RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - APE NATION Movie Review
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- Caesar, a chimpanzee who gains human-like intelligence and emotions from an experimental drug, is raised like a child by the drug's creator, Will Rodman. After years of knowing nothing but domesticated life, Caesar finds himself taken from the humans he loves, and is imprisoned in an ape sanctuary. Seeking justice and freedom for his fellow ape inmates, the highly intelligent Caesar ignites an ape rebellion - putting man and ape on a collision course that could change the planet forever.
Here is my review for Rupert Wyatt's 2011 reboot of the Planet of the Apes saga, Rise of Planet of the Apes!
If you like what I do here and want to show your support, be sure to hit the like button on this video, subscribe to the channel and hit that notification bell so you can stay up to date on all things Apes.
Enjoy the video!
0:00 - Intro
1:26 - History of Rise of the Planet of the Apes
5:11 - My Experience with Rise of the Planet of the Apes
8:28 - Acting and Characters
17:37 - Story
20:58 - Worldbuilding
22:00 - Filmmaking
28:21 - CGI/VFX
29:50- Music
31:04 - Social Commentary
32:06 - Final Thoughts and Outro
#planetoftheapes
Music:
-"Main Title" originally by Jerry Goldsmith
-"Chipper by Kevin MacLeod
All Planet of the Apes footage is property of Disney/20th Century Studios.
Instagram: / ap3nation - Krátké a kreslené filmy
Its a minor aspect, but I love that Planet of the Apes has managed to keep the same unifying logo & branding throughout its history.
Never noticed that😂
Good point!
I absolutely agree! I love it, so iconic and unique 💯
The font is so iconic I LOVE it
The window symbol making it's way into all three films and Kingdom is phenomenal
Tim Burtons's remake had that idea where the brand the apes would put on slave humans was the shape of the Oberon Station Leo was on, it's a cool idea.
I've always appreciated the moment where Caesar is saying goodbye to Will and he says "Caesar is home" it's not a five minute speech, those three words say so much. Additionally, they set Koba up perfectly for the next movie.
LOVE the way that Koba is set up for sure.
Very true.
The character of the orangutan Maurice was named after Maurice Evans,the actor who played Dr. Zaius in the original film.
Yep, too bad they didn’t have a shoutout to Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zaius, as they have test footage of him and Charlton Heston available on CZcams.
So it’s a nice look into what could have been, both as a reunion of “The Ten Commandments” and a preview of their more friendly relationship come “Soylent Green”.
That’s what I suspected.
The scene where Caesar fights the neighbour scared the crap out of me as a child. But I got over it and now I love these movies.
That moment in the ape sanctuary that you love so much is actually a combination reference to two of the original ape movies: Planet and Escape. The "dirty ape" line said by Taylor and Ceasar saying "NO!" as it was told by Cornelius when he explained how apes evolved. I agree. A classic moment for lover of the new film trilogy as well as the originals.
Also, for the siege on San Francisco, turn on the subtitles. It is easy to dismiss the orders Caesar gives as grunts, but if you listen closely (subtitles help) he's like delivering full blown battle orders that make use of each of the ape species' strengths. It is so subtle and missed in all the amazing eye candy, but Caesar went full PATTON during the siege of San Fran.
This movie is underrated. It really is a great film on its own.
Agreed.
All the other Apes films are either too weird for the average person, or they are sequels that are missing context. Rise is the only part of this entire series that starts in our modern world.
As a result, the average person can understand and possibly enjoy it.
I also love this movie! It surprised me the whole time. Finding out it was happening, the trailers, the movie itself, to how big it blew up.
Caesar’s No also left me and everyone else in the theater speechless! I didn’t expect it at all. I thought having apes talk would be a step too far for a casual audience, but this movie did it so well! They only have Caesar talk, and it’s only a couple times for significant moments.
Yep! They handled apes talking perfectly for a modern movie.
If there's one thing that can be said for this trilogy it's that if you're a named Gorilla then you're screwed
#Justice4Buck
@@CNTconnoisseur #Justice4Luca
The ending score when Cesar climbs the Red Wood trees as a free ape is masterful 😙🤌❤
I love the seamless transition of revealing that Cesar is the protagonist
You know this movie was almost a horror film? The Caesar analog would have been the villain.
