Film-o-Rama Review by August Meyer
Strolling into the theater with a good friend of mine, I knew for sure that "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was going to be a good time, but had understandably low expectations for the overall quality of the film. What with all of the recent action-movie blockbusters (*cough* Transformers, *cough*), I couldn't help myself from targeting the film with considerable cynicism. Luckily, I was in for a pleasant surprise...for the most part.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a direct prequel to the original, starring one of America's biggest up and coming movie stars; James Franco. Even though Franco's name headlined the cast, upon seeing the trailer for the movie months ago I found myself doubting his devotion to the film, thinking he had sold out in a way. I was absolutely positive it would not come within a mile of his powerhouse performance in 127 Hours, and his completely acceptable role in the first two Spiderman movies...let's just pretend the third one never happened.
As it turned out, my prediction was right. Franco's performance is stale, and without a doubt could be played by any number of generic actors. Channing Tatum would have sufficed. But it isn't the humans in the movie you should pay attention to; it's the apes. Andy Serkis's motion-capture performance as Caesar, the lead ape in the film, is ridiculously brilliant. He brings just as much powerful emotion and complex psychology to the role as he did with "Kong" in Peter Jackson's King Kong a few years back, and as "Gollum" in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. His beyond spectacular job should bring serious consideration from the Academy towards including such currently trending "non-live-screentime" performances in their annual awards ceremony from now on. If Serkis doesn't receive a nomination, it would be an unforgivable atrocity on the Academy's part.
Serkis isn't the only stellar human-ape-actor. The entire cast of motion-captured mammals deserves some major credit. Who knew watching a bunch of apes running rampant in San Francisco could be so well done and intensely entertaining?
Director Rubert Wyatt proves to audiences everywhere that even AFTER Tim Burton's disgrace of a remake, the Planet of the Apes saga is not over yet and leaves us itching for a sequel...a rare occurrence in today's film environment. The movie does what it set out to do effectively. It makes us think, and brings us on one hell of a ride while it's at it. Though the human cast is mediocre, the apes more than make up for it with shining excellence. And the fact that a certain character in the film fantastically delivers Charlton Heston's eternal words, "Get your paws off me, you damn dirty ape!", doesn't hurt either.
Nice review! I plan on seeing RotPotA soon and your words have enticed me to do it faster!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I would like to give you major props for praising Andy Serkis and his unappreciated work on many films. I have always been a fan of him since his work as Gollum and even loved his performances as the cook in King Kong. Some older members of the Academy would most likely overlook his work and consider is to not be award-worthy simply because he wasn't physically on screen. But honestly, they are just blind to the cold truth that computer animation has contributed a lot towards modern films and showing performances in a way that couldn't be shown 20 years ago. Serkis deserves recognition for his contributions - if more people watched his painful trials on the set of LotR (on the extra feature disks) they might have a bit more respect for him.
And while I like James Franco, I feel like the reason he may not have delivered a great performance in the movie is because the director may have held back on making the lead actor/audience connection so that the apes would be highlighted a bit more. I bet that (and this is mainly because I'm in denial at Franco's apparent lackluster acting) the director may have had to ask Franco to hold back a bit so that he wouldn't steal the show. But who knows, that's just my own speculation.
Anyways, I can't wait to see the movie now, thanks!
Thanks for the comment, Dane.
ReplyDeleteI'm really pulling for Andy Serkis this year. If the Academy has any sense at all, they'll give some well deserved recognition.
As to James Franco's performance, you COULD take my word for it (or the many other reviews out there), but I would highly recommend seeing it for yourself. The disappointment he brings is overshadowed by the fantastic storyline of the Apes' resistance.
Glad you enjoyed it!