RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Post-Release - Page 6

It's a conspiracy!  Serkis is just a patsy!  THIS GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP, I TELLS YA!!!

http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/no-oscar-nom-for-andy-serkis/

Just watched this yesterday after all the hype died down. It's a very good movie with great moments, as many have already said, but it doesn't all gel.

The first half is a lot of fun. I'd watch a tv show following the adventures of Caesar swinging around the house, he's that infectious of a character. By the time he'd taken over the shelter, however, it became apparent that he was unstoppable. That actually removes all tension from the movie, as not only will he succeed (well duh, it's not called Planet of the Apes for nothing) but do so unscathed. There's an inevitability that propels the second half, which is unfortunate because the first half had such a slow burn of dread and meditation.

For instance, once the apes escape it's easy to buy that the apes from GenSys would side with them, they're already smart, but why do the apes from the zoo? Did they get sprayed? Even if they did, so much time is spent on showing Caesar building up loyalty and teaching the apes at the shelter that it seems taken from a lesser movie that the zoo apes blindly follow "hero shot" Caesar. As well, the spread of the virus to humans really should've played a more prominent role, been handled with more care, and served as more than a credits zinger.

Still, I liked it quite a bit. The "no" and "Caesar is home" moments had been spoiled for me already, and I'm not sure how the latter got picked up on as a catchphrase last year, but "Why cookie Rocket?" is still gold.

Goddamn, that was pretty awesome. I actually thought it got BETTER as it went along, as we focused more on the apes and less on the humans. Laundry list!:

-Speaking of, I thought they were fine. James Franco does his James Franco thing very well, Lithgow brings energy and pathos, Felton is an effective douche, and Brian Cox quietly steals his scenes.

-The effects work is incredible. I was never aware they weren't real apes, but Serkis is spectacular, and the rest of the apes are animated effectively too, especially Maurice and Buck.

-I was not expecting THAT MUCH stuff with the apes tearing around and kicking ass. Maurice taking out a cop car with a manhole cover and Buck's epic heroic sacrifice were things of beauty.

-Patrick Doyle's score was excellent, tribal and intense in all the right places.

-My favorite homage to the original film was the very quick shot of Caesar playing with a miniature Statue of Liberty. Heh heh heh.

Also, why did they change the ending? I'm fine with it, but the original ending with Will getting killed by humans and the apes raining down vengeance for it sounds rather interesting.