My review of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

This movie is quite surprising. I had absolutely no desire to see this film before I saw it. I always say yes to watching all kinds of films because that's how you learn to become open minded. The original "Planet of the Apes" is of course a film in the franchise that cannot be topped. I would however say that this film is below, almost touching the foot of the brilliance that is the original "Planet of the Apes". This film is mentioned as a prequel to original "Planet of the Apes" from 1968.

The film is directed by Rupert Wyatt, a somewhat uknown director to larger audiences.. His past work includes "Subterrain" and "The Escapist". "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Achievement in Visual Effects". Even though the effects are great, I must say, at times I disliked the effects. Why is it, that sometimes we see absolutely beautiful effects so real looking that you scratch your head while we sometimes see effects that are only alright? I guess it's a question of money.. the film did after all cost around 93 million dollars to make, which is quite low considering blockbuster films having a budget of 150 million dollars or more. It's a shame the effects aren't as great all the time as they should be.

Let's talk about the acting.. In the leading role, we have James Franco, which in my opinion is replaceable. Freida Pinto, Brian Cox and Tom Felton can also be seen but the real stars to me are John Lithgow and Andy Serkis. John Lithgow plays a smaller role of Charles Rodman, the father of James Franco's character Will Rodman. He plays the role brilliantly. Then there's Andy Serkis... who plays the main ape named "Caesar". He plays him through motion capture and does so incredibly well... you do forget that it's a person behind it all.

This is one of those (smart) blockbuster films that you just have to see for yourself in order to form an opinion on it. Most people seem to like the film though and I am actually in that category. I would call this one of the most surprising films of the year. It's worth a look!

My rating: 8/10