'Planet of the Apes' gets modern, fresh makeover
By Matt Grantz, Assistant Editor
September 9, 2011
.jpg) In 1968, “Planet of the Apes” was released, leading to a successful series of four more movies and a magnificent flop of a remake in 2001. This year, that series has experienced a rebirth in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”
For those of you not familiar with the original series of movies, the plot is relatively simple. In the original movie, humans from the modern day accidentally travel into the future, leading them to discover that Earth has been taken over by, of all things, apes and humans are merely speechless slaves.
A following sequel showed the planet’s destruction and three prequels detailed how the apes came to power. Additionally, a 2001 remake of the original wasn’t particularly good and received so much criticism that Fox decided to reboot the series entirely instead of producing yet another sequel. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is that reboot which serves to change some of the origin of the apes while still remaining faithful to the original series.
The film begins in San Francisco with scientists at a lab which is testing drugs designed to cure Alzheimer’sdisease on captive apes. The researchers are successful and an ape gains intelligence. The lead researcher, Will Rodman (James Franco), pushes the company’s board to begin human testing. Unfortunately, the ape breaks out of her cage, going on a rampage throughout the facility. She is eventually being killed in front of the board, ending any chance for human trials.
Soon, the chief ape handler, Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine), discovers that the ape went on a rampage because she had just given birth and was afraid the researchers were going to harm him. Robert convinces Will to take the baby ape home until he can find a shelter for it, but Will soon discovers that the baby, named Caesar, was also exposed to the drug. Will decides to  keep Caesar. At the same time, Will administers the experimental drug to his father who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. The drug works and Will sees great improvements in his father’s condition.
As time passes, Will also observes signs of great intelligence in Caesar and carefully monitors him. However, Will’s fatherstarts to become immune to the drug and relapses into his Alzheimer’s state. His father’s condition forces Will to develop a new drug which creates extraordinary intelligence in the ape it is tested on. However the drug produces even more negative effects in humans. Additionally, Caesar has been imprisoned in an ape “sanctuary” and becomes disheartened with humanity. This new, dangerous human disease and Caesar’s imprisonment then lead to a terrifying series of events.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” tells an interesting and fascinating tale that manages to hold true to the original franchise while not confusing viewers new to the series. I would certainly recommend “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” as it an exciting thriller combined with an excellent back-story. The action sequences are impeccable, though my biggest complaint is the time, over an hour, that it takes to reach those sequences. Most of the early story focuses on Caesar as he grows up, however, and these scenes are still fascinating and worth watching. Additionally, this reboot doesn’t butcher the franchise or completely change it, making “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” very satisfying for audiences of all ages.
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