Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Cast: Andy Serkis, James Franco, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Christopher Gordon, Tom Felton and Brian Cox.

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Release Date: 2011

Running Time: 1hr 44 minutes

Genre: Action

Rating: 12

Synopsis:

A substance designed to help the brain repair itself, gives rise to a super intelligent chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a prequel and a reboot of the original series starting with "Planet of the Apes", it's a shame there have been so many remakes over the years, audiences more often than not find themselves lost in the loop of where the story begins and where it continues. Dr Will Rodman (Franco) believe he has found a cure for Alzheimer's disease, in a drug called C-12. Although the drug proves to be effective at first, he soon learns that the human body has found a way to fight back. After his mother is killed trying to protect him, Caesar is born with exceptional intelligence, potentially making him dangerous to humans. Determined to escape a cruel prison, Caesar enlists the other apes to help him in an uprising.

The storyline unfortunately isn't very original. It's very similar to the story in the hit action film "Deep Blue Sea" where doctors desperately try to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease by testing drugs out on sharks which term them abnormally intelligent. Although the premise behind the story was very well thought out, sadly director Rupert Wyatt delivers a very poorly executed film. James Franco stars as Dr Will Rodman, after living with his ill father he does everything he can to find a cure for Alzheimer's, looking after Caesar in the process. John Lithgow and James Franco work fantastically well on screen together as father and son. A connection many of us can empathise with.

Despite his terrific role in "Harry Potter", Tom Felton delivers one of his worst performances as Dodge landon, delivering a shocking American accent and very little characterisation as he tries to take control at the prison. The animation looks magnificent, very different to the original film, where actors played the apes, the animation allows for the apes to look and act more realistic and genuine in their mannerisms. Unfortunately the story takes it's fair share of time to get going, the action however is very coherently shot and looks excellent on screen. Entertaining, full of suspense, a good start to a new series.

3/5 stars