Rupert Wyatt directed this entry to the Planet of the Apes saga. This is a prequel to the original Charlton Heston vehicle. By now we all know that the titular planet is earth where the ape is king and man is an inferior creature.
Here we learn how these apes came to rule earth. Will (James Franco) is a scientist who is working on a drug to cure Alzheimer’s disease. His motivation is because his father (John Lithgow) suffers from the disease. Will’s research causes many tragedies for the apes on which he experiments, but also leads to the birth of Caesar (a full motion capture Andy Serkis). Circumstances cause Will to take Caesar home where he lives with his father. Caesar quickly shows that he is much more intelligent than a normal ape.
From this point the story becomes less about science and disease and more about Caesar. As he grows older he becomes more brooding and sad. A series of events cause Caesar to be left at an ape sanctuary run by a cruel father and son (Brian Cox and Tom Felton respectively).
Caesar’s rage at humans and what they’ve done to him comes to full force at the sanctuary. Several events lead to an ape revolt that will eventually take our planet to where it was when Mr. Heston crash landed.
The amazing thing about this film is that the star is Caesar. Andy Serkis turns in an excellent motion capture performance. Suspension of disbelief that Caesar was a computer creation was very easy despite some shaky movement at the beginning of the film. James Franco and Freida Pinto are believable as supporting players. The excellent John Lithgow is amazing as always in the role of Will’s father. The major achievement of the film is that it gives us a serious, sympathetic character that is completely computer created and actually makes us side with apes over humans.
***1/2 – Three and a half stars
Director – Rupert Wyatt
Filmic Brevity 