Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The most underrated movie of this summer turned out to be his best ever movie. Caesar’s story is an amazing demonstration of honest filmmaking that has the necessary ingredients to make it a classic. Burton can go fly a kite. The special effects have been taken to a level higher again, the monkeys are sometimes more emotional that the humans. Poor old Franco is sidelined about half way through and never returns to the fore. Of the human actors, the most intriguing are the chameleon John Lithgow and David “Rodney McKay" Hewlett who was landed with the least rewarding role in the movie, poor guy. This monkey rebellion grabs you with its screenplay, which has some surprises in store, and also superb action sequences. (08/25/2011)

Generally, I tend to avoid American blockbusters knowing that they target a different age category of audience and usually work with genres that I couldn't care less about. If they ever catch my attention, they are mostly light comedy affairs. Serious-minded blockbusters usually reek of pathos and ostentatious arrogance. The novel "Planet of the Apes" operated on a simple principle and set a simple goal: to warn about a nuclear war that would bring humanity to ruin and have the void occupied by an animal species. The original film from the 60s was impressive and effective - mainly because it faithfully stuck to the source material. At the time, it was actually a blockbuster too, but its choice of topic, simplicity, precision, and broad communication made it exceptionally strong. Its younger sibling sells something else and uses different tools. It can be argued that the original Planet of the Apes influenced a generation of viewers, sparked a social discussion, and changed the view on the Cold War. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a predictable morality tale about the arrogance of humans in contrast to the nobility of the silent face. Many scenes are played solely for the effect, the characters are black and white, and the film is clichéd and literal, blatantly playing on emotions. From the first minutes, I didn't find it likable, but I would give it two stars for its craftsmanship without hesitation. However, that wouldn't take into account the last action-packed third, where there is a revolution and heroic clever monkeys demolish a helicopter in flight or a moving car with an armed crew. It got dark in front of my eyes and my mood dropped at the speed of a skydiver lacking a parachute. The film has enough enthusiastic admirers, so I don't need to exert myself and will limit myself to an overall impression of 10% for the technical execution. (10/07/2015)

The film objectively has enough flaws (logical missteps, sometimes strange editing, a few unnecessarily cheesy scenes). But it deserves great respect for its childish enthusiasm and completely anachronic use of tricks. I haven't enjoyed the liveliness and soul of trick sequences this much in a long time... as if Rise of the Planet of the Apes was actually going back to the 1960s, when every trick was a little joyful miracle. Personally, this film reminded me of why I love science fiction so much (that uplifting feeling of magical escape from the everydayness) and surprised me very pleasantly by resigning on the theme of direct civilizational conflict. In short, we follow the spontaneous demise of the old community and the resulting birth of a new community, which has, much more than the features of the classic apocalyptic sci-fi elements, features of a romantic story of a lone monster and its naive creator. At the same time, the film establishes the opportunity to tell the whole series again (including a reference to the unfortunate flight of Icarus), which makes me happy after watching this intimate, emotional and outwardly pleasurable spectacle. (07/29/2011)

Along with X-Men, this is the second blockbuster this year that pushes the envelope in spectacular ways (WETA studio has once again pushed the boundaries of the impossible) while not being afraid to be clever. There may be some reservations regarding it, but we will see after the second screening. Very soon. [PS: When I heard the word "No!" my heart stopped for a few seconds.] (08/21/2011)

Veni, Vidi, Vici. Now two Caesars can say this. A prequel thirty years later where the senselessly grafted on (and absolutely unnecessary) action finale in “what didn’t fit into Jackson’s King Kong" style which unfortunately reduces the emotional ride mediated by soulful ape gazes to a regular, although very well-made, popcorn movie. But it also has a “heart", which is pretty rare for blockbusters in recent years. (08/11/2011)