Caesar is a genetically engineered chimp who was created in a San Francisco lab by an ambitious scientist. A substance called ALZ-112 is designed to help the brain repair itself and it gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee. Will Rodman the creator of the drug and he rescues the baby chimp when the project is cancelled by the lab after an adult chimp escapes the enclosure. The chimp is raised like a child by Rodman and primatologist Caroline Aranha. Caesar’s mother Bright Eyes passed the gene alteration on to him and he has remarkable intelligence plus green eyes. There is an altercation between Will's father who has dementia and a neighbor. Caesar attempts to rescue Will’s father but he uses too much of his extra physical power. He is placed in an ape sanctuary in San Bruno until a hearing is held in three months. Things are not what they seem at the ape sanctuary?
This is supposed to be sci-fi & fantasy but it is actually a comedy? It is an origin story with less sci-fi and more about relationships. It is also more about the relationship of animals and humans co-existing when there is no intelligence barrier. The location is San Francisco so it makes everything seem more real? It is also REAL acting for James Franco to keep a straight face during some of the action!! Are there that many apes in the City? Not much language, sexuality or drinking but the animal-human scenes get intense in the second half. The apes smash cars, throw spears, push police officers off a bridge and wreak havoc. This does make you want to go back to the original movies!! 3 1/2* (I liked this movie)
105 min, Sci-Fi directed and written by Rupert Wyatt and also written by Amanda Silver with James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Andy Serkis, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Richard Ridings, Christopher Gordon, Devyn Dalton, Jay Caputo, Tyler Labine.
Note: Imdb 7.6 out of 10 with 484,710 views, Rotten Tomatoes 82% with 267 critics 87% audience with 449,051 ratings, Roger Ebert 3*, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Metacritic 68 out of 100 with 39 critic reviews (27 positive 12 mixed) 7.8 out of 10 with 964 ratings (827 positive 112 mixed 25 negative), Letterboxd 3.6* out of 5*, Common Sense Media Sandie Angulo Chen, age 13+, 2* positive 2* role models, 3* violence, 1* sex, 2* language, 1* consumerism, 1* drinking, drugs & smoking.
Special Note: Filmed in Stanley Park, The Agrodome, Pacific National Exhibition Grounds, Robert Burnaby Park, East Burnaby, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Wellington, New Zealand; San Francisco, California; Oahu, Hawaii; Louisiana, USA. This is one of the first movies to use motion-capture in an on-location setting. Motion-capture had been limited to special studio set-ups with special motion-capture cameras in very clearly defined surroundings. Caesar is shown putting together a stature of liberty model/puzzle and he is holding the spiked crown of the statue. This is a key scene in Planet of the Apes 1968. Koba, the scarred lab ape in this film and some apes at the Gen-Sys and the sanctuary are bonobos. This species was assumed until very recently to be a subspecies of chimp and that explains its absence in previous films. When the apes climb the tree to escape the dome, they form a double helix, the symbol of DNA and the Gen-Sys logo.
No comments:
Post a Comment