THE RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES 3.3 ****

To begin with , this is a prequel to the Planet of the Apes movies and, as such, offers a fascinating and believable explanation as to how the apes became intelligent and a threat to mankind.. The story focuses initially on James Franco, who plays Will Rodman, a brilliant scientist with a breakthrough drug that just may cure Alzheimer's. Rodman and his team are using chimpanzees to test this new drug and in the process find out that the drug not only repair cells in the brain but also dramatically increases intelligence. One of the test chimp subjects gets loose in an intense sequence and ultimately is put down. It turns out that this chimp had just given birth to a baby chimp who inherited this new "altered intelligence" gene. Rodman decides to take the baby chimp home while a co-worker tries to find a sanctuary. But once Rodman finds out that this little ball of fur has the intelligence of a human child twice it's age he decides to keep and raise the chimp. As Caesar grows older and smarter, he becomes more aware, questioning who and what he is. After a disturbing incident in the neighborhood, Caesar is taken from Will and put in a special chimp/ape sanctuary. Feeling abandoned, and then being badly mistreated at the shelter, Caesar feels hurt and confused. Mainly confused because he is amongst other chimps and apes and doesn’t at first understand why they are so dumb and he’s so smart. Once he figures it out and “smarts them up” by using the drug he steals from the lab, Caesar begins plotting for revenge in what leads to a war for primacy.

By the way all the chimps and apes in the movie are CGI created.. that’s computer generated images. Despite that, their bodies and especially their eyes look amazingly normal, with depth and personality, and along with their body language and facial animations, you really do forget they are CGI. The star of the film is Caesar (whose emotions are brought to life brilliantly by actor, Andy Serkis) . Cesar is by far one of the best animated characters in recent years.. His facial expressions tell it all! You feel his rage, his fear, and his child-like innocence through his wonderfully animated eyes. You will go through all of those emotions yourself as you witness his journey. You understand what Cesar is feeling and why. The invisible character of the film is humanity itself, and at times, it feels like a study of human nature.

If you're like me, you will be fascinated by the story which is an excellent prequel. . You get to see their origins, how the apes develop and evolve as a united group. It is quite well done with intelligence and care. The story is smart, compelling, exciting and emotionally touching.

Clark