Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a 2011 American science fiction film. The film is directed by Rupert Wyatt. It is a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series that will act as a foundation with an origin story for a new film series. Its premise is similar to the fourth film in the original series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), but it is not a direct remake in that it does not fit into that series' continuity. It was released in the United States and Canada on August 5, 2011
Plot
Will Rodman (James Franco) is a San Francisco scientist who has been working on ALZ-112, a genetically engineered retrovirus that may be a cure for Alzheimer's Disease. ALZ-112 not only repairs brain cells, but genetically modifies chimpanzees, giving them a human level of intelligence.
One of his test subjects is Bright Eyes, a female chimpanzee. Much to everyone's shock, Bright Eyes goes on a rampage before security is forced to kill her in front of board members, thus destroying any chance of developing ALZ-112 further. It is then discovered, however, that Bright Eyes' aggression was not due to the drug, but due to her maternal instinct to protect her baby, to whom she secretly gave birth a day or two earlier.
Will's boss, Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) orders all the test chimpanzees put down after the Bright Eyes' rampage, but Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine), the subordinate responsible for carrying out this order, cannot bring himself to kill the chimpanzee's baby, and instead gives it to Will, who names him Caesar (Andy Serkis) and raises him in his house.[4]
Caesar has inherited his mother's high intelligence due to the drug, thus learning at a fast rate. Will also gives a sample of his cure to his father, Charles (John Lithgow), who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. At first his father improves but five years later, his body's immune system develops antibodies that fight off the virus and his dementia returns. In his state of dementia, Charles gets into his neighbor's car and turns it on, the key carelessly left in the ignition. He presses the gas and hits the cars in front of him and behind him, getting the attention of the neighbor who threatens and pushes down Charles. Caesar is also alerted of the situation and jumps out of a window, attacking and biting the neighbor's finger off in Charles's defense. After the incident, Caesar is forced to leave Will's house and is held in a San Bruno primate facility run by John Landon (Brian Cox), where the apes are held in cages with the exception of intermissions where they are released into a jungle-themed play area. The apes inside the facility are treated cruelly by Landon's son who works as a guard there, Dodge Landon (Tom Felton).
At the primate facility, Caesar starts out being treated poorly by both the staff and his ape companions. In the exercise area, he is beaten by another dominant ape, Alpha. Later, Dodge brings his friends into the facility who tease the apes. Without caution his male friend moves too close to Caesar's cage and is grabbed by Caesar, having his pocket knife unknowingly stolen. Caesar ties the pocket knife to a stick and uses it to unlock the door and free himself. He also frees Buck, a large and aggressive male gorilla, and gains his respect. Caesar, with Buck at his side, lures Alpha into the exercise area where he hits Alpha over the head with a metal gasoline canister (one of the toys given to the apes) but does no more harm, showing his dominance over the apes in the facility and gaining the respect and companionship of Alpha.
Meanwhile, Will creates a more powerful virus called ALZ-113 to further treat his father and new tests on chimps begin. It strengthens the intelligence of the apes, but unbeknownst it is fatal to humans. Franklin is exposed to the new virus and begins sneezing out blood. Later, he is found dead in his apartment, his face covered in blood leaked from several orifices around his head. Will discovers the deadliness of the virus and attempts to warn Jacobs, who insists to keep testing it, most notably on an ape who has a scar over his blind eye, Koba. Will quits his job at Gen-Sys, angered at Jacobs for his decisions.
Caesar eventually escapes from the primate facility and travels to Will's house, where he steals an airborne strain of ALZ-113 and releases it throughout the cage area, enhancing the intelligence and mental capability of him and his fellow apes. He beats down his sadistic caretaker, Dodge, when he notices Caesar in the play area while he is not supposed to be. Caesar shows his first capability of speech by shouting "No!" at Landon. Caesar successfully kills Landon by spraying him with a hose while his stun stick was turned on, electrocuting and killing him when he attempts to attack Caesar again. They lock the other surviving night watchman, Rodney, a.k.a. "Roy" (Jamie Harris). At first the apes begin to beat him but Caesar stops them because he was kind to the apes, and instead lock him in a cage. The apes at the facility then escape into the city by opening the windows above the play area and climbing through them. Caesar then releases the remaining apes from Gen-Sys and San Francisco Zoo, and successfully leads an escape of hundreds of apes through the streets of San Francisco.
The apes then battle a police blockade of the Golden Gate Bridge meant to stop them from crossing. Caesar launches a three pronged attack with the orangutans led by Maurice attacking from the bottom supports, the chimps attacking from the high-wire supports, and the gorillas headed by Buck leading the charge straight down the bridge. They defeat the police, however Jacobs arrives in a helicopter and one of his crewmen begins gunning down apes. Buck sacrifices his life to take down the helicopter which crashes on the bridge, killing all people inside but Jacobs, who begs for help but is pushed down in the helicopter into the bay below by Koba. The apes make it away from the city and into the Muir Woods National Monument forest.
