Have a review of RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

You're not supposed to cut out your stars half-way through your blockbuster movie. You're not supposed to rest your big summer movie on apes created by CGI motion-capture technology.  You're not supposed to sell an audience on the far-fetched idea that humans can be defeated by a species that doesn't have opposable thumbs [correction: Apes do have opposable thumbs. We're all doomed].  You're not supposed to leave the audience on a down note.  There's so much that goes into making a formulaic, forgettable blockbuster and no one told the folks behind RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is the first live-action film in the history of movies to star, and be told from the point of view of, a sentient animal -- a character with human-like qualities, who can strategize, organize and ultimately lead a revolution, and with whom audiences will experience a real emotional bond.  The film was impossible to make until the technology, invented for Avatar and now advanced to a new dimension, caught up to the idea behind the movie.

It is 20th Century Fox's reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, intended to act as an origin story for a new series of films. Its premise is similar to the fourth film in the original series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), but it is not a direct remake in that it does not fit into that series' continuity.

From a technical perspective, this Apes sequence is pretty impressive, with regards to Caesar's mobility in particular. As far as digitally-rendered characters go, it looks far more convincing when Serkis' ape tackles Charles' assailant and begins pounding the man with his bare hands, than it does in other films that feature CGI characters picking up or handling flesh-and-blood people (the Transformers movies have always had issues with that).

The emotional drama and conflict of this sequence definitely walks the line between being overly melodramatic and appropriately moving. Still, in the context of the actual Apes movie, there should be a good deal of buildup to this moment, establishing just how strong a bond Caesar has with his adopted human family – and how much of a fish-out-of-water he is in the everyday human world. So, as it stands, this turning point in the film might ultimately feel natural (and tragic), in that respect.

If you did not watch this movie, just watch it.