Rise of the Planet of the Apes
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kongisking
Active member
The Man said:
Damn, that sounds cool!
featofstrength
Member
Dr. Gonzo said:
Same here!
Chips Ahoy!...proud sponsor of the Ape Revolution!
phantom train
New member
Since more people have now seen the film & it has now been released internationally (at least to some extent), here is my full, SPOILER-heavy review. Please do NOT read this if you haven't already seen the film and want to be surprised.
This is an edited version of a post I made on another board:
Note that I am still reelling at how incredibly good Rise of the Planet of the Apes was; I have not seen a movie in years that has moved me the way this film has. I have already seen the film twice in the theatre, and liked it as much the second time as I did the first. I was really looking forward to this ever since hearing about it this past Spring, and the film definitely far exceeded my expectations (which were already high before even seeing the movie). IMHO, this is the best Apes film so far - and, this is coming from a fan of all the previous films:
- Great beginning, i.e. the capture of the Apes in the remote jungle - and it was very ironic that, in a sense, the beginning of the end for humanity started in a place far from civilization.
- As I mentioned in my last post, the CGI on the Apes was truly incredible - amazingly real movement & expressions - You really felt these were actual creatures, and not something created by/in a Computer. And, as I mentioned, the CGI re: the Apes in the film was far, far superior to the CGI creatures/characters I've seen in any other film, period. Caesar obviously stole the show, but the other Apes in the film were amazing as well, including the main Gorilla, the Orangatang, and the creepy-looking scarred Chimpanzee.
- I was very impressed by the progression of Caesar from cute Chimp to the much more menacing adult Ape - the passage of time when he was climbing the tree in the forest was particularly effective; and, the later scene when he turned around and suddenly growled at the barking dog was both shocking & chilling, since you didn't see it coming.
- The scientific explanation as to how the Apes became intelligent was very well-thought out and, from a fictional movie standpoint, completely plausible IMHO. The idea that Caesar was the most intelligent since his mother had been injected with the toxin?! and he had been born with it already in his bloodstream made perfect sense. And, the later scene when he exposed the rest of the Apes in the compound was plausible also, given the idea that the toxin/virus was also shown to be airborne. (Note that in all of the previous Apes films, there was no reason given as to how/why the Apes became intelligent - see one of my previous posts for more detail on this).
- I also liked the progression Caesar went through at the Ape compound. At first he was the ultimate outsider & was bullied by the other Apes there. But, then he got wise and asserted himself, & established his leadership over the others. This led to his leading the Apes to freedom.
- The sadistic worker at the compound was great as the guy you love to hate, and his death was classic. I felt his "Take your Stinking Paws off me..." line was very effective, and was a nice homage to the original film.
- The "NO!" said by Caesar was a great jolt, since you weren't expecting this - very well-done.
- The battle sequence at the end in the city streets and on the bridge were very well-done and plausible. I was not expecting a full-blown military-type battle with tanks & heavy machine guns against the Apes, so this small-scale battle made perfect sense in the context of what would probably happen if a large group of Apes escaped from a zoo/compound; The authorities would first try to contain this with the local police force/SWAT teams before calling in the military. The sequence when the Apes used the bus as a shield was excellent - their new intelligence really showed through here.
- I enjoyed the scene when Caesar came riding through the smoke on the horse (on the bridge) - very effective & unexpected. I'm guessing this was an homage to the original film(s) as well.
- I liked how Caesar was a nuanced character - he was not depicted as being completely vicious & violent, since he showed remorse when he bit the finger of the neighbor, and he also kept the gorilla from taking out the SWAT team member. Yet, he was not always compassionate either, since he let the head of the research facility die when the helicopter fell off the bridge. I kind of saw him as someone who ended up being forced to do what he did, i.e. fight back when cornered & eventually lead his people to freedom, even though they had to fight to get there.
- The scene when the gorilla jumped at the helicopter was great (even though you knew this was coming from the trailer); It was very moving how the Gorilla sacrified himself to save Caesar.
