File under "romp"
Saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes on a whim yesterday - we realised we hadn't been to an actual cinema in over a year! which is unforgiveable. Still. Now we know this lot don't allocate seats if they don't have to, maybe we'll go back :)
Anyway: damn good fun. The human cast is universally awful (other than Brian Cox, who'd be compelling in a snooze shot), but ignorable enough not to interfere overmuch, even when the shot-for-3D visual grammar (which to be honest just makes the filmmakers look stupid/naive in 2D a lot of the time) puts the planky lead/whiny girlfriend/Obligatory Bad Guy Right In Your Face.
And he is planky, and she is whiny, and none of them can act, and we dribble on about them for a bit and don't get me started on the symbolism of powerful independent intelligent not(white)man Caesar essentially needing "permission" from the useless-white-guy-in-authority to live freely. But... yanno? Once all the draggy boring Human Interest Stuff is out of the way, the story soars. COME ON YOU AAAAPES!
Can't really comment on Serkis (meh - CGI < McDowell in a rubber suit imho) but Caesar outperforms every twolegs, so. Is good. Knocks seven shades of shit out of that Burton thing anyway (NB: speaking from memory here; I will rewatch it out of fairness).
Verdict: see it. Silly, but ultimately fun to the point of making one cheer, and clearly laying ground for a sequel. Which will hopefully arrive soon and have many, MANY fewer humans in it.
Anyway: damn good fun. The human cast is universally awful (other than Brian Cox, who'd be compelling in a snooze shot), but ignorable enough not to interfere overmuch, even when the shot-for-3D visual grammar (which to be honest just makes the filmmakers look stupid/naive in 2D a lot of the time) puts the planky lead/whiny girlfriend/Obligatory Bad Guy Right In Your Face.
And he is planky, and she is whiny, and none of them can act, and we dribble on about them for a bit and don't get me started on the symbolism of powerful independent intelligent not(white)man Caesar essentially needing "permission" from the useless-white-guy-in-authority to live freely. But... yanno? Once all the draggy boring Human Interest Stuff is out of the way, the story soars. COME ON YOU AAAAPES!
Can't really comment on Serkis (meh - CGI < McDowell in a rubber suit imho) but Caesar outperforms every twolegs, so. Is good. Knocks seven shades of shit out of that Burton thing anyway (NB: speaking from memory here; I will rewatch it out of fairness).
Verdict: see it. Silly, but ultimately fun to the point of making one cheer, and clearly laying ground for a sequel. Which will hopefully arrive soon and have many, MANY fewer humans in it.