2012 in Film: #65 – Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2012 in Film: #65

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) | Directed by Rupert Wyatt

Grade: B+

Thoughts: I’ve never seen any of the other Planet of the Ape films, so it was initially a mystery to me as to why my mother even purchased it on a blind buy. From all that she’s told me, she hates the series. Nevertheless, seeing none of the previous ones doesn’t matter, as it is an origin story.And an entertaining and fun one at that. James Franco is fine as the scientist who develops a medication that is supposed to fight off Alzheimer’s, and, while it’s at it, repair severed connections in the brain, making the apes that they’re testing the medicine on all the smarter and more cunning. Andy Serkis, who else, provide the motion capture acting for Cesar, the main primate of the film. Exciting, touching, and luckily did not shove any animal testing agenda down the viewer’s throat.