- The Alzheimer's "cure" that made the Apes intelligent & which is also presumably going to take out a lot of humans was a very good plot-point, and made perfect sense in the context of the film itself; it made the eventual downfall of man & the eventual take-over of by Apes much more plausible. I.e., if the transmission is already starting to take effect at the time of the Apes' escape, it will already have started spreading at this point, & humanity will soon be dealing with this horror rather than worrying about the group of Apes living in the forest. And, when the humans are dead/dying, the Apes will eventually take over.
- Going along with the above, I also saw this as a classic case of "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"- the scientist (Franco) had completely altruistic reasons for making this substance, i.e. to treat Alzheimer's patients and give them back their quality of life. However, the head of the research facility where the scientists worked was primarily interested in the bottom line (i.e., $), and this ultimately led to humanity's downfall.
- Though I really enjoyed this movie, the real trick here will be how the sequel is handled. Will it take place far into the future, or soon after the events in this film? In any case, I hope we see a sequel no later than two years from now - I don't think I'll be able to wait longer than that!
Also, many probably already know this, but note that after the credits roll in the film, stay and watch because there is a very key scene involving the pilot neighbor.
All in all, I really loved the film & am glad it has done so well both critically & financially - I hope more people go to see this & that it breaks box office records all over the world. And, I liked the movie so much that there's not ONE thing I think should've been done differently, or been changed - Note that I have absolutely no affiliation/connection with the film production; I'm just a huge fan of the franchise and felt this movie really delivered. I will definitely be seeing this again in the theatre, and will also be buying the DVD (hopefully that will be released later this year!).
This is an edited version of a post I made on another board:
Note that I am still reelling at how incredibly good Rise of the Planet of the Apes was; I have not seen a movie in years that has moved me the way this film has. I have already seen the film twice in the theatre, and liked it as much the second time as I did the first. I was really looking forward to this ever since hearing about it this past Spring, and the film definitely far exceeded my expectations (which were already high before even seeing the movie). IMHO, this is the best Apes film so far - and, this is coming from a fan of all the previous films:
- Great beginning, i.e. the capture of the Apes in the remote jungle - and it was very ironic that, in a sense, the beginning of the end for humanity started in a place far from civilization.
- As I mentioned in my last post, the CGI on the Apes was truly incredible - amazingly real movement & expressions - You really felt these were actual creatures, and not something created by/in a Computer. And, as I mentioned, the CGI re: the Apes in the film was far, far superior to the CGI creatures/characters I've seen in any other film, period. Caesar obviously stole the show, but the other Apes in the film were amazing as well, including the main Gorilla, the Orangatang, and the creepy-looking scarred Chimpanzee.
- I was very impressed by the progression of Caesar from cute Chimp to the much more menacing adult Ape - the passage of time when he was climbing the tree in the forest was particularly effective; and, the later scene when he turned around and suddenly growled at the barking dog was both shocking & chilling, since you didn't see it coming.
- The scientific explanation as to how the Apes became intelligent was very well-thought out and, from a fictional movie standpoint, completely plausible IMHO. The idea that Caesar was the most intelligent since his mother had been injected with the toxin?! and he had been born with it already in his bloodstream made perfect sense. And, the later scene when he exposed the rest of the Apes in the compound was plausible also, given the idea that the toxin/virus was also shown to be airborne. (Note that in all of the previous Apes films, there was no reason given as to how/why the Apes became intelligent - see one of my previous posts for more detail on this).
- I also liked the progression Caesar went through at the Ape compound. At first he was the ultimate outsider & was bullied by the other Apes there. But, then he got wise and asserted himself, & established his leadership over the others. This led to his leading the Apes to freedom.
- The sadistic worker at the compound was great as the guy you love to hate, and his death was classic. I felt his "Take your Stinking Paws off me..." line was very effective, and was a nice homage to the original film.
- The "NO!" said by Caesar was a great jolt, since you weren't expecting this - very well-done.
- The battle sequence at the end in the city streets and on the bridge were very well-done and plausible. I was not expecting a full-blown military-type battle with tanks & heavy machine guns against the Apes, so this small-scale battle made perfect sense in the context of what would probably happen if a large group of Apes escaped from a zoo/compound; The authorities would first try to contain this with the local police force/SWAT teams before calling in the military. The sequence when the Apes used the bus as a shield was excellent - their new intelligence really showed through here.
