Movies: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Score: **** out of *****

Long Story Short: The final blockbuster of the summer really comes through. With a focus on the unique creation of smart-chimp Caesar, modeled brilliantly by veteran Andy Serkis, this film has something new to offer audiences. Humans are left in the background as we get a film that is little like the trailers and commercials - and all the better for it.

Well, this is the final summer blockbuster of 2011. It's possible I'll see one or two more in the dollar theater, but this is the last to be released in theaters. Most likely, I'll have a better variety of movies to review in the coming weeks and months (sneak peek: I saw The Tree of Life in the dollar theater last night). Back to this movie: I actually didn't even know it was coming out until I saw the trailer, maybe two months ago. Didn't interest me a whole lot, but I was intrigued by the good reviews that it got. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (a terrible, clunky title) was directed by Rupert Wyatt (???), and stars James Franco, Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) and John Lithgow.

Rise wastes no time getting started: we are introduced to an advanced laboratory in San Francisco where Dr. Rodman (Franco) is the lead scientist developing a powerful drug to cure Alzheimer's disease. Also quickly shown are the chimpanzee subjects used in the testing, as well as both protective caretaker Franklin and callous boss Jacobs. (I mention the quick start, since I tend to expect more of a mysterious, slow build-up of elements in this type of film. Not so at all here). Franco begins presenting the drug to shareholders, just as the top test chimp goes AWOL and has to be put down, ending the drug's chances for further development. Franklin is ordered to put down the rest of the chimps as well, but he passes on a baby to Dr. Rodman who takes it home.

Three years pass by, and the chimp, named Caesar lives in Rodman's attic and develops quite like a human child. Also in the home is Rodman's father, Charles (Lithgow), who has Alzheimer's. Rodman decides to try his drug on his father - and it works for a little while, but he regresses again. Caesar, beginning to outgrow the house, gets in trouble and is taken away to a poorly-run primate facility. While Caesar deals with his ape-prison, Rodman works on a stronger drug, which works on primates but, as poor Franklin finds out in private after being exposed, does not work well with humans. Caesar and Rodman's paths cross again, of course, in the film's climax, as the apes turn the tables on their human overlords.

The main character of this film is, in a pleasant surprise, not human. It is the chimp, Caesar, who develops from infancy with the drug's effects making him rather human in a number of respects, but still definitely ape. Caesar is, of course, CGI, but he is based off the motion-capture work of Andy Serkis, known for playing Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Caesar is far and away the highlight of the film. Without saying a word, he conveys a phenomenal depth of emotion, sort of like the way a dog wears its heart on its sleeve. And yet, as I said, he also retains the core of an ape, which manifests itself in usually small but frightening bursts of anger and other instinct. Caesar is the movie.

Of course, there are human characters as well. The primary one is Dr. Rodman, played by Franco. He does a serviceable job in the role, and responds well to his CGI companion, but is also completely outshone by him. Lithgow as Rodman's father is the best human character, displaying the terrible horror that is Alzheimer's disease with respect while not holding anything back. Freida Pinto's character is essentially just a love interest for Rodman, making her a sub-subplot - really, if you'll pardon the expression, she's just here for eye candy. Other familiar faces include Brian Cox (Rushmore, X2) as the primate facility manager and Tom Felton (Malfoy from Potter) as his son. Felton hams it up a bit at times, but, of course, he's good at playing a slimy little villain.

What this film lacks in humor (it does have a little, though) compared to its blockbuster companions, it more than makes up for in heart. And of course, it still has action. Again, virtually everything revolves around Caesar here, and that's OK. For myself, I felt more and more sympathetic toward the chimp as the film went along, but there was always the lingering feeling in the back of my head that this is, after all, a wild animal, NOT a human. I think that this was a very important thing to do, and I'm impressed that a big blockbuster like this bothered to make the effort. (Of course, you could blame it on the mere fact that this is a prequel to Planet of the Apes after all, but it's only an added effect). The action is pretty good, nothing that will blow you away. But in doing so, it remains at least slightly realistic. The primary action piece deals with the Golden Gate bridge - hardly a unique set-up, but it is cleverly executed, and fully utilizes the apes' increased intelligence. On a final note, I don't really remember the score very well, but I don't think it was poor, just not memorable.

***

This was a good way to end the summer blockbuster season. I'm still deciding what I thought of the season as a whole, but this film certainly gave it a boost. The main theme for the film is surprise. The first is how deceptive the trailer's and ad campaign was for this - and I warn you I'm about to give a few more spoilers. Instead of the apes already turning evil and taking over, the whole point of the film's climax is for the apes to simply escape their human confinement. Symbolizing just how different a vibe the film has to its marketing, the apes in fact do their best not to kill any humans on their way to freedom (and as yet another twist, I feel that this fact was one of the little letdowns. I can see Caesar not wanting to hurt humans having grown up with them, but there was no reason the other apes should restrain themselves - other than keeping a PG-13 rating). END SPOILERS...

