Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Title: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Writer: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Pierre Boulle (novel)
Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, and Freida Pinto
Grade: 88% or B+

My Thoughts::
The first time my friend and I saw the trailer for this movie, we knew we wanted to see it. Unfortunately, we had to wait a week before it was out of theaters to actually view it. Though, it was worth the wait and a near empty theater, is a quiet theater.

This movie was so many things. Of course it had it's share of action and violence, but it was also a bit romantic, funny, and inspiring. From the beginning it was hard to see where the movie was going, sure we all had ideas, mostly because we saw Planet of the Apes, and this is the Rise of them, so we new those apes were going to win in the end, just not how. It was actually pretty darn clever of that ape to do what he did. In fact, even though it turns out badly for the humans in the end, I found myself rooting for the apes the entire time. If we were being tested on, and finally gained the knowledge to learn about it and escape it, who wouldn't take action?

The acting was as good as I hoped, but it could have been better. Let me take a moment and give props to Tom Felton for pulling off that American accent. His acting was superb, but wasn't as much as a challenge since he was still a villain, though more cruel this time. James Franco was decent, but it took him forever to get across that bridge! My friend and I joked that it must be the longest bridge in the world. The ending was fantastic and emotional. Then, when everyone started to leave the theater, there was about two minutes more of the movie, which was funny. We all stood there watching it, and afterwards we were reluctant to leave in case there was more.

Overall I enjoyed watching this movie and it gave me a bit to think about. I'd recommend this movie to animal lovers, or just those who like rooting for the underdog.