Rise of the Planet of the Apes Takes a Sci-fi Story to a New Generation

"Rise of the Planet Apes" was released on August 5, 2011. The movie has a science fiction plot that many will recognize from the "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" film. Basically, apes take over the world or are going to, at least. Going into the movie, I purposely refrained from reading much about the film. Therefore, I made the mistake of presuming that it was a remake of the Conquest installment in the series. I was completely wrong. The premise is the same, but there are enough differences to call it an all new movie.

Rupert Wyatt directed this introduction of the "Planet of the Apes" and made it more modern. One might say, from a plot, action and graphics perspective, that this is the best "Apes" movie yet. Now, don't get upset with me for saying it. I loved the old school Apes films. However, a modernized story with amazing computer graphics was everything the story needed. Suspension of disbelief made the earlier films masterpieces. One was able to separate oneself from the fact that the apes were unbelievable and enjoy the acting and the story, because it was such a good damn story. You don't need to do that with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." The apes are recognizable as CG only to those who are looking for it. I was, but I stopped when the story got engrossing enough that I no longer cared.

I'm trying to leave all spoilers out of this review because I know there is a huge following for this old school science fiction franchise. Therefore, if you don't want to know anything that happens in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," stop here. I'm adding no true spoilers, but I do want to mention the links in Rise to the original series. In one scene, Caesar (not quite the Caesar you know from Conquest) is building a model of the Statue of Liberty. In another few scenes, there is mention of a manned spacecraft going to Mars, which may be lost in space. There are also many of the same ape characters. I got a kick out of those references, but there was nary a reaction from the theater crowd. Wyatt has definitely reeled in the teenage viewers. For them, this was an entirely new experience.

Before I put myself in danger of sounding like a Star Wars fan or a Trekkie in my enthusiasm for this science fiction series, I should probably wrap this up. If you like apes, go see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." If you like science fiction, see it. If you like end world scenarios, this is close enough, so go see it. If you like "Twilight," stay home. James Franco may be hot, but nothing about this film is "dreamy" enough to bring you back from the dark side. (Crap, I gave myself away there, didn't I?)