Rise of The Planet of the Apes (1 Viewer)

[Radioman970]

Really liked it. Everybody see it! Be sure to stay in your seat as the credits roll.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, for me, had a lot of negative

things going against it.


First, the fact that Fox was trying to revive the franchise after

the Tim Burton debacle. If that film didn't seemingly put a nail

in the coffin for the series, I don't know what else would.


Then, there's James Franco. Never liked 127 Hours nor felt

his performance was worthy of the Oscar nomination. On top

of that, he single-handedly ruined last year's Academy Awards

show.

I suppose credit should be given to the individual who actually

had the balls to pitch the idea of doing another Planet of the Apes

film. Took a lot of nerve for someone to stand before a panel of

studio execs and try to win them over on green lighting a franchise

that was destroyed 10 years earlier.


I went into this film not expecting to like it, and ended up very
surprised.


Someone was very smart here. They didn't go for the comic edge.

They didn't go campiness. There is a real science fiction story

being told here with a very "human" element to it. Additionally, the

Weta effects are just good enough to make you believe these are

real apes rather than humans in costume.


While Rise of the Planet of the Apes still cannot come close to

matching the original 1968 film, I am very happy to say that it is

the first Apes film that can stand proudly alongside it.


Take THAT Tim Burton!



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[Patrick Sun]

This re-imagined prequel to a longstanding series of Planet of the Ape films from 40 years ago is actually pretty fresh with the launching a new PoTA franchise. The star of the film is the mo-cap performance of Andy Serkis as Caesar, the newborn of Bright Eyes, an ape injected with an experimental Alzheimer's drug being researched and developed by Will Rodman (James Franco in a so-so performances). Caesar is raised by Will (who oversees the care for his father (John Lithgow), who is afflicted with Alzheimer's. The best thing about the film is the character development paid to Caesar, and how we get to such a possibility where apes are the dominant species on earth by the end of the film. The CGI apes are pretty believable, and we've finally reached a point where films like this can be made within a budget, and still retain human performances through these CGI creatures. I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B. P.S. Saw just a minute of Tim Burton's POTA on FX last night, and just had to turn the channel, it just couldn't hold a candle to RotPoTA.

 

[Coressel]

I just saw this yesterday afternoon, and I strongly believe that this is the best "Apes" movie in 40 years. I have always loved the original, liked "Beneath," but hated "Escape," "Conquest," "Battle" and Tim Burton's "Spoof of the Planet of the Apes."


I was completely pulled in, entertained and emotionally touched by "Rise," and can't wait to see what they do with the sequel(s)!

 

[Tino]

Loved it. A terrific reboot that's emotionally satisfying as it is entertaining. They seriously need to create a new OSCAR cateory for mocap performance so they can give it to Andy Serkis. BEST film of the summer, tied with Potter for me. :star::star::star::star:

 

[Coressel]

Here are a few of the homages to the earlier films that I noticed right away while watching this movie-
-Tom Felton has at least 2 lines of dialogue that mirror Heston - "Get your stinkin' paws off me..." and "IT'S A MADHOUSE!!"
-The other guy who works in the Ape Sanctuary is watching a Heston film on TV (possibly his performance as John the Baptist in "The Greatest Story Ever Told?")
-The big Orangutan is named Maurice. Maurice Evens played Dr.Zaius in the original.
-There is an ape named "Cornelia." "Cornelius" was Roddy McDowell's character in the originals.
-Caesar's mom is called "Bright Eyes," which is what Zira calls Taylor when she first sees him.
-Caesar is playing with a model of the Statue of Liberty at one point.
-Although I have always hated "Escape," I did like the fact that something Zira talks about in that movie is that according to Ape History, the great Caesar said "No" to his "master," which is depicted in this story.

Other references -
-The ending airport scene during the closing credits reminded me of "12 Monkeys."
-A couple of the apes start to fight over the watering hole in the Ape Sanctuary. There's a brief shot that is almost identical to one of the Dawn of Man scenes in "2001 - A Space Odyssey."

 

[Craig S]

Wow, what a great, pleasant surprise. RotPotA is everything all of you have said it is. Intelligent, entertaining, rousing sci-fi with humanity and heart. I grew up with and have great fondness for the original string of "Apes" movies, but this is easily the best since the original. I also agree with Tino, it's tied with HP 7.2 as the best summer film of the year.


Weta's work is outstanding, and Andy Serkis delivers another brilliant mo-capped performance. His Caesar is intriguing and sympathetic, and you are rooting for him the whole way.


The filmmakers make great use of the San Francisco setting. And I have to mention the scene where we track Caesar in the trees of Muir Woods as he ages to maturity - this is one of those wordless "Wow!" cinematic moments that puts goose bumps on your arm. Kudos to director Rupert Wyatt, composer Patrick Doyle, and DP Andrew Lesnie for that one, and for the whole film.