As a long time fan when this movie came out I was in tears & still tear up even seeing something like this, I'm old enough that I was a kid when I first saw them in the 70s
This is the first ever POTA film I saw. I borrowed a chromebook from the College Library for the weekend and fell upon this film in 2014 when looking for something to watch.
And so started my insane fascination with this amazing franchise.
This has such a close place to my heart. I remember what I was doing when watching Rise for the first time.
I keep going back and forth between this and Dawn about what is my favourite ever POTA movie.
I absolutely adore this movie.
Caesar's story, the writing for his development is absolutely incredible. So simple but done perfectly well.
No lie, but I think you've hammered home, for most of us, the impact of this reboot intro. It just satisfied an unknown urge and passion, regardless of wether One is aware of the originals or not. Ultimately... Caesar just stole the show
100%
Back in 2011 in the theater at 24:45 - An individual says out loud "Really? Stupid!" Then at 24:51 - Same individual yells, "Oh F-ck!!" I will never forget that.
One thing that I’ve noticed is that most people only watch these movies once and walk away feeling like they just saw a fun B movie, which I find unfair. However, on the rewatch, when you can really dissect the movie, that’s where it shines. That’s when people can really enjoy who Caesar is and how great all of the many aspects and characters are in this film.
When I first saw this movie in theaters back in 2011 with my family, it blew my mind with the incredible CGI effects on the ape characters especially Caesar. Oh, yes, Caesar’s introduction in the movie knocked me out of the part. Andy Serkis’s portrayal of the character was phenomenal especially the epic part when he first screamed his first word, “No!” This film made me fell in love with the entire franchise in the first place! I remembered being fearfully amazed while my mouth was dropped. It left me breathless…Mr. Serkis should’ve won an Oscar, he’s such an incredible actor, God bless him!
Serkis is the best!!
I don't see a difference between performance capture compared to an actor who has a ton of makeup and prosthetics. Heath Ledger got an Oscar with absolutely no question but his character would not have been the same without the prosthetics and makeup. I know Caesar got 3 movies but it didn't really feel like enough. I would have liked to have seen how his ape society ran. We always saw it whenever there was a huge crisis going on. I'm also still amazed at how amazing Morrice looked from the beginning of this series. He's always been the most photo-real.
Physical presence. People in suites are physically in that space. Same reason why physical action is always way cooler to watch than massive but empty CGI action sequences.
@@bradavon How do you know that Heath Ledger was physically in the room with the people he had scenes with???????????????????????? Idk. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't.
I think it's more to do with the fact that with a traditional performance, the actor on their own is what's being seen by viewers vs performance capture where it's been run through a team of digital artists first. There's no way to know for sure how much of the performance is enhanced by the VFX artists and how much is done by the actor. Hopefully it gets figured out one day!
I think the reason Tom Felton’s character is mean to the apes is because his dad Brian Cox makes him work there, and he hates it so he ends up taking it out on the apes. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a somewhat humanizing scene left on the cutting room floor that clarified this more.
Be careful how you treat others, it could come back to haunt you
I love how this movie connected the apes getting intelligent and humanities downfall, to the same origin.
I like that too. That was definitely the best way to do a modern reboot. However, I think the original film was the most impactful because it hammered in the horror of nuclear war, which was a much bigger fear back then. Really, it still should be.
@@CNTconnoisseur Yeah I feel that they could have still done the nuclear war during the conflicts after the outbreak. But I still like it
@andreoliveira191 What I'm wondering is, are they gonna alude to any melted down nuclear reactors? Not sure how many are in the US. Idk, maybe the virus worked slower and they were all managed to be shut down.
@@CNTconnoisseur In the opening for Dawn they mention Nuclear reactors melting down. But yeah, the new nuclear war was the pandemic and the conflicts during and after that.
My favorite thing about the “NOOOO!” Scene is how it directly follows the expected reference and catches everyone off guard as a result. Before your brain can even finish its little giggle, boom
I think these films kind of restore your faith in the fact that you can revisit an old franchise (I hate that word! It sounds like fast food restaurants or something) and not make a total mess of it.
100%! Reboots can be great if handled by talented people with the right approach, and this is a perfect example of it.
At the time this came out I was working for a movie theater. My boss arranged for me to attend a preview screening for local film distributors. Most of these guys were jaded, unsure if it would be worth pushing to their screens. I got verkempt as the title appeared on screen. Throughout the movie I'd lean over to my boss to tip him off to many of the callbacks to the original series.
