I’m going to take a break from ringtones and share my latest movie indulgence with you all. Let it be known that ringtones and movies go hand-in-hand! Anyway, I imagine there are dire hard fans of the Planet of the Apes amongst our readership. Personally, I’m not one of them but I maybe now! The movie I watched was Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and let me tell you fans and non-fans alike, it is a terrific movie. The latest in the Planet of the Apes franchise as a film left me with three fascinating thoughts:
- Being humane can overpower the effects of brutality and torture
- Power of constraint is an overwhelming psychological force
- Genetic manipulation leads to unforeseen consequences
What can I say, a franchise that (excluding the original Planet of the Apes series) is known for its campy cartoons and people in ape suites completely surprised me this weekend. I might add it surprised my wife too! Rise is directed by Ruper Wyatt, a relative unknown and penned by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an origins movie that sets up how the world got the way it did before the Planet of the Apes. It reveals something else too, how the human world in its pursuit to change nature shifts the course of evolution forever.
The movie stars James Franco, Frieda Pinta (Slum dog Millionaire) and Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes stitches a fascinating world full of science, drama, suspense, action and inspiration. In the depths of a tense and slowly escalating story line, we have weaved into all of this Cesar, played by Serkis, who is borne of a scientists desire to alleviate a terrible disease afflicting his father, Alzheimer’s. Cesar is befriended by humans but is protected and as the scenes progresses and Cesar matures he is exposed to the irony of his existence, the range of human animosity to the unknown and his struggle to learn more about who we is.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes explains how the world got to become the way it was when Charleston Heston’s character sets foot on Planet of the Apes back in 1968. The depth of the movie’s storyline, special effects and strong character development made Rise a very engaging and powerful movie. While it was entertaining, it spurred intellectual conversation and considerable introspection into who we are as a society and how we treat each other and all of earth’s animals.
I imagine Rise will usher in a bevy of nature against humanity movies and why not? Maybe it’s back to basics for our civilization? Who knows?
