Movie: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

“A single act of both compassion and arrogance leads to a war unlike any other — and to the “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” The Oscar-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of “Avatar” and “Lord of the Rings” is breaking new ground, creating a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence, and epic battles on which rest the upended destinies of man and primate.”

When I saw the trailer for this film, I was intigued–to the point that I read up most everything about the franchise. I was never really drawn to the Planet of the Apes films, especially the remake that was released some years ago. When people online started saying the film was good, I decided that it was enough for me to watch the film when it does come out. And when it did, and I found a small packet of time when I could catch the film, I watched it. And now I’m still undecided if I did like the film or not.

One thing is for sure though, I’m not out there actively telling my friends, colleagues and acquaintances to watch it–that means I didn’t enjoy the film all that much.

Now that it’s been a couple of days since I watched the film, if someone asks me what I thought about it, I’d say it was okay.

The thing is, I’m not sure I actually like the story. Or if I understood what the story was supposed to convey. I liked the acting well enough, especially those of John Lithgow’s and James Franco’s; and I liked their dramatic storyline, about a young man wanting to do everything to cure his father’s disease. But the main storyline, about the impending rise of the age of apes didn’t really resonate with me. I guess I can’t help but see them as villains, when I think the movie was trying to portray them as heroes.

Sure they didn’t really harm anyone in the film–at least, no one that didn’t deserve it–but their barbaric nature was prevalent in the film. It was a theme that was constantly touched as the story progressed. And I couldn’t help feeling that our lead character, the chimp Caesar, was a whiny spoiled brat. So watching the film, I didn’t understand if I should root for the monkeys, the humans… It was confusing.

And so, now that it’s been two days since I watched the film, I’m still confused if I did enjoy the film–or if I’m trying to find reasons to say that it was an enjoyable film because most everyone else said it was. I liked it enough that I’m not saying it’s a bad film, because it clearly wasn’t. I just–

Well, I just don’t understand what the film was supposed to be about, other than an obvious set-up to reopen the Planet of the Apes franchise.

For an actual review, check out Dan the Man’s Movie Reviews.