When Caesar hollered NO, these weary movie bookers were sold. I think one of them shouted, "F***ing awesome!"
As someone who has loved the genius of the prosthetics, the CGI won me over.
Nice fun fact: the Godzilla reboot was filming at the same time on the golden gate bridge. So there are stories of cast and crew from both movies walking in on the wrong set, and being so tripped out by the how similar the shooting was yet it was different people
I worked on both of those, I know they both shot on some of the same locations in Vancouver particularly where the bridge set was for the Rise film but not the same time.. or even the same month.
The scene where Caesar say no is probably the best scene in the trilogy
24:41 easily one of my favorite moments in all of fiction. It’s bone chilling. It’s right up there with the first time Godzilla used his atomic breath in the Monsterverse for me.
A great first building block in a surprisingly brilliant trilogy.
Every aspect is superb with each part clicking together and a superb cast -no cheap laughs or mocking of the originals.
As for the virus, that particularly in its finishing minutes nails how a virus is transmitted and the speed it goes worldwide hitting every population hub.
My only gripe is the lack of credit given to Pierre boulle which is criminal.
As you rightly say --watching the apes is an obsession ....
It’s good to see content from a fellow Planet of The Apes fan with a similar introduction to the franchise as myself. I really appreciate the effort you put into these videos. Any chance of you taking a deeper dive into the philosophies, ethical arguments, and thematic elements of the movies?
Not for a while, I have a lot of videos planned already over the next few months leading up to and past Kingdom, but that's definitely something I want to do at some point!
I think this movie is amazing. Andy deserved an academy award nomination, at least. The end credits were truly chilling with the spreading of the virus. I am looking forward to rewatching the trilogy before the new one comes out.
The Caesar trilogy is one of, if not the best trilogy in decades, all three films are strong and the progression of the writing and character is phenomenal. For me, War is my favorite of the trilogy.
.
Matt Reeves took what was set up in this film, and turned Caesar's story into a Moses allegory.
.
The end of War parallels Moses being denied entry into the promised land. The avalanche that kills the soldiers is the Red Sea destroying Pharaoh's armies.
.
It's an amazing reboot for the franchise and leaves room for the Icarus to show up later.
You timed this perfectly... finally tackling the latest timeline series in prep for the upcoming film.
Love your channel man. Like you, the old films was a bonding experience between my dad and I so they hold a special place in my heart (I'm now passing down to my own.)
APES STRONG TOGETHER! Long live Ape Nation!
Thanks so much for watching!!
Interestingly I still have a 2010 scifi magazine that refers to this movie as “Caesar: Rise of the Apes.”
I like how the virus plot is going on in the background: Franklin gets his mask knocked off, later he sneezes blood on his clipboard, then a few scenes later he’s knocking at Will’s door all sweaty and pale, and sneezes on the neighbor. Then he’s found dead in his apartment. And finally the big reveal in the credits scene that the neighbor is a pilot, and his nose begins to bleed at the airport….
I still get chills watching the map light up as the virus spreads. And the way they decided to open Dawn in a similar manner.
The virus spreading scene in Dawn is honestly one of my all-time favorite opening scenes from any movie.
Yep, more show than tell to say “12 Monkeys” (via Dr. Goines’ research partner) but as we hear James Cole list off the points of infection earlier in the movie, it takes a moment for the audience to connect the dots.
So quite effective in a different way?
@@osurpless I immediately thought of 12 Monkeys as well, which for me lost some originality points.
Best part of the neighbor being a pilot is that it was secretly teased earlier in the film, has the scene where the grandpa relapse and gets into the neighbors car. The neighbor is yelling “how am I suppose to get to the airport!”. But you naturally ignoring what he said because he’s yelling at clearly confused old man, and Caesar thinking his friend is trouble.
This was the first planet of the apes movie I ever watched, and I LOVED it. this movie helped me get into one of the greatest franchises of a time. I seriously hope they don't screw up Kingdom.
From what I've seen, it looks really good.
I was part of the Vancouver shot scene on the Golden Gate Bridge set. It was built outside. It had so many cameras to capture all the action and mix it with the cg. I was lucky to get featured for a couple of split seconds as a passenger in a car with an ape screaming in my window. Just me and the guy in the silver mocap suit on screen. In my mind it was epic lol. It was in the extended trailer though!! It was really an ambitious project, and the final film did meet all my expectations, having grown up on the original 1970s films.
