Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Aside from the original "Planet of the Apes" (1968), this is, quite simply, the best film to come out of the franchise. Actually this is not that difficult, as the 70s four sequels were nothing more than B-pictures ('Beneath the Planet of the Apes', 1970, is particularly ghastly), and Tim Burton's 2001 remake took so many liberties that it forgot what is was all about. But "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" not only gives a fresh view as to the origin of the ape planet, it also delivers a good emotional story-line, combined with an action ape-packed last third of the picture. So, all in all, a successful summer blockbuster, although, off course, it will not win any awards. The story of the birth of the planet of the apes, and of the first talking ape, Caesar, who led the rebellion, was portrayed in "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" (1971) and "Conquest of the..." (1972). Here the story is completely different. Caesar is not the son of ape time travelers, but a mere ape whose mother was a lab-rat (or rather ape) for James Franco's Alzheimer cure research. After something goes wrong the experiments are shut down and all the apes are killed except little Caesar. Franco takes him to his house and raises him. The cure for Alzheimer stimulates brain cells so Caesar becomes super smart. There are surprising sub-plots (surprising for this kind of picture), which were a breath of fresh air. Namely Franco father's battle against Alzheimer (great performance by John Litghow), and Caesar coming of age, curious of the world, of people, of games, of love. There is also Freida Pinto, a veterinarian, who is Franco's girlfriend, whose character is rather irrelevant, but helps to give the picture a more human scope. For that, it is a success, for human background drama usually is nonexistent in such films. Eventually the caged apes are pushed too far and Caesar chooses to be free from humans and starts a rebellious escape, and that's the action packed last third of the film. They conquer the planet? No way, they just reach the forests near San Francisco, but its a good solid start for a sequel. For those who know the franchise, there are a couple of almost hidden nods to the events of the original film, so it's solid prequel material, eclipsing off course the 70s sequels and their stupid storyline. There are however two stupid things: first Tom Felton (Malfoy from Harry Potter) delivering the "take your stinking paws" line from Charlton Heston. Worse line-delivery I have ever seen, completely ruining a classic cinema line. And second, because the filmmakers obviously realised that an event in San Francisco couldn't represent the whole planet (a mistake made in the originals) they decided to give the apes a hand, so there is also a subplot of a human "12 monkeys"-style virus. Ridiculous. Let the apes conquer the earth for themselves! Although the originals had Oscar-winning ape-makeup, nothing compares to Motion Capture and the brilliance of Andy Serkis. Absolutely realistic. It is a thrill to watch these apes. This is the prequel that the magnificent original never had. The two form a great pack, although the original is, off course, unbeatable. And forget the other 5 films! Those are just for die-hard fans.