THERE is something grimly appropriate that in a week in which gangs of humans have been behaving like marauding chimpanzees, the film of the week shows apes acting far more sympathetically.
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes is an impressive action movie Ñ providing excellent, and far from mindless, entertainment Ñ and a technological marvel. It makes all previous Planet Of The Apes movies look primitive. ItÕs even an advance, technically, on Peter JacksonÕs remake of King Kong.
Forget any preconceptions about men in monkey suits. The apes here are a triumph of motion capture, with Andy Serkis providing yet another memorable performance to follow his Gollum and Kong.
He plays Caesar, a chimpanzee who grows up from a timid baby into a Spartacus-style leader of the earthÕs oppressed simian population. His rise is stirring stuff, and because it is virtually wordless, it reflects classic strengths of silent film-making.
You wonÕt need to be an animal rights activist to share his anger at the lazy, casually sadistic humans (led by Brian Cox and Tom Felton) who hold him prisoner. There is plenty of pleasure to be had in experiencing CaesarÕs manipulation of his fellow simian prisoners, and his powers of leadership. This is a bravura performance.
I wish I could be as enthusiastic about the humans. The film starts out well, with James Franco as Will, a sympathetic scientist striving to find a cure for AlzheimerÕs, a disease which has reduced his father (John Lithgow) to a fumbling shadow of his former self.
After a lab experiment on a female chimpanzee goes wrong, Will finds himself caring for her newborn chimp Caesar, as well as his father. His only ally is a vet (Freida Pinto) who loves apes as much as he does.
Will has a secret weapon, in the form of the wonder-drug he has developed. It reverses his fatherÕs dementia and vastly increases the intelligence of Caesar.
But, as the chimp grows, he becomes more aggressive and harder to control. So much so that Caesar has to be taken to the San Bruno Primate Sanctuary, which resembles a particularly inhumane prison.
A central problem with the screenplay is that it sets up one protagonist Ñ Will Ñ and then loses interest in him.
Franco has little to do in the final hour except fall in love with the underwritten vet, and chase around after Caesar. He ends up looking as lost and peripheral as he did presenting at the Oscars.
Lithgow gives an accurate portrayal of a man fearful of losing his mind, but the other humans on display have less personality than the primates.
I hoped there might be a little inter-species frisson between Caesar and the comely Miss Pinto, in the spirit of King Kong falling for Fay Wray/Naomi Watts. But her character is so vapid, she could easily have been edited out of the film without anyone missing her.
The original Planet Of The Apes film, way back in 1968, had a more ambitious environmental message, a more satirical take on humanity and a much better final plot-twist.
The new filmÕs not about much, apart from nasty peopleÕs inhumanity to animals. It strikes a cautionary note about animal experimentation, but fudges the issue about whether or not it is justified.
ThereÕs also too much sloppy plotting. How come WillÕs neighbours delay complaining to the authorities about the chimp until it is full grown, when it has behaved scarily for years?
Why does WillÕs boss Ñ a poorly written corporate type obsessed with profits Ñ change abruptly from ultra-cautious about animal testing to ridiculously reckless?
And how come Will waits so long before telling his boss about the miraculous properties of his drug? Did they somehow slip his mind?
I imagine some action enthusiasts will also feel the movie could have spent less time on CaesarÕs hardships in jail, and more on him and his ape pals taking over the Golden Gate Bridge.
But the climax is worth waiting for. And along the way there are many memorable images, expertly assembled by promising British director Rupert Wyatt. He is especially well served by cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, whose credits include The Lord Of The Rings and King Kong.
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes lacks the charm of last weekÕs terrific blockbuster Super 8, and there isnÕt the humour that made an unexpected pleasure of Attack The Block, but its technical virtuosity ensures it is right up there with the best blockbusters of the year.
* Project Nim would make a good second half of a double-bill.
ItÕs a documentary by Oscar-winning Brit James Marsh (Man On Wire) about a chimp Ñ mischievously named Nim Chimpsky Ñ who is brought up like a human by a Columbia University researcher.
NimÕs a cute little chap, but gradually a darker truth emerges: that he has aspects to his personality that humans ignore at their Ñ and his Ñ peril. ItÕs the same message that underlies Werner HerzogÕs Grizzly Man, about a chap who befriended bears and was eaten by one.
The truth that animals are not people wonÕt surprise anyone whoÕs ever sought to understand their cat or dog, but itÕs welcome nonetheless: a corrective to all those family films and documentaries, many of them by Disney, that sentimentalise Ñ and patronise Ñ wild animals by trying to turn them into quirky, mentally subnormal humans.
Going ape: Above, Freida Pinto and James Franco, and below, Nim Chimpsky and ?????????????? - Daily Mail