Review: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Satisfies Spectacle-Seekers and Film Geeks Alike

He just wants to cure his father's Alzheimer's!

Dr. Will Rodman, played by James Franco in the new movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, has only the best intentions in mind when he conducts a series of experiments on chimpanzees using a drug that holds the promise to repair the brain.

But what do they say about "good intentions," especially for researchers in movies who are pushing the limits of science?

It doesn't help that Dr. Rodman has a massive blind spot in the cavalier way that he (and all of humanity) treat the animals in their midst, especially lab animals like chimpanzees who are (really!) almost as smart as humans. Karmic pay-back is definitely in order. Hasn't he ever read Icarus? Or watched any science fiction movie ever made — like, say, the 2009 movie Splice which tells, um, pretty much exactly this same story?

But does Franco have to take the whole world down with him? Apparently, he does, because — let's face it — we all participate in a society that treats animals, even probably sentient ones, abysmally.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is about 30,000 times better than Tim Burton's horrible 2001 remake of the 1968 classic (and for what it's worth, one of my favorite movies of all time). This is definitely one of the better movies of summer 2011.

But unlike the Tim Burton film, this one is definitely a "reboot," not merely a "remake." The events of either of the earlier films — a space-traveling trip — never happened, nor will they ever happen. This is an entirely different timeline, set in the present, with an entirely different explanation for the "rise" of intelligent apes (see above).

Which isn't to say the classic 1968 film (and its four increasingly horrible sequels) don't come into play here. The film is a non-stop parade of references to those movies, some subtle (Caesar plays with a toy Statue of Liberty) and some not-so-subtle (we literally hear the words, "Get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape!" but, alas, not the even-more-classic line, "You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!").

Yet the movie clearly is a set-up for what I'm sure the producers hope will be another long, lucrative franchise, so I'm certain they'll figure out a way to get that line in these movies somehow.

With all these references, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is actually a lot like another movie this summer, Super 8 (which I really liked), in which almost every scene was a recreation of an early Steven Spielberg movie. But unlike Super 8, this isn't an homage so much as it's an inversion: roles are cleverly reversed in almost every respect.

I loved this! Then again, that's what you'd expect from a total movie geek like me, right? Fortunately, you don't need to have watched Planet of the Apes five thousand times to understand this movie.

The movie's problem? Well, apart from the fact that the science is complete s**t (almost offensively so), this is a story that's been told many, many times before. And while James Franco is fine (and his usual adorable self), he's basically playing angst-y scientist number four hundred thousand. "Oh, why oh why did I try to play God?!" His girlfriend, Slumdog Millionaire's gorgeous Freida Pinto, is even more generic, but I guess at least she's not white.

Still, along with all those great, cheeky references, as well as some terrific set pieces, the movie does have something else new going for it. The apes were all created using CGI (with The Lord of the Ring's Andy Serkis, who played Gollum, standing in for surly Caesar). It used to be impossible to use GCI for complicated fur imagery, not to mention realistic expressions, but they've done it, making this whole project extremely cutting edge.

The problem with CGI is, of course, that everyone and everything looks exactly like you would expect it to look: it's still too "perfect," not quite "real." But knowing what a landmark achievement this is, it's also quite fascinating to watch.

Oh, and look for Tom Felton (Draco in Harry Potter) in a role where he gets to chew the scenery and also show off an American accent (and still not play a good guy!).

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is solid summer entertainment with a fast pace and plenty of satisfying spectacle. Chalk up another victory for the human spirit.

And if you caught that line from The Planet of the Apes in that last paragraph, I'll suspect you'll like this film even more than most.

P.S. No, James Franco doesn't get shirtless! I can't believe that's what you guys care about!