The next surprise was the very direct nature of the film, which, as I noted, seemed strange to me as most similar films like to drag out the mystery of the science a little. I guess they figured they'd have to pretty much give away that information in their marketing campaign anyway, so why hide it. And the final surprise was the focus on Caesar rather than any of the humans. It would have been SO easy for them to focus on Franco, his struggle with his father and his love for Pinto. But I'm so happy that they didn't - and it turned the film from a generic blockbuster into a summer standout. I highly recommend this one.

Movies: Cowboys & Aliens

Score: *** out of *****

Long Story Short: Cowboys & Aliens is a modestly entertaining summer film, most notably for, unsurprisingly, its two huge stars. Despite combining two dissimilar genres, the story proceeds in a pretty conventional manner, with few surprises. A good supporting cast helps, along with fun music and nice scenery, but it's not enough to make it one of the better films of the summer.

Well, this is likely to be my second-to-last review of the summer movie season (I'm hoping to still see Rise of the Planet of the Apes). It's been a full season, even by my busy movie-going standards. This one, Cowboys & Aliens, I had been looking forward to for some time since seeing the trailer. I mean, James Bond and Indiana Jones (the actors, at least) in one movie? Sign me up. The film was directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man - as the poster proudly states). Let's get started.

Jumping right into things, the film starts with a random cowboy (Craig) who has awakened in the middle of the wild west. He is clearly not a normal cowboy, though, as A) he doesn't know who he is or how he got there, B) he has a strange metal "bracelet" on, and C) he totally kicks the butts of a group of wandering outlaws (a la... James Bond). The cowboy stumbles into a nearby town, where he humiliates the town head honcho's arrogant son, but is then arrested when the sheriff recognizes him as outlaw Jake Lonergan. Col. Dolarhyde (Ford) comes to get his son released from prison at night, but out of the blue the town is attacked by UFOs, which begin snatching people off the ground. Afterwards, Col. Dolarhyde rounds up a rescue team to search for their kidnapped townsfolk, but Jake goes off on his own to try to recall what's happened to him.

After Jake manages to recall his connection with the aliens, he rejoins Col. Dolarhydes group. They have tense encounters with both Jake's old gang of outlaws as well as Apache indians, but eventually combine with these groups as they hope to fight off their common enemy. The film culminates in a final battle with the aliens to free the abductees, while Jake and a mysterious woman from the town also explore their own strange connections. (I don't want to spoil any more, even surprises that aren't particularly well disguised).

There is a wealth of acting talent in this film, but sadly it does not quite live up to its potential. Let's start with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. They are both entertaining here, and I wouldn't describe their performances as "mailed-in" at all. But they have a bad script to work with. Basically, the writer seemed to be a little too enthused with the idea of teaming "James Bond" with "Indiana Jones" - despite the fact that in this movie they are cowboys, they really just play the roles they were made famous by, particularly Craig. I think both of the actors are talented enough to effectively pull off cowboy characters, but the writer just didn't give them a chance to do that. Ford's character is a little better, but here the problem is that the traits of his character (grumpy, sarcastic, tough, yet a family man) are exactly the same as Indiana Jones, particularly the latest installment from a few years ago.

The supporting cast has some highlights as well. Unfortunately, the female lead, played by Olivia Wilde, is quite bland and cliche despite (or because?) the script trying to a dual nature. Standouts include Doc (Sam Rockwell), a gun shy bar owner; Percy (Paul Dano), the cowardly son of Col. Dolarhyde; and Rev. Meacham (Clancy Brown). These characters add a little spice to the movie, although they lack significant screen time.

These movies, as I've noted before, require creative and/or tense action sequences, a good sense of humor, and a sense of concern for the fates of at least some of the characters. This film makes an attempt on each front, but doesn't excel at any of them. The initial UFO attack is unsettling and intriguing, yet the climactic battle is a little long and falls into convention and lacks suspense. There is some good humor, but the film could really have shifted into more of an action-comedy with little effort and seen substantial improvement for it; as it is, the supporting cast (esp. Rockwell and Dano) provides most of the laughs. Finally, there are sympathetic aspects to several characters, but we don't really get to know any of them well enough to get a great connection. On a final, more positive note, the film does benefit from both a very nice, sweeping score, as well as gorgeous scenery and cinematography.

***

Cowboys & Aliens is an entertaining film, but it falls more in the Pirates 4 category of fun than Captain America category. Ultimately, its worst sin is that it's an unimaginative mashup of two well-worn genres. The writers and director had plenty of creative space to work with, whether it was finding a clever way to combine the genres or taking the film's two huge stars out of their comfort zones. They could have even simply made it a silly movie with lots of comedy (perhaps Rush Hour-esque). What we get is passable filmmaking thanks to the strong presence of its stars, the effective supporting cast, and nice peripherals (music and visuals). But this movie should have made itself memorable, even if not as one of the strongest movies of its kind, at least for doing something particularly well or original. It doesn't, and I sadly can't really recommend it unless you are a big fan of Craig and/or Ford.