remotely human intelligence, you'll pass.
And the previews - what I can say, looking incredibly dumb - though the graphics look great. So for me, the reviews completely confirmed the obvious conclusion one can draw from the previews.
I means seriously. This is the fucking PLANET of the apes. The movie should be called one square block of the apes. Let's see, the handful of super intelligent apes and monkeys (in comparison with humans) revolt. They grab spears. The military comes out and butches the shit out of them in five minutes. Ape deaths - all of them. Human deaths - a handful of civilians. End of story. If that's not how the story goes, the writers are idiots (monkeys), writing for other idiots (monkeys). And if that is how the story goes, well, its a dumb fucking movie.
There, I just saved you all a bunch of money on tickets.
It'll be a spoiler, but how can there be enough non-Human great apes to take over the planet?
Yes they are strong and everything, but they can't fit in MRAPs, M1 tanks or fly Apaches or snipe so I really don't get how they can take over the planet.
http://www.strimoo.com/video/16728738/Planet-of-the-Apes-The-Musical-Veoh.html
It's hard to find a good video due to Fox being so strict. But this is still one of the funniest scenes Simpsons scenes of all time.
NPR played a great interview with Andy Serkis last week. He has no trouble with being "typecast", but after hearing that interview I definitely will chase up Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Serkis sounded so much like Ian Dury.
And off topic some more, we already know about trying to raise a monkey as a human baby
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
It is not a great movie, but it was good. My wife was sad for the apes, and that kind of detracted from her experience (she really likes science fiction). I was rooting for the Apes the whole way and I liked it.
The CGI is the best. At one point animated clothing is ripped off an animated ape. Only now, as I'm writing this, does it sink in show technically awesome that was.
The review is correct about the moral stupidity of the movie. Franco's unethical behavior and his exploitation of the primates is glossed over, while the Anti-Franco people are all evil.
It was fun, though. I didn't want it to end.
> was it going to be a Sci-Fi film, or an action film?
As long as it's not a Syfy film!
Slightly disreputable, albeit gregarious
Where one is it sorta sucks, and five is it really sucks.
Great. Another "science will destroy us all" theme. Maybe Will Smith could show up as Robert Neville and attack the apes with the cancer-cure-gone-all-wrong from I Am Legion.
The "Bad Guys" are so unbelievably "Bad" that it makes you want to wince.
Nothing new there. Hollywood sucks at creating compelling villains. It's why the Green Lantern movie gave us Yet Another Evil Space Cloud.
What I liked about the original Planet of the Apes is that it was told that the monkeys started to say "No!" if I remember correctly. I always imagined it as some kind of evolutionary development. Nature fought back! This one gets it all wrong. Why must it always be mankind that is responsible, even for the rise of the apes? This is ridiculously homocentric.
But the theme in the Planet of the Apes movies (and books) was that humanity eventually started using apes as slaves who eventually ended up doing all of the work and then were able to rebel because they were the only ones with any technical skills.
So a human military violently putting down an ape rebellion doesn't really end the saga unless not only are all the mutant apes exterminated but the very technology used to create them is also destroyed.
and rather enjoyed it. The ending was different from what I expected or thought it might be, but given the nature of apes, a much more fitting ending than the one I imagined.
the only people the apes kill are the ones that deserved it. on the other side, lots of apes were killed by people.
"For I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and Long Words Bother Me"
The thing that impressed me the most, as well as dissapointed me the most, was that the CGI Caeser's acting was better than all the human actors. Part of it was bad writing keeping the actors from being anything more cardboard cutouts, but the Caeser's facial expressions really conveyed what he was going through. I was impressed by that. The rest of the movie, though, felt a little flat in comparison.
This signature is a waste of 42 characters
Most of the naysayers who haven't seen this film are complaining that they don't believe a handful of apes could take over the entire planet.
Well, they don't. Get over that. This is a prison breakout movie. They do eventually own the planet, through a twist that's telegraphed in advance and completely plausible. But the main action is a couple hundred apes against the San Francisco PD.
Just go see the movie. It's very, very good, completely plausible, with no plot holes. (Although as mentioned, some of the humans in it do act stupidly evil.) And Serkis deserves an Oscar nod for the role.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Plus Apes wreck stuff. It's pretty awesome.
First there's all the stories about comic book movies aimed at 12-year olds, now we're getting spammed about another crappy film you couldn't pay me to see, written by what seems to be a third-grader. Since when did Slashdot become "news for nerds with room temperature IQs?"
