Rise of the Planet of the Apes

A film at the right time. Instead of Godzilla-style destructive action, Rise of the Planet of the Apes offers up a game of who is the master and who rules whose territory and relativising a number of genre rules. The apes overshadow all of the live actors, who don’t even aspire to become heroes through their actions. Rodman’s liberalism isn’t far from the attitude of “do what you want; I can’t do anything anyway”. The character who undergoes complicated internal development, who literally evolves (as shown in the breathtaking scene with a tree), is Caesar, who is predestined by his name and intelligence to do great things. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone act so convincingly with their eyes. In the scenes when it raises questions, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is more impressive than when it attempts to answer them. While the secondary romantic storyline had already aged in its presentation and impact on the plot when the film was released in cinemas, man’s manipulation of nature as it is presented here will remain topical, if there is any nature left in twenty years. That’s not to mention a number of other possible interpretations that arise after looking over the current news of the world (why should the “right” to a more fulfilling life belong only to selected individuals). With its briskly presented attractions for both the eye and the mind (or for both at once, in the best case), Rise can be enjoyed as a summer blockbuster without guilt, regardless of the numerous meanings that it contains. For example, in evoking the impression of movement, Wyatt achieves the intensity of The Bourne Ultimatum in the scenes of Caesar’s continuously filmed actions. The British invasion of Hollywood is thus progressing as successfully as our “advanced” civilisation’s journey to self-destruction. 85% (08/18/2011)

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)

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. (08/12/2011)

Leaving aside Green Hornet, which came out in winter, this is the first blockbuster of the year that managed to not only meet my expectations, but to surpass them, too. If you really wanted to dig into it, you’ll find loads of inconsistencies in logic, but this film is so entertaining, genuine and emotional that I will not get into that. The old classic can be glad to have such a good young sibling, It has nothing to be ashamed of. I loved the references and I would love to take little Caesar home :) (08/16/2011)

The monkeys’ gazes gradually become more expressive and sincere than the gazes of the human actors, and the initial protagonist, a scientist played by James Franco, and his companions become nothing but a bunch of extras. In other words, it’s rather more "Rise of the Planet of WETA". It has the charm of fantasy worlds, a fast pace, a deluge of visual and screenwriting ideas, perfect action, loads of emotions, a subtle ecological message, and especially the omnipresent positive feel-good vibes without the need for darkness and violence, though the film talks about serious things. It is not possible that it took just a little over 100 minutes. For me, this was a feast, a perfect viewing experience and the most enjoyable blockbuster since the mid-1990s (Jurassic Park, Twister). And here I thought that the problem was just me being unable to go back there. (07/29/2011)