Out of all the planet of the apes movies, Ive only seen two. The 1968 timeless classic, and the horrible Tim Burton remake. Too be honest I didn’t have much interest in the new film, i mean i saw the trailer which looked ok, but it never got me excited. It was I guess due to word of mouth that I went to see it, and I’m glad I did, because it really is amazing film.

This is a film that never has a boring moment, the action parts are fun and the slow parts are actually quite emotional.  The music served the film perfectly, as did the cinematography, with some beautiful forest shots with the sun beaming through the trees. 

However as much as I enjoyed it, I did have a few gripes, though they weren’t enough to ruin the film for me.

Awkward/pointless character

I loved Freida Pinto in Slumdog Millionaire, and I guess it was nice to have a beautiful face to look at amongst all the hairy apes in this film, but it just felt like she was crammed in as an afterthought. She didn’t have much to do, and I could barely feel any chemistry between her and Franko. I know it was probably hard to fit a romance story amongst everything else in this film, but then again if that was the case, then why have any romance at all?

Maybe James Frankos character should have stayed single throughout the film, hiding himself away, obsessing over finding the cure for Alzheimer’s. But then again James Franko is too good looking to be single for so many years, so I guess that would only work if they cast someone slightly older and less blessed with looks.

And now I think to myself, if only they cast John Lithgow as the leading character. He could have been a scientist who could feel his Alzheimer’s catching up with him, so he devoted his time to work, trying to find a cure.  He could have still been living at home with Caesar, and it would have meant instead of finding screen time for Franko and Pinto, we could have had more focus on Caesar.

I thought Lithgow was amazing as the frail father, you could really see his joy when he was temporally cured, and then sadness when you saw the Alzheimer’s catch up with him. The scene where Caesar helped turn his fork around at the table was particularly powerful. Not only for displaying the Alzheimer’s was creeping back, but because it showed that despite Caesar feeling resentful for how the humans treated his kind, and the restlessness at being kept as a pet, he still had a loyalty to his owners, or as it was more like, friends.

Miscast

I know it seems I’m complaining alot about this film, I did honestly really enjoy it, however I must question the casting of David Oyelowo as the greedy CEO Steven Jacobs. He just didn’t have enough of a presence to be a CEO. I mean if I was working for him and accidentally turned up late for work or missed a deadline, I wouldn’t be too bothered about an ear-bashing as he wasn’t very intimidating. When you compare him to the powerful businessmen in other films such as Rutger Hauer of Batman Begins or Terence Stamp in Wall Street, then hopefully you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

One complaint I have about this film is that when it skips forward a few years, only Caesar looks any different. I mean its 5 years later and absolutely nobody looks any different. Surely they could have given James Franko a new hairstyle? Or even a moustache? Maybe Freido could have been pregnant? It’s just strange that apart from Caesar, everyone and everything else was frozen in time.

The creepy Ape named Rocket

This ape completely freaked me out. After I watched the film I thought I was guaranteed nightmares of his face just staring at me, but thankfully I’ve had none yet.
I’m not sure why the film gave this ape so much attention, I know he looked different and he was smarter than the other apes, but why include him in the story? Will he be playing a bigger part in the sequel? Will there be a divide in the ape community with him against Caesar? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The unlucky neighbour

I felt really sorry for David Hewlett who played the unlucky neighbour.  After defending his family against a young Caesar, he then had his finger bitten off by an older Caesar, and was then coughed at with blood by an infected scientist.  In the final scene of the film, which I thought was quite weak, he is at the airport coughing blood, ready to travel the world and spread the disease.  Some people are just really unlucky.

Conclusion

This was one of the those films that will make you feel guilty for being human. You’ll think to yourself, do we really have to keep all these innocent animals locked up? Can we not find another way to fight disease? Now I”m no vegetarian (I mean, I just had bacon and sausages for breakfast), but it doesn’t mean I can’t feel sorry for these animals.

This film stayed in my mind long after it finished. Caesars face just had so much emotion and character to it. If there was no attachment between him and the audience then the film would have fallen flat, but thankfully there was.

Massive kudos then must go to Andy Serkis. He’s proving himself time and time again to be ultimate CGI man.  Hell, I bet he would have made even Jar Jar Binks half decent.  Maybe Mr Lucas can add him on the next update of Star Wars?