- I enjoyed the scene when Caesar came riding through the smoke on the horse (on the bridge) - very effective & unexpected. I'm guessing this was an homage to the original film(s) as well.
- I liked how Caesar was a nuanced character - he was not depicted as being completely vicious & violent, since he showed remorse when he bit the finger of the neighbor, and he also kept the gorilla from taking out the SWAT team member. Yet, he was not always compassionate either, since he let the head of the research facility die when the helicopter fell off the bridge. I kind of saw him as someone who ended up being forced to do what he did, i.e. fight back when cornered & eventually lead his people to freedom, even though they had to fight to get there.
- The scene when the gorilla jumped at the helicopter was great (even though you knew this was coming from the trailer); It was very moving how the Gorilla sacrified himself to save Caesar.
- The Alzheimer's "cure" that made the Apes intelligent & which is also presumably going to take out a lot of humans was a very good plot-point, and made perfect sense in the context of the film itself; it made the eventual downfall of man & the eventual take-over of by Apes much more plausible. I.e., if the transmission is already starting to take effect at the time of the Apes' escape, it will already have started spreading at this point, & humanity will soon be dealing with this horror rather than worrying about the group of Apes living in the forest. And, when the humans are dead/dying, the Apes will eventually take over.
- Going along with the above, I also saw this as a classic case of "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"- the scientist (Franco) had completely altruistic reasons for making this substance, i.e. to treat Alzheimer's patients and give them back their quality of life. However, the head of the research facility where the scientists worked was primarily interested in the bottom line (i.e., $), and this ultimately led to humanity's downfall.
- Though I really enjoyed this movie, the real trick here will be how the sequel is handled. Will it take place far into the future, or soon after the events in this film? In any case, I hope we see a sequel no later than two years from now - I don't think I'll be able to wait longer than that!
Also, many probably already know this, but note that after the credits roll in the film, stay and watch because there is a very key scene involving the pilot neighbor.
All in all, I really loved the film & am glad it has done so well both critically & financially - I hope more people go to see this & that it breaks box office records all over the world. And, I liked the movie so much that there's not ONE thing I think should've been done differently, or been changed - Note that I have absolutely no affiliation/connection with the film production; I'm just a huge fan of the franchise and felt this movie really delivered. I will definitely be seeing this again in the theatre, and will also be buying the DVD (hopefully that will be released later this year!).
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kongisking
Active member
michael said:
I loved that character. I think Maurice was his name.
"Apes stupid." LOL.
StoneTriple
New member
My post from another board I'm on;
--------------------------------------------------
No spoilers.
Loved it. I've never made any secret of the fact that I'm a Planet Of The Apes nerd. I probably watch the original twice a year and the score is a regular listen as well. That said, it's the only one I care to own. The others from the original franchise are guilty pleasures if they come on cable, with the only exception being Beneath - that one I can't stand. I think the Burton remake is terrible. The whole thing is just more of Burton's single-note style of film making. Burton Aesthetic first, story second.
This new one, an origin story, was really done well. It's an origin story in the truest sense of the phrase. I found it interesting and really felt for the main character, Caesar. It really is a very Caesar-centric film, which made it for me.
Which brings me to my only criticism of the film - Franco. His character is fine, as is the story around him. What jumped out at me after about thirty minutes is his lack of depth or range. He's little more than a script reader. However, because the story isn't really about his character, per se, I really didn't care. Same for Freda Pinto. She's window dressing with what I would guess is maybe 10 minutes of screen time total.
The CGI wasn't glaring at all and it never took me out of the movie. I was more interested in the story and Caesar. To Planet Of The Apes nerds, there are a few references back to the original (some obvious, some subtle) and I thought they were all done either interestingly or tastefully. The film ends leaving a clear opening for a second film. Speaking of which, stay for the titles because a sequel question is answered during them.
In closing: Later this year, my Planet Of The Apes DVD collection will double in size. I give Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes an easy 5 out of 5 chocolate chip cookies.
------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
No spoilers.
