Rise of the Planet of the Apes
If you’ve seen the trailer and thought that was intense, then hold on to your seat when you see Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
It’s 105 minutes of emotion-packed drama and action with apes, viruses, and state-of-the-art laboratories, culminating in a scene that could have been depicting a plague of rats in medieval Europe, except the rats were primates of all sorts, and the location was San Francisco.
The film was…well, fantastic.
Admittedly, I’m a die-hard fan of the original Planet of the Apes, so this new generation of all-too-real looking CGI animals placed in a contemporary setting and focused on a current medical dilemma brought out the sci-fi sceptic in me. How close to home was this going to hit?
Presumably writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver were aiming for a direct hit, and director Rupert Wyatt has delivered a package that’s sure to keep people talking about the film after they’ve seen it, and waiting around for the obvious sequels.
At the start we meet Will Rodman, played by James Franco, a researcher for a drug company looking to cure Alzheimer’s. The company uses a stock of primates on which it runs serum tests - in this case, a viral injection that will alter the DNA and affect the chemistry of the brain. Genetic modification. Gene therapy. Accelerated selective evolution.
Will has no qualms about this. He’s driven by the needs of a “higher” primate, his father Charles, played by the always convincing John Lithgow. Charles has Alzheimer’s.
The research runs amok when one of the test chimps, already showing signs of higher brain functioning, goes ape. (Yes, I said it.) The chimp and its cohort of fellow captives are all put down. But wait…it’s never that easy to contain a virus is it?
The story moves forward, centred on the star chimpanzee Caesar, portrayed via CGI by Andy Serkis, the same actor who brought us Gollum in Lord of the Rings. The effects are stunning. The facial expressions and body language say more than words, and allow each viewer their own interpretation of the experience. The film progresses with only a modicum of plodding until (and I’m giving nothing away here) an army of primates - chimpanzees, gorillas, baboons, orang-utans, etc - take over the Golden Gate Bridge in an impressive digitally rendered sequence, complete with a helicopter explosion for those along for the fast pace and fireworks.
The film touches ground on many levels. Those of us with pets will be especially aware of how narrow the line is between animal as pet/family member and animal as wild. Caesar sums it up best when he poignantly asks, “Am I a pet?” after encountering a dog on a leash in the park.
Then there’s the insane and illegal poaching of wild animals from Africa; the pathetic and unnatural conditions of captivity, in a lab or holding facility; and of course, the question of whether animals should be used for testing. Who is the smarter primate after all? Which is the more humane? How far are we willing to go?
With only two per cent of our genome differing from chimpanzees’ (according to Scientific American), these questions are, or should be, rather close to home. Is this what we want to muck about with? Are we ready to accept the consequences of our meddling with evolution? The film offers imaginative and disastrous insight at what that may look like.
To be sure, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is not for the faint of heart. I found myself shuddering at the arrogance of humans in their attitude towards animals as expendable, and melting at the earnest desire to make a difference and save lives, both human and animal.
Best recommendation? Watch the movie. Then go home and cuddle your pet.
Em Hofstede