Oh my gosh! I was wrong! It was Earth, all along!
They ruined this moving by removing the paradox that Cesar was the "son" of Xera. He wasn't genetically modified. He was smart because he was the son of smart/evolved apes.
no it doesn't. not everyone wants to be julia roberts or another top tier star. they don't even make that much money after all the taxes and agent fees are accounted for.
i bet Serkis loves his job because he never leaves the studio, doesn't have to travel around the world all the time and is always there for his kids while making a very nice living and not seeing most of his money go to agents, publicists, accountants and lawyers
You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!
The apes don't win against humans; the humans do in themselves first.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
I saw it yesterday and thought it was pretty good overall, regardless of my 'room temperature IQ' as some posted. The only really 'BAD' guy in the film is the one ape handler, and I didn't think he was really over the top either. The next door neighbor I kind of felt sorry for; poor bastard reacted pretty much the way most people would I think. The one thing that irritated me a A LOT was the typical Hollywood 'I want a really cool shot where apes are flying through the air!' so they did... chimpanzees flying through plate glass windows stories above the ground and acting like it was nothing. That, and the inconsistency with the size of the chimps. Golly, I didn't know that if a chimp stood up like a MAN it would auto-magically grow about a foot... aka Cesar looking eye to eye with his 'father'. That, and the aerobatics Cesar was able to perform while running through the house. Unnecessarily over the top. Oh, and in typical fashion once the miracle drug was administered to the apes at large, they were all able to organize and become a cohesive fighting unit instantaneously and be able to communicate perfectly.... all within a day.
If I sound stupid, it's not me talking....
Attack the Block is currently the best sci-fi movie I know of in theatres (though very FEW theatres). Much less humorous than the premise or trailers make it out to be, but there is a fair amount of humour in it.
So is Andy Serkis the new Kevin Peter Hall?
In the original "Planet of the Apes" movie, this kind of plot was chosen to show us humans, how we behave and how stupid and violent it is.
First, it pointed out that humans destroyed earth after all, because of the usual things: greed, stupidity and being power hungry morons. Second, it changed the perspective for humans. Now humans are the animals and the apes are those who control the world. Humans are mistreated and used for experiments without any doubt in the action. Just as we humans did and do. Third, it shows that the apes, who call themselves superior (being a little bit chauvinistic at this point), that they would not resolve their problems in violence. However, in the end they do. In that part it discusses the problem with unequal power inside a society can result in problems when not controlled properly.
The way to broach those issues were good and typical for the time the movie was made. All this World War III stuff can be seen in different movies, books and other creative work. However, nowadays such plot is more than lame. The idea of being taken over by apes is not very convincing. Even if apes are twice as smart as a human (which is not possible, due to energy constraints). We humans are 6 billion entities 1/12 has guns. On the other side, there are at top most a million apes (I doubt that there are still that many of them) without guns. And the very idea of fire weapons is, that physical power does now longer count. So the apes are largely outnumbered and outgunned.
But the top most thing is, our cultural context changed since 1963 (book)/1968 (movie) and it does not make sense to discuss these issues in a move in the same way. A much more convincing plot would be a world, were we eradicated almost all animals and un-diversified plant life in such a way that some simple deceases destroy all our crops and humans die out (almost) due to food shortage.
Such movies are however, difficult because the transition takes so long. You either use the Roland Emmerich approach and let happen a deep freeze in days instead of decades or you try to do a 12 Monkeys approach. YOu not necessarily need time travel, but it is a method to connect the move past and the move present.
"If you're wondering how he eats and breathes / And other science facts / Then repeat to yourself 'It's just a show and I should really just relax". Lalala" - mstk3k
Paul: Father... father, the sleeper has awakened! - Dune
Apparently, someone heard about a movie where only a handful of humans remain on Earth trying to figure out what wiped out the rest of humanity.
Movie being called "Twelve Monkeys" they assumed it was one of the "Planet of the Apes" movies and a part of that canon.
Not that they've actually seen any of those movies. They just kinda make movies, they don't watch them.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
The most loved sci-fi shows Star Trek, Dr. Who were famous for not so great special effects. Special effects do not good sci-fi make unless great stories, good acting and good scripts are there too.
Read the book. It is fantastic. Though the story in the original movie is very different, it holds true to the spirit of the book. Both excellent.
Watch the original moves, they hold up very well even after 30 years.
