Rise of The Planet of The Apes

Synopsis:

Will Rodman (James Franco), a scientist in San Francisco, is experimenting with a drug that he hopes will cure his father's (John Lithgow) Alzheimer's disease. After his work is deemed a failure, Will becomes the guardian of Caesar, an infant chimp who was exposed in-utero to Will's drug. Caesar displays unusual intelligence, and Will decides to continue his experiments secretly. But as Caesar's intellect and abilities grow, he comes to represent a threat to man's dominion over Earth.

Movie Review:

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is directed by Rupert Wyatt and is a prequel and a reboot of The Planet of the Apes franchise which they needed after the last film that was directed by Tim Burton which was a disaster. This one on the other hand was great and a very emotional story about mankind and how we should treat animals better. James Franco plays Will Rodman a scientist who was experimenting with a drug called ALZ-112 that will cure Alzheimer's disease in which his fathers has. Will was forced to take a baby chimp named Caesar who was exposed to Will's drug and then the chimp starts to display unusual intelligence. James Franco portrays serious in this role which is uncharacteristic of the usual funny-guy roles he mostly plays, but he surprises the audience at how good he is as this character. The supporting cast of Frieda Pinto who plays Will's girlfriend and John Lithgow who plays Will's father were both excellent and brought real feeling to their performances. Tom Felton and Brian Cox play father and son who run an ape prison that made Caesar realize that he should make an ape resistance that will take over the world. Felton and Cox support the story and help move the plot along, nothing more. But the standout of this movie by far is Andy Serkis as the Ape Caesar; his performance is captivating and powerful as the emotionally damaged ape. The visual effects and the CGI are breathtaking and hard to believe that it is CGI because the ape characters look so realistic. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is an exciting, emotional, and entertaining popcorn movie with a well- acted cast and heartwarming story. I am giving "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" a 4 out of 5 stars.

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Cast: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton and Andy Serkis

Runtime: 105 minutes