Rise of The Planet of the Apes (1 Viewer)

[Coressel]

Originally Posted by Mike Soltis

My plot hole problem with the film... 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!

I wondered briefly about that, too. But then I simply figured that...

since the one lab guy said "she wasn't pregnant when she came in" (or at least they didn't detect it), perhaps she was and the drugs accelerated Caesar's growth, even as an embryo? Maybe far-fetched, but my puny human brain passed it off when I saw the film.

 

[cineMANIAC]

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."

Another possible reference to the original film: a TV newscast broadcasting footage of a rocket launch and talk of a "mission to mars" and a subsequent scene later in the film showing the front page of a newspaper blaring the headline "Lost in Space?". This could be referencing the space mission that crash lands on a future Earth as depicted in the first film. Although, the rocket taking off from Cape Canaveral looks nothing like the one that crashes in the '68 film

 

[Johnny Angell]

Another possible reference to the original film: a TV newscast broadcasting footage of a rocket launch and talk of a "mission to mars" and a subsequent scene later in the film showing the front page of a newspaper blaring the headline "Lost in Space?". This could be referencing the space mission that crash lands on a future Earth as depicted in the first film. Although, the rocket taking off from Cape Canaveral looks nothing like the one that crashes in the '68 film

I agree this is a reference to the original film. Otherwise, why do it? This film has nothing to do with space travel and it only makes sense in placing the beginning of the rise of the apes and the beginning of the space flight (that began the first movie) as occurring at the same time. Either that or the producers are diddling with us.

 

[Coressel]

That scene was confirmed as an "official reference" on the Rise of the PotA Facebook page. Apparently the name George Taylor is mentioned or in print somewhere, too.

 

[Steve Christou]

I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Good film, enjoyed it, great FX, Andy Serkis stole the show as usual. But I didn't really feel any connection between this film and the original Ape films. In fact it reminded me a lot of a forgotten film made in the 80's, Project X, starring Matthew Broderick. Tim Burton's much hated remake was closer to the spirit of those films than this effort. At least it used famous actors in ape masks, which is a huge part of the fun of these films, but I did like the photo-real CG ape effects. 3 out of 5.

 

[Johnny Angell]

That scene was confirmed as an "official reference" on the Rise of the PotA Facebook page. Apparently the name George Taylor is mentioned or in print somewhere, too.

We do get a brief glimpse of a front page of a newpaper with the mars mission on it. Maybe his name was there.

I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Good film, enjoyed it, great FX, Andy Serkis stole the show as usual. But I didn't really feel any connection between this film and the original Ape films. In fact it reminded me a lot of a forgotten film made in the 80's, Project X, starring Matthew Broderick. Tim Burton's much hated remake was closer to the spirit of those films than this effort. At least it used famous actors in ape masks, which is a huge part of the fun of these films, but I did like the photo-real CG ape effects. 3 out of 5.



So, Rise of the PotA wasn't cheesy enough? With all of the makeup of the first movies, I could never get very far away from the knowledge that it's a guy in a monkey (albeit a fancy one) suit. I use monkey to be generic. Those famous actors in the suits took the films a step away from total immersion in the film. I didn't have that problem with Rise.

 

[Radioman970]

It reminded me of Project X too. Not a bad little film that...

 

[Todd H]

Finally got around to seeing this yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised at how good a film this was. I am actually looking forward to a sequel.

 

[Sam Favate]

Saw this last week while on vacation. The theater was packed on a Monday night, which is always nice to see.

Very much enjoyed the movie, and as a big fan of the original series of films, I'm glad to see it redeemed after the disastrous film 10 years ago. That said, while I appreciated the great CG apes, the movie did lose something by not having that wonderful original ape makeup.


Some of the references to the original were too obvious (It's a madhouse/ the water hose, etc.). I absolutely hate when films "wink" at the audience. Still, some of the references were sly and very appropriate (naming the orangutan "Maurice" for example, watching a Heston film on TV).

 

[Radioman970]

Yeah, the "Madhouse" reference made me grumble a little bit. But not too much. I liked the waterhose bit though. I thought that was a good scene for establishing Caesar a bit.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Add me to the chorus of those impressed by this movie. Not a huge fan of the "Apes" franchise - like but don't love them - but really, really enjoyed this one. Perhaps it's blasphemous to say so, but I might like "Rise" more than the original - definitely looking forward to a sequel...

 

[Ronald Epstein]

That is blasphemous, Colin.


However, I'll respect your religion.

 

[Ron-P]

Sitting 7' away from an 8' screen CAN replace that BIG screen experience, epically when it's 1080p and no people around to annoy or bother. So yes, I have no plans to return to the theater until Bond returns. Maybe Star Trek, but I'll need to see a trailer first.


Commercial theaters suck, as do the people that go to them because most are nothing but annoying. Oh, and just wait, wait for the "Orange cell phone breaks", there coming.

 

[Ron-P]

Originally Posted by Vaughan Odendaal
See my comments above.


Have I ever said how I really, REALLY HATE this forums new software. It REALLY sucks! Who thinks this shit up and buys into it?

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein /t/310611/rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/90#post_3843247

 

[SilverWook]

Got dragged into seeing this, and enjoyed it more than I expected. (And I'm a card carrying classic POTA fan.) The lab scenes are pretty laughable in how they handle potentially dangerous biological materials. Hasn't anyone in Hollywood ever seen The Andromeda Strain? Any primate sanctuary run like that in the real world today would probably be "liberated" by an animal rights group, and burned to the ground. I did enjoy the primate spin on just about every old prison movie clique' though! I don't know where they can possibly go in a sequel that could surprise anyone. If they revisit the original film, there's no shock ending, we already know what planet we're on. And what are the odds two Stargate Atlantis cast members appear in two different movie franchise reboots in the same month?

 

[Sam Favate]

Originally Posted by SilverWook

I don't know where they can possibly go in a sequel that could surprise anyone. If they revisit the original film, there's no shock ending, we already know what planet we're on.

Just speculation, but to me, this film suggests that the destruction of the world of man (seen in the original film) could have been a response to the ape uprising, rather than a war of man against man. The line "you know what they're capable of" towards the end of the film seemed to set that up.

 

[Coressel]

^Yes, I thought that too. After seeing "Rise," I watched my Blu Rays of the Original and "Beneath," and the impact of the Statue of Liberty and the apocalyptic ending of "Beneath" took on an even deeper tone, as opposed to "Rise" having spoiled any big surprise.

 

[SilverWook]

Well, it was a big surprise to me the first time I saw it in the 70's, as was intended. How many people had that ruined by the first DVD cover with Lady Liberty poking up behind Cornelius' head? Maybe the sequel will go down some other path, and forgo melted cities and bomb worshiping mutants entirely.

 

[Coressel]

Yes, it was a big surprise to me too back then. But now the impact is not so much "Holy shit! I'm on Earth!" as it is a grim look at what our future may bring.