Rise of the Planet of the Apes - (August 5th, 2011): PG-13
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #1 with $54,806,191
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $117,464,360
Gross Revenue: $211,632,415
Production Budget: $93 million
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Even with the pedigree established by the historic Planet of the Apes media franchise, 20th Century Fox had a considerable challenge in convincing audiences that this reboot would be worth seeing. With the bitter taste of 2001’s Planet of the Apes as a failed remake still lingering amongst moviegoers, no truly bankable actors to attach to the project, and an overly-complicated title that used the phrase “of the” twice, there wasn’t much credibility attached to this origin story. The one saving grace was Andy Serkis, who has added his considerable motion-capture talents to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and 2005’s King Kong, and was sure to bring considerable emotion to this newest role. Even with the aggressive marketing campaign that was launched that put previews and posters all over the place, I wasn’t convinced that Rise of the Planet of the Apes would leave any kind of mark on the box office…personally, I thought it was a big mistake not to leverage Tom Felton’s presence in the film to try and draw the legions of fans who know him as Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series. Imagine my shock when the film not only generated a ridiculously high amount of critical praise, but also took the top spot its opening weekend in far excess of studio expectations…maybe I would have to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes after all.
Seeking to establish how apes evolved into the dominant species on Earth, Rise of the Planet of the Apes focuses on one ape in particular, Caesar (Andy Serkis). In present day, San Francisco scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) is working to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s disease through the use of retroviruses that are tested on chimpanzees and rapidly improve brain function. When one of the chimpanzees goes on a rampage and is killed, Will is ordered to shut down the project and terminate all test subjects, but he decides to keep and raise the chimpanzee’s baby, who is named Caesar. Fast forward a few years and Caesar’s intelligence levels are through the roof, to the point where he can freely communicate using sign language and regularly interacts with Will’s sickly father, Charles (John Lithgow), and veterinary girlfriend, Caroline (Slumdog Millionaire’s Freida Pinto). One day, Caesar comes to Charles’ defense against an abusive neighbor and ends up confined to a primate facility run by John Landon (Brian Cox), where he is abused by Landon’s cruel son, Dodge (Tom Felton). Embittered by his treatment, Caesar eventually escapes and steals the retrovirus, later exposing the other apes in the facility and setting the stage for an inevitable confrontation.
In all previous installments of the Planet of the Apes franchise, the apes themselves have been rendered using a combination of makeup, animatronics, or special effects, but this time around, the primates would be entirely computer-generated. While this decision could easily have resulted in disaster, it was executed flawlessly with truly impressive animation, and your jaw will drop when you see the legions of apes lay siege to the Golden Gate Bridge. The emotion and depth etched on the faces of the animated characters is most prominent with Caesar, as Andy Serkis brings his joy and pain to life with such astounding talent that you will find yourself actually rooting for the apes when they finally fight back. In a way, each member of the cast comes into their own at some point, with Tom Felton once again embracing his inner villain and James Franco proving he can do far more on the big screen than goof around. If I had to identify any weak elements in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I thought that some elements of the story were a little unrealistic, but the film more than compensates for this small shortcoming.
Yes, I do realize that I just complained that some story elements in a film where apes gain super-intelligence and overthrow the human race were “unrealistic,” but hear me out: Rise of the Planet of the Apes stylishly brought a unlikely revolution to life that foreshadows a now-historic fictional future, but for as clever a manner as this idea was presented in, some of its simpler elements were disappointing. If this criticism seems like nothing more than mere nitpicking, I’m not going to disagree with you, but that should be a testament to how strong the film is in its entirety. The music score is enthralling and the action is exciting, while director Rupert Wyatt goes out of his way to showcase the curiosity and yearning for freedom that Caesar experiences…seeing Caesar climb trees for the first time is beautiful and watching his incarceration is heartbreaking. There are also more than enough references to the original film to placate movie buffs (Tom Felton gets to deliver one of the most famous lines in cinematic history), and this added extra only further enhances the story that had the entire theater sitting on the edge of their seats. If you are on the fence in any way concerning Rise of the Planet of the Apes (as I once was), I cannot emphasize enough how much you need to see this newest film.
With an impressive opening weekend of just under $55 million, Rise of the Planet of the Apes far surpassed its initial forecast of $45 million. This performance was undoubtedly impressive, but I guarantee that more than a few analysts did a double-take when the primates took the top spot in the film’s second weekend with almost $28 million against three new releases that included a drama (The Help), a comedy (30 Minutes or Less), and a horror flick (Final Destination 5). I’ve commented again and again on the fact that this summer box office as been anything but predictable, but maybe this unusual turn of events means that audiences are looking from something uniquely entertaining…enter Rise of the Planet of the Apes. At the very least, a $93 million production budget was a gamble, and 20th Century Fox has to be happy that foreign receipts alone have more than covered that expense. There is not much more here I can do to convince you to get to the theater, so I’ll keep it simple: Rise of the Planet of the Apes is fantastic, DO NOT miss it!
Overall Recommendation: Very High