This was the beginning of a solid reboot, mildly flawed but overall an incredible movie on multiple levels. I am waiting with bated breath for Kingdom! Love this channel!!
I was a kid when my dad showed me the original POTA
I remember thinking how dumb the movie would be before watching it, boy was I wrong. This franchise is special to me because it taught me to never judge a book (or movie) by its cover.
And when rise came out many people I knew who had never seen POTA movie were acting like how I was. Very quick to judge.
I went to see it with my dad and we loved it. Not long after I convinced friends to see it and they were amazed by how good the movie actually was. They have been a fan of the new POTA films ever since.
While rise isn’t the best in the trilogy it’s a special film for breaking new ground and restarting this once dormant franchise.
This new franchise has done everything right. Kingdom was beautiful. Hit after hit. I can't wait to see what they do next.
Same!
I know most people think Rise is the worst of the new trilogy, but I think it's the best honestly. I find it much more enjoyable to see Caesar go from an innocent protective child to a man ready to forge his and other apes' destinies.
16:56 ye i feel you buck was one of my favorites in the movie as well and its kinda sad people get luca and buck mixed up and end up treating luca like the main gorilla og i assume it’s because war was more of a recent movie and he is easier to remember or those ppl have not seen or heard of rise but ye buck will always be the og
Buck rules
I have really been looking forward to this review.
24:47 Yup, that was it.
You could drop a lead pipe in the theater and we'd be too stunned by what just happened to notice.
Truly a moment of modern cinema.
It’s crazy to think that Rise takes place in 2016 and then Dawn is set in 2026 after the Virus and War is in 2028 then Kingdom is 312 years after Rise in the timeline that the year is 2328 I can’t wait for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes but Rise I love ❤the movie so much and it’s crazy that it came out 13 years ago time flys bye but also love your Channel 💯💯
APE NATION RISES
I’m always so impressed with how much this movie makes me feel for Caesar. Crying over a monkey and his found human family was not something I expected in my life before this came out.
Saw this in the cinema when it came out and loved it, especially John Lithgow. This is a perfect example of how to do a reboot/remake, I would rank this movie along side The Thing, Scarface or Dawn of the Dead in that respect. What made this movie so special, it had characters and heart, something which is missing from so many modern remakes. Even at the time I noticed the CGI ran hot and cold, but did not care because I was enjoying the characters and story so much. This was Quentin Tarantino's favourite movie of 2011.
When I saw this movie, I was also amused by the reference to 12 Monkeys, where a virus forces humanity to live underground and the contagion also starts in an airport
Even though we have had the recent remakes that this movie sparked. It's great to have explored this series from the very beginning. Even though I've seen all the movies at some point, I never saw the show. About a year ago I listened to the English translation of the original book. There were some significant differences but also some interesting parallels. There was also an incredible amount of dignity in the writing.
I somehow always forget andy serkis was also my personal favorite king kong. I think the mark of a truly good actor is when you remember the character and role as the actor sinks away into it and the viewer forgets that its an actor at all.
Also I know the cgi isn't as great as the later films by a LONG SHOT, but the fact I was blown away by the hay sticking in Caesar and the other apes hairs as they russel and fight in the straw means I think cgi, in yk modern times, is the WAY more immersion option compared to the admittedly very fun and iconic guys in suits
for me this is equal to the original in enjoyment, soooooo good. Saw the original in the 60s at the cinema, and its 4 sequels.... THIS FILM is amazing in every way. So happy fox are continuing the series
I knew very little about this one. Very good video. I wish Star Wars was brought back with the same respect towards the franchise. The entire trilogy is very solid.
I listen to some of the soundtracks on Spotify on my calm list. This was the movie got me excited to know what was next for the franchise!
Btw, I wouldn't say there's a modern audience, there's just the audience since we shouldn't forget the peeps that grew up on these sci-fi movies with the next generation also loving it.
True! But it also was able to get new audiences in and create new fans.
I think I just found a trailer for it on YT back in the day and thought it looked interesting.
Then I managed to catch the movie in cinema and I loved it.
Made me a fan and hyped for the follow-up films.
Rewatched last night. Holds up well.
Do a dawn vid real soon I loved this vid
Working on it!
