Movie Review #7 - Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

A Movie Review by Carter Rutledge for:



Movie Synopsis:

 Scientist Will Rodman is determined to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, the disease which has slowly consumed his father. Will feels certain he is close to a breakthrough and tests his latest serum on apes, noticing dramatic increases in intelligence and brain activity in the primate subjects – especially Caesar, his pet chimpanzee.

MPAA Rating: PG-13

The Good: Amazing effects, great story and phenomenal acting
The Bad: Unsatisfying ending and cheesy villains.

Why I Watched it:

I saw the trailer for the third movie, and so I started in the most obvious place, the first movie.

My Thoughts (no penny needed):

What a ground-breaking movie. This film does not get enough credit in the VFX world in my opinion. Andy Serkis was the best actor in the whole shebang. Will was a very likable character, and his story arch with his father and his job go great in this movie. The Shawshank Prison for apes was extremely well done and realistic.
I also loved the cinematography by Andrew Lesnie of LOTR. He's my dude.
The villains, Tom Felton's guy Dodge Landon (Looked that up) was just predictable and cheesy. The whole deal with the window in the attic was so amazing.  My biggest problem was the ending in the woods. It felt kind of rushed and quite forced. But all-in-all a great movie by itself, and the sequel makes it even better.

The Characters:

Caesar: Amazing. The effects, acting, speaking and motivation are all absolutely perfect! I also love how he doesn't want to kill anyone.

Koba: A chilling face, violent and unpredictable behavior make for an un-steady alliance with Caesar. He gets his arch as well, by killing his captor.

Maurice: That one, wise old guy in every movie. Reminds me a ton of Morgan Freeman in Shawshank. The only ape who was smart to begin with. *fist pump*

Will: One of the only realistic human characters in the movie, his compassion and kindness to animals and humans make him the perfect balance between all humans being bad, and all apes being bad.

Dodge Landon: Ugh, so cheesy. He was quite hated by me, and I guess thats his point.

Will's Father: When he was revealed in the story, I was blown away. He mostly serves as a plot point instead of a character though.

My Favorite Character: Maurice

Final Ratings:
Note: Ratings go up to 10, 1 being the worst.

Villain Scale: 3.5

Hero Scale: 9.5

Directing: 8.5

Acting: 9

Visual Effects/Animation: 10

Cinematography: 10

Writing: 9

The Movie as a Whole: 8.5


Thanks for reading my seventh review, you awesome person!

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