Loved it. I've never made any secret of the fact that I'm a Planet Of The Apes nerd. I probably watch the original twice a year and the score is a regular listen as well. That said, it's the only one I care to own. The others from the original franchise are guilty pleasures if they come on cable, with the only exception being Beneath - that one I can't stand. I think the Burton remake is terrible. The whole thing is just more of Burton's single-note style of film making. Burton Aesthetic first, story second.
This new one, an origin story, was really done well. It's an origin story in the truest sense of the phrase. I found it interesting and really felt for the main character, Caesar. It really is a very Caesar-centric film, which made it for me.
Which brings me to my only criticism of the film - Franco. His character is fine, as is the story around him. What jumped out at me after about thirty minutes is his lack of depth or range. He's little more than a script reader. However, because the story isn't really about his character, per se, I really didn't care. Same for Freda Pinto. She's window dressing with what I would guess is maybe 10 minutes of screen time total.
The CGI wasn't glaring at all and it never took me out of the movie. I was more interested in the story and Caesar. To Planet Of The Apes nerds, there are a few references back to the original (some obvious, some subtle) and I thought they were all done either interestingly or tastefully. The film ends leaving a clear opening for a second film. Speaking of which, stay for the titles because a sequel question is answered during them.
In closing: Later this year, my Planet Of The Apes DVD collection will double in size. I give Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes an easy 5 out of 5 chocolate chip cookies.
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TheMutt92
New member
Saw this tonight. Had little to desire to before because I had not seen any of the previous films in their entirety (the most being the original like 10 years ago) and the trailers didn't impress me that much (especially with the generic "cure" reference). But a friend paid for my ticket because they needed a designated driver for afterwards.
In short, I was very pleasantly surprised. Exciting, coherent action. Good performances and character development (especially from Andy Serkis and John Lithgow). And a fairly intelligent and nicely paced script. 4/5.
But the one thing I'd like to comment on is the film's placement in the franchise. This has been referred to as either a remake/reboot/prequel to the franchise. But in my opinion, I didn't see anything that seemed to contradict what I know of the franchise, in my opinion it worked as a prequel. From what I know, in the original series, Caesar was the child of two apes from the future who caused the revolt, setting a new timeline in the apes universe. So the difference here is that Caesar is not the product of time travel. Another example of this is John Connor in the Terminator franchise: he existed before Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor hooked up causing a new timeline. So basically it would be like making a film about John Connor becoming leader of the resistance w/ the whole Terminator/time travel subplot. That's just how I see it.
In short, I was very pleasantly surprised. Exciting, coherent action. Good performances and character development (especially from Andy Serkis and John Lithgow). And a fairly intelligent and nicely paced script. 4/5.
But the one thing I'd like to comment on is the film's placement in the franchise. This has been referred to as either a remake/reboot/prequel to the franchise. But in my opinion, I didn't see anything that seemed to contradict what I know of the franchise, in my opinion it worked as a prequel. From what I know, in the original series, Caesar was the child of two apes from the future who caused the revolt, setting a new timeline in the apes universe. So the difference here is that Caesar is not the product of time travel. Another example of this is John Connor in the Terminator franchise: he existed before Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor hooked up causing a new timeline. So basically it would be like making a film about John Connor becoming leader of the resistance w/ the whole Terminator/time travel subplot. That's just how I see it.
phantom train
New member
TheMutt92 said:
Glad you enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes - I hope this excellent film adds more fans to the franchise.
This is just my opinion so take it as you will, but I don't think that this new film is supposed to have any connection with the previous ones in the franchise. It has been compared to the early '70's "Conquest of the POTA" and the other original films, but there are many differences between these two films, and not just the time-travel aspect:
- The physical appearance of the Apes in this new film are of larger?! than normal regular Apes (CGI-rendered ones, that is), whereas the Apes in the original films were just people in Apes make-up & suits. Obviously, this was because of the special effects limitations at the time, but IMHO this in and of itself separates this new film completely from the previous ones. (Going along with this, there was never any reason/explanation given in the original 5 films as to how/why the Apes evolved to be more human-like in appearance).