I love this movie, it's a film that shows how much the lead character can make or break a movie and Caesar made this film because of the great character development and amazing acting from Mr. Serkis.
It’s a reboot done correctly. It respects the original material but it also wasn’t a carbon fiber copy of the original movie. It managed to tell a new version of the story that was really engaging and fun to watch. Also, it’s monke 🦍
Personally I love all 3 equally. I really can’t find any fault with this one.
I grew up with the original series and loved them. I didn’t really like the Tim Burton version. When I heard about this reboot I had very mixed feelings. Then I watched it and loved it. I would now say that I prefer the new series to the old one and I just hope they don’t screw it up with the next movie. I’m really excited for the next one.
16:50 - Buck is my favorite character because Richard Ridings is an acquaintance of mine, who I've been a fan of since seeing him in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and the 99th/100th episodes of Highlander: The Series🗡👍
I am honestly surprised at how good these new films have turned out to be. After the Burton film, my expectations were very low, but the new movies just got better and better as time progressed. And for me they have already stood the test of time. I have rewatched them all many times and they are still great. I highly suspect they were go on to become classics in their own right.
When this came out, it was one of the first movies that on the way home i couldnt stop thinking about it. I knew i liked it but during my almost hour drive home talking about different scenes with my mom Irealized i loved this movie.
One of the most underrated trilogies I’ve ever watched. Always surprised how many people have never seen any of these gems.
Good vid
I always found this trilogy to be a much more satisfying prequel/original story to the original movie. Nice reviews.
Thanks for watching!
Caesar saying no is obviously my number one scene, but there are a lot of great ones in this film period.
2. Caesar growing up as he runs through the redwoods. It's such a beautiful sequence and it reminds me of Disney's Tarzan in the best way possible. When I saw it, I knew I was watching something special.
3. The apes awakening after Caesar gives them the virus, is a brilliant scene that is very underrated. Serious props must be given to the actors, because they make it clear the apes are seeing the world in a new light without a single word of dialogue.
4. The entire sequence of Caesar and his apes fighting their way through San Francisco. I especially love the shot of Caesar, Maurice, Rocket, and Buck standing on the trolley car. It was that shot in the thr international trailer that convinced me the apes are the heroes of the story.
5. The fight on the bridge is an extremely well done battle sequence, which of course ends sadly with Buck's death.
6. Caesar's bittersweet farewell to Will, and all his fellow apes standing in respect of the one who led them to freedom. Caesar climbing to the top is the perfect shot to end the film on.
All excellent scenes! That shot of the main 4 apes on top of the trolley is one of my favorites too.
I absolutely love this film and think it’s so underrated. Glad to hear your thoughts on it!
I love how this movie manages to walk that line of feeling like its own thing, and yet utterly feels connected to the originals. Ive always seen this as perhaps the orignal timeline before the events of Escape changes the future (maybe). Or its all part of an Apes multiverse. I absolutely love this movie.
I remember seeing this movie in theaters in high school and loving it. Took my friend who was a huge Harry Potter fan and when they first shot Caeser with the tranquilizers I leaned over and whispered "Stupify" and she died laughing
Also I've been loving all the videos so far but if no one has said it please turn down the volume in your spoiler alerts. Listening in the car or through headphones is something I dread knowing that it's coming and makes me wanna never watch again
I remember watching this in the theater with my dad and brothers :’) times change quickly
Idea. Since ROTPOTA starts with wild apes in the jungle being hunted by humans, imagine if the first scene in KOTPOTA is feral humans in the forest getting hunted by apes...to really hit us as to how the tables have turned!
Excellent essay!
Thank you!
I discovered your channel just yesterday and have been binging your PotA Movie Series and I really don't understand why so many people think that RotpotA is the "weakest link in the chain" (haven't had the chance yet to watch Kingdom)....for me it is the best of the original reboot Trilogy.
Yes the other 2 gave us more if that post apocalyptic PotA Vibe and how it came to be, BUT for me the most interesting part of any long running Post Apocalyptic storyline is the beginning, how everything started and slowly turns into chaos and turns into the survival part.