Will arrives at the forest and begins to be attacked by Koba, however Caesar stops the angry ape before he can do any harm to Will. Will warns Caesar that the humans are strong and he will be safe if he comes home. Caesar, now capable of basic human speech, informs him "Caesar is home" in the redwood forest and ensures that Will will be safe from the mass army of apes. The ending scene shows the apes at the top of the redwood trees, looking over the San Francisco bay.
A mid-credit scene reveals that Will's neighbor has been infected with the virus by the now-deceased Franklin and has a career as a pilot. As he walks into the airport, a timetable is zoomed into a flight to New York, implying the spread of a global pandemic.
Cast
James Franco as Will Rodman[5]
Freida Pinto as Caroline Aranha
Andy Serkis as Caesar
John Lithgow as Charles Rodman
Chelah Horsdal as Irena
Brian Cox as John Landon
Tom Felton as Dodge Landon
David Oyelowo as Steven Jacobs
Tyler Labine as Robert Franklin
David Hewlett as Hunsiker
Jamie Harris as Rodney
James Franco was cast after talks with Tobey Maguire broke down.[6][7] Freida Pinto and John Lithgow joined the cast on June 22, 2010.[8] Tom Felton will also star as the human character Dodge Landon.[9] As of July 12, 2010, Brian Cox was in final negotiations to join the cast.[10] According to his Twitter page, David Hewlett has also joined the cast, though he had not mentioned what his role in the film would be at that time.[11] Canadian actress Chelah Horsdal will also star as Irena.
Freida Pinto as Caroline Aranha
Andy Serkis as Caesar
John Lithgow as Charles Rodman
Chelah Horsdal as Irena
Brian Cox as John Landon
Tom Felton as Dodge Landon
David Oyelowo as Steven Jacobs
Tyler Labine as Robert Franklin
David Hewlett as Hunsiker
Jamie Harris as Rodney
James Franco was cast after talks with Tobey Maguire broke down.[6][7] Freida Pinto and John Lithgow joined the cast on June 22, 2010.[8] Tom Felton will also star as the human character Dodge Landon.[9] As of July 12, 2010, Brian Cox was in final negotiations to join the cast.[10] According to his Twitter page, David Hewlett has also joined the cast, though he had not mentioned what his role in the film would be at that time.[11] Canadian actress Chelah Horsdal will also star as Irena.
Production
In an interview in 2009, director Rupert Wyatt said, "We've incorporated elements from ["Conquest"], in terms of how the apes begin to revolt, but this is primarily a prequel to the 1968 film... Caesar is a revolutionary figure who will be talked about by his fellow apes for centuries... This is just the first step in the evolution of the apes, and there's a lot more stories to tell after this. I imagine the next film will be about the all-out war between the apes and humans".[12]
In a segment of a video blog post, Wyatt commented on the originality of the plot: "This is part of the mythology and it should be seen as that. It's not a continuation of the other films; it's an original story. It does satisfy the people who enjoy those films. The point of this film is to achieve that and to bring that fan base into this film exactly like Batman Begins."[3]
Filming began in July 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[13] Filming also headed to San Francisco, California,[13] and around O'ahu, Hawaii.
Regarding the story setting up possible sequels, Wyatt commented: "I think we’re ending with certain questions, which is quite exciting. To me, I can think of all sorts of sequels to this film, but this is just the beginning."[14] Screenwriter and producer Rick Jaffa has also stated that Rise of the Planet of the Apes will feature several clues as to future sequels: "I hope that we’re building a platform for future films. We’re trying to plant a lot of the seeds for a lot of the things you are talking about in terms of the different apes and so forth."[3] According to Rick Jaffa, a version of the spaceship from the 1968 Planet of the Apes is featured under the name Icarus in the film as a hint to a possible sequel.
In a segment of a video blog post, Wyatt commented on the originality of the plot: "This is part of the mythology and it should be seen as that. It's not a continuation of the other films; it's an original story. It does satisfy the people who enjoy those films. The point of this film is to achieve that and to bring that fan base into this film exactly like Batman Begins."[3]
Filming began in July 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[13] Filming also headed to San Francisco, California,[13] and around O'ahu, Hawaii.
Regarding the story setting up possible sequels, Wyatt commented: "I think we’re ending with certain questions, which is quite exciting. To me, I can think of all sorts of sequels to this film, but this is just the beginning."[14] Screenwriter and producer Rick Jaffa has also stated that Rise of the Planet of the Apes will feature several clues as to future sequels: "I hope that we’re building a platform for future films. We’re trying to plant a lot of the seeds for a lot of the things you are talking about in terms of the different apes and so forth."[3] According to Rick Jaffa, a version of the spaceship from the 1968 Planet of the Apes is featured under the name Icarus in the film as a hint to a possible sequel.
Reception
Reviews for Rise of the Planet of the Apes have been positive, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reporting an 80% "Fresh" rating, and an average rating of 7.2/10, based on 135 reviews. The site's summarized consensus is: "Led by Rupert Wyatt's stylish direction, some impressive special effects, and a mesmerizing performance by Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes breathes unlikely new life into a long-running franchise."[16] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, reports a score of 70 based on 34 reviews.[17]
