I've heard people say this is the Dark Knight of the year. Needless to say this movie was great but this is no Dark Knight. This review will at times will make it seem like I didn't like the movie. However I thoroughly enjoyed it and consider it to be one of the better summer films of this crappy film year.
I'm not sure where to begin. How do I review this without being redundant. There are already many things said about this film. Yes, this is a movie where the story gets very personal. The audience can become sypmathetic towards Caesar, the ape. The movie feels extremely short which has its pros and cons. The exposition, although argued to be long didn't feel that way. The exposition is the reason why we feel bad for the ape. It's also the reason why this movie feels anti-climactic. You expect the apes to take over the whole city by the end of this movie through various battles but it's actually a tease. The apes don't do much destruction; it's rather the virus (I'm not spoiling anything by the way) that does the damage.
The movie's a fun flick with distinguishable actors...except maybe Tom Felton. He's just playing a Muggle version of Malfoy in this movie. Does he really have to be that over-the-top? I guess that all contributes to the satisfying ending he gets. As for Andy Serkis, he's great at what he does as usual. You can't really call it a performance because it's so real. The special effects in this movie are amazingly good.
Personally I don't think the ape should've become *that* smart. If you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about. He acts more human than he should've by the end. It provoked laughter in my theater...maybe it was too much. But that's a personal thing.
The major problem I can think of is James Franco's rash decisions. He's quick to change his mind through various stages of the film without much explanation. In one scene he's trying to do something that contradicts what he wanted to do before. And there's not a lot of motivation or logic involved here and I'm just like "why?" His character feels a little rushed.
However these addressed problems are, again, minor. They do not distract me from being entertained. I don't think this is a landmark film; it's got some memorable scene but this is something I wouldn't choose to watch again for some time (although I wouldn't mind watching it again).
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (ugh, I still hate the title though) has definitely brought attention to its franchise and probably gained a new fan base. I can see a sequel in the works with a new trilogy. For what I've seen, I'm all in for a sequel. Just bring a little more action next time that's all.
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