Also the scene where Buck gave his life fir Ceasar??? It's one if the best scenes of the Franchise...we as an audience know what's in the future for Apes and Monkeys and gorillas, so to see that this really loveable character dies at the very beginning, sacrificing himself for the greater good....that's amazing and only the second time we saw someone sacrificing himself for Caesar (first time, in a way being in Escape where Cornelius and Zira sacrificed themselves for Ceasar, making Bucks death a nice Hommage to Escape)
So, at least for me RotpotA is the strongest of the new Trilogy
this video makes me wanna rewatch rise caesar was a great character
Do it!
I love this movie and all it's sequels.
Can't wait to see kingdom more important I can't wait to see a whole completed journey and to see if there will be a Colonel Taylor and a all around trip back to the original films but with a modern theme.
Alright buddy, you hooked me. I’m on video two and you’ve got the sauce.
I love all three of these movies . When war came out I went to a triple feature.
I still have the triple feature poster!
This is my favourite of the 3 new ones. It's got so much heart. The 2nd one is good. Definitely a close 2nd. but the 3rd one is too much like the 2nd one and was quite disappointing for me.
I love 2 and 3 more, but fair enough!
Koba is an underrated character as well, he took things too far, but mostly he was right.
i loved this movie the moment i watched it, was so incredible, so much heart and passion and emotion
What do you think is it about this movie that made you regain the feeling you had for the OG five movies, that the Burton movie didnt give you?
Just a great character and story mixed with elements of the mythology of the original films. Something that the Burton movie didn't have.
Part of me wishes the trailers had not revealed that this was a planet of the apes movie. Imagine thinking this was some sci-fi medical thriller about finding the cure for Alzheimer's call RISE. You watch the entire movie and If you are a fan you pretty much call it midway through but then the Full title is revealed before the End credits.
This is a great movie. The only problems I had with it were with Franco's character and the constant failure of experimental protocols needed to propel the story forward
I've never heard of discourse with Oscar's for performance capture actors. Seems like a duh to me that they should be eligible. Idk why the argument would exist. They are doing the exact same thing as any actor, if not even more. I watched this movie last night and found myself crying. Doesn't happen often, but a good story or characters does it for me sometimes. This movie is so human. It's cool that I felt that way when the main character was not a human lol
Weak link? It's the best one!
It's my favorite of the trilogy.
One way this film improves over Conquest is the apes themselves. I don't mean special effects. I mean that in Conquest, Caesar's apes were given no personality or character development. Even Caesar's love interest was pretty flat.
All of the apes here, though, are given character. Even before Caesar grants them intelligence, all of the apes have distinctive personalities and traits.
Rocket is a hot blooded tough guy. Buck is a lonely, yet gentle soul. Maurice is thoughtful, curious and a little sassy. Koba is greedy and cunning.
These things all go a long way to making you root for the apes.
As a life long fan of the Apes series I really enjoyed this movie as it set the stage for the two that would come after. Great movie.
I remember watching this in the theater
At the time it was by far the most jaw dropping moment I’ve ever seen
“Nooooooooooooooo….”
One of the craziest movie theater moments I've ever experienced for sure!
@@Ape-Nation I truly love this channel.
I definitely love this movie more than the normal amount 😂 I was 12 when it came out, went with my parents, one of my favorite childhood memories. I haven’t leg go since.
Also when Cesar first spoke I was SHOCKED. I didn’t know about the previous movies, I didn’t know it would lead to ape society where apes talk normally. I was taking the movie in scene by scene with no expectations, and each time I realized I was watching something groundbreaking that would change everything at least for me in my heart!
Have you read the original script that's available online? At least half of it was changed for the finished film. It's actually closer in tone to Dawn than Rise itself is. For some differences:
1. Will doesn't notice the green in Caesar's eyes until a year or so after taking him in. Caesar's mother does go crazy, but a chimp named Lucky is the one who breaks free and tries to attack the investor meeting.
2. Caroline's character was named Molly Stewart, and she doesn't hook up with Will until the second half of the script. She also works at the primate shelter, as the vet.
3. There are other orangutans at the shelter, besides Maurice. Not that big of a difference, just felt it bears mentioning.
3. Rocket contracts the virus after biting Caesar, becoming the first ape in the shelter to be changed.
4. There's a whole sequence where Caesar and Rocket break into the lab to find Caesar's mother. Rocket releases Koba, who ends up killing Franklin, the handler.