- There was no explanation given in "Conquest" as to why/how the Apes became intelligent, unlike the IMHO somewhat plausible detailed explanation/reason in "Rise". I.e., in the 18-20 years between "Escape" (after Caesar's parents landed on Earth & were killed, and Caesar the baby was raised by the circus owner) and "Conquest", Apes became more "domesticated" and were being used as servants - this led to their being led to revolt by Caesar, who was supposedly intelligent because of his parents. However, not only was there no explanation given as to how the Apes other than Caesar became intelligent enough to follow him in the revolt, it was never explained how/why Ceasar's parents became intelligent in the first place.
- In the timeline established in the original films, there was a devastating nuc. war after the events in "Conquest", though it wasn't actually seen in the film - this was given as the reason for the fall of humanity & the subsequent domination by the Apes - the after-math of this war was seen in "Battle for the POTA", the original '68 POTA film, and "Beneath" (the Statue of Liberty, Forbidden Zone, human mutants, etc.). Whereas, in this new film, the anti-Alzheimer's substance (in gas form) is the reason for the fall of humanity and the subsequent Rise of the Apes (which we will presumably see in the next films). IMHO, the reason in 'Rise' makes a lot more sense as to why humanity will be decimated, giving way to the Apes - After all, a nuc. war would affect both humans and Apes....
There were definitely homages to the original films in "Rise", i.e. the infamous "Take your Stinkin' paws off me, you d&#@ dirty Ape!" line, "It's a Madhouse", etc., but IMHO these were just nods to the original films, nothing more.
It's also worth noting that the very underrated Tim Burton 2001 POTA film has absolutely no connection with the 5 '60's/'70's POTA films or this 2011 "Rise" film - Tim Burton's version is definitely a stand-alone movie.
Montana Smith
Active member
Just watched this.
It was visually impressive and the story was coherent while playing as close as possible to the original. Considering that time travel was the cause of Ape evolution in Escape, a continuity of sorts could be fudged.
Reference to the originals, including situation reversals (the hose pipe, mounted police, etc) was a little heavy handed, and seemingly only there to connect with the original story, even going as far as cast/crew and character names (Maurice, Buck, Rocket, Cornelia).
It was good, but as I suspected last year, it doesn't have the charm of the originals. It doesn't have the classic ape make-up, so it can never be anything more than a well-made curiosity. Which is a lot more than Burton's poorly made curiosity.
It was visually impressive and the story was coherent while playing as close as possible to the original. Considering that time travel was the cause of Ape evolution in Escape, a continuity of sorts could be fudged.
Reference to the originals, including situation reversals (the hose pipe, mounted police, etc) was a little heavy handed, and seemingly only there to connect with the original story, even going as far as cast/crew and character names (Maurice, Buck, Rocket, Cornelia).
It was good, but as I suspected last year, it doesn't have the charm of the originals. It doesn't have the classic ape make-up, so it can never be anything more than a well-made curiosity. Which is a lot more than Burton's poorly made curiosity.
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Stoo
Well-known member
My take on how this could fit into the continuity is that this version of Caesar is taking the place of Aldo, the original ape who said, “No!”, in the original timeline that is never shown (but Cornelius relates in “Escape”). As I’ve mentioned in this thread before, the events in “Escape", "Conquest” & "Battle" are a 2nd timeline#Montana Smith said:
As you know, Smiffy, I am an avid Apes fan but didn’t post a review of "Rise" here because it was a tad disappointing# I agree that the film was visually impressive and the story was strong but was hoping for more time spent on the actual revolt# Once it began, the uprising was handled well but the film took much too long to get there#
Another aspect I didn’t like was the lack of diversity amongst the apes# There was only 1 orangutan and 1 gorilla! All of the rest were chimpanzees and I wanted to see a healthy mix#
The homage/reference to the originals that I enjoyed most was a TV news report about the Icarus and its crew of 3 astronauts# #For those who don’t know, Icarus was the unmentioned na#e of Heston’s ship in the 1st film##
It was also cool to see Caesar wearing clothes#
I've started on thread on its sequel. (The title was announced yesterday.)
Montana Smith
Active member
Stoo said:
Yes, I think the Icarus homage was the best handled of them all. It was subtle, almost playing in the background, but for those who knew the original story it was a portent of things to come.
Stoo said:
More gorillas were needed!
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Marshall2288
New member
I really enjoyed this one as well but....more gorillas WERE needed!