Film of the week - Rise of Planet of the Apes

by Darren McClellandRISE of the Planet of the Apes is the latest blockbuster to hit our screens this summer.

From director Rupert Wyatt, this is the fifth Planet of the Apes film since the 1968 original, acting as a prequel to the ape’s world domination.

Anyone who is old enough to remember the films of old may recall horse clad chimps who were members of a highly structured, successful civilisation who had overtaken humans as the dominant species, even keeping them as prisoners.

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As the title suggests, this latest outing charters the beginnings of the apes’ transformations from normal primates into highly intelligent competition for the human race, which stems from experiments carried out by a pharmaceutical company.

The chief genetic scientist involved is played by James Franco (Will), who works around the clock trying to find a cure for Alzheimer’s – the disease which has afflicted his father.

In previous films we saw chimps ruling planets; here they get no farther than San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, leaving lots of potential for future movies in this franchise.

If you’re looking for a reason to watch this film, the quality of the CGI special effects on show are a good one, from the detail of the primate’s facial expressions to the fluidity with which they scale San Francisco’s most famous landmark - they are very impressive.

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The man behind Gollam in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Andy Serkis, uses his skills to bring to life the main primate character, a chimp named Caesar.

Caesar is the only offspring of the chimps who originally acted as guinea pigs for Will’s Alzheimer cure, having inherited the radically improved intelligence which they developed.

Will adopts Caesar, who lives with him and his partner during his infant years, until he is forced behind bars in a corrupted ape sanctuary after defending Will’s increasingly ill father from an attacker.

The story then follows Caesar’s bid for freedom, revenge against those who mistreated him and his interactions with others of his kind.

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Being a member of a human audience, I was impressed by how this movie compels you to support the cause of the chimps, rather than the humans with whom they will inevitably come into conflict with.

James Franco and Andy Serkis create a very believable relationship between man and chimp; you forget that one of these characters is computer generated.

There are good performances from the rest of the supporting cast, such as Brian Cox who plays the manager of an animal sanctuary.

All in all, Rise of the Planet of thy Apes is well worth a watch – emotional and engaging, there is a good mix of action and dialogue to keep you entertained and offers something different to the raft of superhero movies that have hit our screens so far this summer.