5. Will's reaction to the above makes him quite a bit less sympathetic than he is in the finished film, as he jumps to the conclusion Caesar did it, and actually tries to kill Caesar with a poisoned cookie( granted, there was some evidence pointing to Caesar, but the fact that Will opts to kill him like a rabid dog instead of asking him what happened is a pretty big mark against him). Cornelia ends up eating it and dies.
6. Rather than gassing the apes with the virus, Caesar cuts his palm and uses his blood to change the other apes.
7. Dodge isn't killed at the shelter, and is the one to ride along in the helicopter to point out Caesar to the cops.
8. Rocket is killed at the bridge instead of Buck, who ends up killing Dodge.
9. The ending where Will dies(which I understand was fully filmed, and part of the final cut, until the filmmakers changed their minds at the last minute and reshot the ending two weeks before the film came out). Jacobs is the first human infected by the Flu, and ends up spreading it around. It actually ends more or less the way Dawn starts, with several news stories about the virus and finishing with a closeup of Caesar's eyes.
I don't know how much of the changes were because of Rupert Wyatt's input or the studio's, but the differences are noticeable. I love the finished film as it is and I think it's a great movie, but I wonder how the Dawn and War and maybe even Kingdom would have been affected had the changes not been made.
Did you like the 2005 KING KONG film (I know it's a different story) BUT there are some parallels- Animal rights, not to interfere in nature (a point far better put across than it was in JURASSIC PARK)
This is easily and by far the best film of the entire franchise
I thought the Tim Burton film, visually, was everything I wanted from the franchise so when I saw the promotion for this film I was actually disappointed they went with CG. However, learning that Andy Serkis was playing the lead definitely softened me to the idea since his portrayal of Gollum was fantastic. I did end up liking this movie and I think it's the better of the three so far since I think there was societal collapse movie that should have been made. All in all, I like the new series and this was a really great launch film.
I came to this series late - after they had all been out of theaters - and I desperately wish I could go back and watch them on the big screen during original release because this series is truly so indescribably good. I was recently talking to a coworker, who shares my appreciation of movies, and we came to the subject of epically incomparable film trilogies. I listed this one after LotR for my all-time favorite in terms of writing, acting, vfx, and overall memorability because I genuinely believe it is deserving of such a ranking.
I don't know how these movies might have been marketed or anything else to have attracted the wider audience it deserved. Maybe it was never going to happen due to the image people have of the conceptual legacy of "Planet of the Apes." Part of the reason I didn't pay much attention initially was because I hadn't been very interested in most of the originals. I feel like that might have been a more widespread sentiment than anticipated, and again, i don't know how they could have combatted that. I do distinctly remember seeing a trailer for War and wondering if I'd been missing out on something awesome, which is what eventually got me to watch them. That almost Shakespearean degree of gravitas melded with LotR-style epic plus sci-fi concept plus these incredible characters. But I'm so damn glad that even in spite of the still somewhat niche - it seems - reception, they got enough love for Kingdom to become a thing. Thank you for these essays! They're deep and insightful and just further remind me why I adore these films so dearly.
I loved this movie! My only problem with it is where did all the apes come from in the final battle? There weren't that many apes in that little ape sanctuary that they locked Caeser in and even though there were zoos with apes in them, could there be that many apes in the city?
There were a pretty good amount of apes there, I think it just seems like there are a lot more at the end because they're out in the open vs crammed into a small sanctuary.
"How to reboot a franchise"? Keep ONE THING (the first talking ape is a chimpanzee given the name "Caesar"), and create a totally different saga, with different origins, characters, locations, and circumstances. And do NOT follow Tim Burton's lead... ;-P
Im in the same boat with this movie as you in that it's not my favorite of the Caesar trilogy but it has a special place because I saw it in theatres with my dad and grandpa when I was like 14 and it inspired me to check out the older Ape films. I think I had seen the 68 film and Tim Burton's beforehand and so knew what the series was about and I remember being amazed by the trailers. Rise made me a fan of the series. Later in the school year I read the original novel.
Something funny that I always remembered was on the car ride home my grandpa commented about how amazing the ape makeup and costumes were, and I had to explain that it was cgi 😅.
I think I also have vague memories of the online discussion prior to the film's release of people saying "who asked for this?", and then were shocked by how good the film turned out.
My dad said something similar after we saw War lol
The Total Recall remake and The Wolverine actually came out AFTER Rise. I'm saying this because you said "prior to this film" before you listed the movies.