Rise of the Planet of the Apes

How can anyone watch this film, or any of the Apes films for that matter, and not burst into song... Dr Zauis, Dr Zaius, Dr Zaius... I know I can't.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (The Relic) based on a novel by Pierre Boulle.

Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco - 127 Hours) is working on a cure for Alzheimer's. His father Charles (John Lithgow - Dexter) is slowly deteriorating so Will has to work quick smart. At the lab, Will is testing his latest concoction on chimps. The drug helps the brain to repair itself and enables chimps to do tricky puzzles while making their eyes go green.

An incident at the lab leaves Will without a project and newborn chimp Caesar (Andy Serkis - King Kong) an orphan. Will takes him home and starts his experiment again. Caesar gets smarter, Charles gets better, Will hooks up with spunky vet, Caroline (Freida Pinto - Slumdog Millionaire). Life is good.

Years later, Caesar gets cranky and bites some dude's finger off and is sent to primate prison guarded by father-son team John (Brian Cox - Red) and a kid named after a car, Dodge (Tom Felton - Harry Potter and the Limited Edition Box Set). They are not exactly animal lovers. Pretty soon, Caesar the Wonder Chimp, gets really pissed off and rallies the other captives together to plan their escape.

Hmmm. I still don't know if I like this film. They spent waaaay too long in the primate facility, I was getting really bored and had no idea the story was going. The ending (minor spoiler) was so anti-climactic. I was expecting something completely different, like the apes taking over the world, or at least a suburb. The bit during the credits was bizarre as well. If that was an opening for a sequel, then what the devil is the next film about? Apes taking over National Parks or a virus clocking up Frequent Flyer points?

The special effects were inconsistent, well done in parts, not so much in others. Is Andy Serkis getting sick of playing CGI characters? Performances all round were OK, Lithgow was the stand out and whoever played the orangutan. The gorilla looked an awful lot like Ron Perlman...  I don't know if that was intentional or not.
The 'Apes on a Tram' bit was pretty cool though. Where's Samuel L. Jackson when you need him?
It could have been worse... there could have been prosthetics.

Things I learnt: you can persuade anyone with cookies; never be the owner of a pharmaceutical company; dream bigger.
Dr Zaius to the ICU...
Five out of ten.