Sci-fi drama.
2011. 101 min.
With Andy Serkis, James Franco and John Lithgow.
Director: Rupert Wyatt.
13V.
Rating: 4/5
If there’s one franchise that seemed to have exhausted its possibilities it’s Planet of the Apes. The 1968 film starring Charlton Heston is a classic but the many sequels diluted the story and the less said about Tim Burton’s 2001 dull “reimagining” the better.
But an inventive script that explains how apes came to rule the world gives this story a new lease of life.
Scientist Will Rodman (Franco) tries to find a cure for his father’s (Lithgow) Alzheimer’s by experimenting on chimpanzees.
After a lab accident all the chimps are put down except a baby, Caesar (Serkis), that Will takes home. As Caesar matures he displays near-human intelligence and begins to question the place of apes in the human world.
Lithgow is poignant as the father battling Alzheimer’s and Serkis’ emotive motion-capture performance makes you root for Caesar.
An absorbing, intelligent film with a thrilling climax.
Bonus: deleted scenes, featurettes.
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