I'm an underground commando. I'm sitting in the basement and not wearing underwear.
I hate every ape I see,
From chimpan-A to chimpanzee,
No, you'll never make a monkey out of me!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Actually, Charlton Heston was like a lot of old-school leading man actors--in that he only sucked when he was in the lead (playing the cliched handsome leading man). He was pretty good in later supporting roles (where he got out of that leading man mentality).
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
I have to ask:
Was there a "Right turn, Clyde" reference in this movie?
I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
Why must it always be mankind that is responsible, even for the rise of the apes?
You know for once it would be nice if the mollusks were the bad guy, screwing things up for humans. Gastropods could evolve to have hi-tech bio-warfare labs in their shells, they retreat and then re-emerge with an exotic neurotoxin precisely tailored to the threat. Then! Fed up with being trodden on and being cooked in French cuisine they turn on mankind by turning chimps into hyper-intelligent evil psychopaths! Only to find that the now dominant chimps evolve a taste for escargots au beurre d'ail.
What are you some sort of closet $cientologist?!!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Would have been a much better ending.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
I guess you missed the part where the drug doesn't make the humans dumb but DEAD. Not much of a rebellion needed when you're enemy manages to kill himself off.
At the end the apes seemed happy enough to just sit around in the trees.
Of course that's just my opinion...... you could be wrong!
Surely statistically, given the number of experiments done with lab-rats we're much more likely to produce a race of super-intelligent lab rats. Rats would also have more of a desire to wipe out humanity... after all we keep giving them cancer. I'm holding onto my movie-fund budget until Hollywood releases "Planet of the lab rats"
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
This movie make me think Humans stole Parkour from the Primates.
Um, we are primates.
The original Planet of the Apes had a lot going for it: a compelling lead, an interesting story, a convincing world, a couple of good quotable catch phrases, and of course the not-really-all-that-surprising twist ending.
Beyond "you damn dirty apes", what other good quotes were there?
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
I think it's easy to buy James Franco as a stoner because James Franco IS A STONER!
Anyone see his eyes-swollen-shut, dry-mouthed performance in the aptly named "Your Highness"?
Come on, Jimmy. Save it for the weekend!
This comment has several spoilers, so be warned.
I was surprised to not see any comments on /. about the portrayal of science in general, and medical research companies specifically. The biomed company portrayed in this film has to be the worst company with some of the worst practices and leadership ever shown in a movie. I was amazed at the incompetency of the company. Some incredible items were:
- Immediately ending a very expensive and potentially profitable research product because of one unexpected result (the chimp's rampage at the beginning), apparently without any attempt to locate a root cause.
- Not tracking their medication samples so researchers can just steal medication for home trials (REALLY?)
- Completely inadequate security measures
- This isn't the company, but Franco's character shows a complete lack of respect for proper testing procedure, for medical ethics or for anything else that a good researcher would be very careful about.
Overall, science and technology companies really got the short end of the stick in this movie. That said, I can pick nits with almost every film. It was entertaining and fun. Definitely worth seeing in my opinion.
Waiting for Dr Bob to chime in to inform us that, had the little monkey just had the proper adjustment, none of this would have ever happened...
This is the kind of disclaimer that should be right at the top.
You can't take the sky from me...
I am planning to see it tomorrow with my kids. The youngest is seven. I noticed it is PG-13. He won't get upset by a little violence, but I don't want him seeing anything really gory. Would you take a seven year-old to see it?
You rock.
The original story is that a disease killed off all the cats and dogs and such. So we took in apes as pets. Then we started using and treating them more and more as helpers, laborers, and eventually, slaves. Apes became more numerous, more intelligent, familiar with human tools and machinery, and angry. Humans became weak, dependent, and lazy. When the uprising started, humans were caught with their pants down facing a dumber force, but one that was numerous, in their homes, and physically superior.
I think you forgot about the part where two Chimps from the future escape back in time (Escape from the Planet of the Apes) just as the planet explodes from the Omega Bomb (Beneath the Planet of the Apes), and they have a child which is adopted by a circus owner, and that child grows up to become the leader of the enslaved Apes.
I don't usually self promote but here is our review of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Hopefully is it more entertaining than this review
Look around. You think people can't be cruel and uncaring to apes. Look at what they do to other humans!
I think this movie was great. Among one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. The only thing I hated about it was the last line of the dialog. They should of cut that last line and let Caesar have the last say.
:T:R:A:N:S: