There are only so many sequels you can make to a single movie. But producers are reluctant to give up on properties that might still have some money to be wrung out of them. And so we have the reboot: a movie that begins a series all over again so that fresh sequels can then be made. It’s a cynical exercise, but surprisingly, some of the resulting films are quite entertaining: the recent “Star Trek” and “Batman Begins,” for example. Now add “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” to that list.
There’s no duplicating the strange charm of 1968’s “Planet of the Apes” and Charlton Heston’s iconic performance. But the new filmmakers have imagined a credible origin story that explains how a planet ruled by our ape cousins might come to pass — and they’ve presented it in a well-made film that’s always engaging, even though we know where it’s going.
| On screen |
| ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ |
| 3 out of 5 stars |
| Stars: James Franco, Andy Serkis and Freida Pinto |
| Director: Rupert Wyatt |
| Rated: PG-13 for violence, terror, some sexuality and brief strong language |
| Running time: 105 minutes |
“Rise” takes place in the present day, or something close to it. James Franco is Will Rodman, a smart scientist working on a neurological treatment that could cure all manner of diseases — including Alzheimer’s, from which his father (John Lithgow) suffers. He’s developing the drug within a for-profit enterprise, but loses his funding when one of the chimpanzees on which he’s testing it goes, well, ape. The boss orders all the chimps euthanized. But Will can’t bring himself to kill one ape’s baby. He names him Caesar — one of many nods to the original franchise — and watches as he grows into an astonishingly intelligent animal.
Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” movies, brings Caesar to life. Director Rupert Wyatt has replaced the makeup-laden actors of the originals and used motion capture technology to create lifelike, intelligent creatures. The film looks good — Caesar is a real character, not simply a futuristic fantasy created to prove a point.
There is a point here, of course — more than one, in fact — but the film wisely takes a light-handed approach to its big themes. It helps that the man who carries the film (at least on the human side) is on board. Franco can be hit or miss, but here he seems like a focused, astute actor who’s completely believable as a scientist and a son.
There are implausibilities, of course; we’re talking about a movie in which our jungle brothers begin their slow climb to ascendency. But the idea of man creating something that soon exceeds his control is an old one — older than “Frankenstein” — and “Rise” breathes some new life into it, as well as a beloved franchise.
