Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review (5/5)

If there's one thing August has proved, it's that sometimes the best releases are the ones you don't expect. The Summer of Film up until this month had, to an extent, been fairly disappointing, with only X-Men: First Class and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two managing to stand out in a wave of merely good sequels, and even then neither of them looking to be contenders for 'Best 2011 Film'. Yet in the space of one month, we've had two sure-fire contenders for that coveted award: Super 8, and now Rise of the Planet of the Apes, an absolutely superb fantasy movie that at its heart is the story of animal mistreatment by our race ultimately leading towards our own downfall. It's undoubtedly a reboot, completely accessible to newcomers such as myself in that it doesn't tie us down with a convoluted time-travel story, instead following genetically modified ape Caesar's journey from loved household pet and friend to the enraged leader of a revolution. That we spend so much time in the perspective of Caesar throughout really helps to create a sense of innovation and originality not seen in many flicks this Summer, especially with the use of subtitles as the primates use sign language to communicate. Indeed, it's the incredible characterisations and above all the CGI which will win this film awards: Andy Serkis is simply perfect in his animated guise as Caesar, mimicking the motions and facial gestures of the character in such a way that has not been seen since his turn as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings almost a whole decade ago. Were it not for this, Rise would actually seem a much weaker viewing, as bar James Franco- who gives us a memorable protagonist attempting to deal with his father's Alzheimers and taking an emotional journey as he realises he has abandoned Caesar and thus created the planet's own undoing- most of the cast give unrealistic portrayals, often bordering on the theatrical (Tom Felton has yet to learn how to move past the melodramatics of his Draco Malfoy). This was the case in Super 8, too, and just as with that film the perks of Rise are such strong arguments for it that they easily outdo its shortcomings. Inevitably, the writers leave several strands of the plot open so that we can move closer to the story arc of the classic 1960s-80s series, and obviously to building the titular planet where the apes rule over us, and while it does thus feel like it's lacking closure, I would be very happy to have us return to the franchise as soon as possible provided that the heart and soul of Rise remain intact. In short, Rise of the Planet of the Apes does have its drawbacks, mostly regarding the overdramatised characters bar Franco's and the apes, but the stunning CGI, the heart and soul injected into its superb storyline and the brilliant balancing of drama and action ensure that these are barely noticable, and as such the film's two-hour running time races by and a return to this planet would be wholly welcome, preferably sooner rather than later!