-A couple of the apes start to fight over the watering hole in the Ape Sanctuary. There's a brief shot that is almost identical to one of the Dawn of Man scenes in "2001 - A Space Odyssey."

I'm with you on this. I believe the Ape Sanctuary in general was a deliberate homage to 2001, which after all was the other great ape movie that came out in 1968!

 

[TheBat]

I saw rise of the planet of the apes. I agree with the others that is just an awesome. I am also a tim burton fan as well. this is way better then that remake. I would say that this is the best movie of the summer followed by xmen first class, bridesmaids, and captain america. I hated the harry potter part 2. Jacob

 

[Jim_C]

My son and I saw this today. Great movie and a fantastic job by Serkis. I hope the Oscars find a way to recognize his ability with mo-cap. Gollum, King Kong and now Caesar. The man knows how to give these characters the emotions they need to tell the story in a believable fashion. Franco didn't bother me too much. He's too young for the role, IMO. Besides, I saw Caesar as the lead and Will as the supporting actor.

 

[Al_S]

I saw this film over the weekend and thought it's one of the best I've seen this year. I thought some of the facial expressions that Ceasar had were really kind of spooky.

 

[Johnny Angell]

They interviewed Serkis on Fresh Air last week and he was asked if mocap performances should be considered for acting oscars. He replied his performance was acting, just like any other actor's. He also mentioned that the got the inspiration for the voice of Gollum (it was his and not enhanced) from his cat coughing up a hairball. Seriously.

 

[TravisR]

He replied his performance was acting, just like any other actor's.

That's exactly why I don't think there shouldn't be any special motion capture performance Oscar. I know that would be the only way that a mo-cap performance will recieve any Oscar recognition but I feel like a different category is like saying that it's less than a 'real' performance. A performance is a performance whether you're onscreen or you're acting under makeup or you're acting in a mo-cap suit. A special category would be well-intentioned but it would still be treating it as unequal to traditional performances.

 

[Coressel]

Originally Posted by Johnny Angell /forum/thread/310611/rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/60#post_3839377

 

[Chris Will]

That's exactly why I don't think there shouldn't be any special motion capture performance Oscar. I know that would be the only way that a mo-cap performance will recieve any Oscar recognition but I feel like a different category is like saying that it's less than a 'real' performance. A performance is a performance whether you're onscreen or you're acting under makeup or you're acting in a mo-cap suit. A special category would be well-intentioned but it would still be treating it as unequal to traditional performances.

The problem I have with mo-cap performances being included in the normal acting categories is that while a lot of the performance may be the actor's, the animators can and do deviate from what was performed. They may use the actors voice exactly but the may not use all of the actor's exact movements. They'll always end up changing things during animation, like a facial expression or a movement to better fit into the on screen action. When this happens, it no longer becomes just Serkis' performance; it becomes a group of people's collaboration in creating a CGI character and shouldn't be judge up against a live actor's single performance IMO. It the mo-cap went from Serkis to the can without animators touching it in between, then I would say it could be in the best actor categories. As it stands, there is a lot of Serkis there but, there is also a lot that is not Serkis. Same for Gollum. I think a separate category would be the right move at this point in time. Don't get me wrong, I think the work Serkis does is great, I just don't agree with it being judge in the best actor categories, not yet at least.

 

[JonZ]

I enjoyed this film, especially how the Apes communicated and their facial expressions.



I do think it was a mistake to let Francos character live through the film. What I thought was going to happen, was that he was going to be shot when he ran into the fog on the Golden Gate Bridge.






I saw this during a rainy day on vacation and when I got back to our condo I turned on the tv to waste a bit on time and Burtons version was just starting. Amazing difference between the 2 films.


Everyone who Ive talked to, who doesnt seem to have interest in this, has commented on how is it possible that a hundred or so apes can take over the planet? ... I keep saying, you have to see the film.

 

[smithb]

Everyone who Ive talked to, who doesnt seem to have interest in this, has commented on how is it possible that a hundred or so apes can take over the planet? ... I keep saying, you have to see the film.

You just described me to a tee. I have actually made that very statement multiple times in closing as to why I have not been interested in seeing it. But given your response I will change my take and give it a shot.

 

[Radioman970]

I guess they could have made it completely obvious about how smart Caesar is... My answer to "How...?" would be "it's sci-fi, get a grip!" lol

 

[TravisR]

I thought this movie was surprisingly good. Very nice performances from Franco, Serkis and Lithgow and great effects. This is the type of summer movie that I would like to see more of.

 

[Ken Chan]

how is it possible that a hundred or so apes can take over the planet? ... I keep saying, you have to see the film.

Answer: non-existent

Spoiler

quarantine protocols when testers are exposed to cutting-edge airborne viruses.

Or did you mean that other thing?

 

[Mike Soltis]

My plot hole problem with the film...

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Bright Eyes goes ape (sorry) to protect her baby? They're testing drugs on her and don't know she was pregnant? What kind of lab is this?

Other than that, loved the film, loved the homages. Go see it!