Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Directed by Rupert Wyatt
Self-aware describes both the simian protagonists and script of this franchise reboot. Recognizing each laughable plot contrivance, then correcting for it before the chortles hit, while peppering societal insight throughout gains Wyatt and his team an unexpected, yet impressive win.
Undoubtedly, the creators of RotPotA (did you expect me to type it every time?) realized depicting the evolution of a chimpanzee from simple ape to vocal revolutionary within the span of two hours could reduce their film to a mockery on par with Deep Blue Sea or the SyFy Channel monster movie of the week. Carefully calibrating their script to account for such pitfalls has, instead, proven they deserve their jobs in Hollywood. Nearly inevitably preposterous key beats, such as Caesar speaking for the first time, are elevated to pathos by grounding them through character conflict, simplicity, and thematic motivation. Caesar’s utterance of “No!” maintains a level of believability through its infantile non-complexity while striking a cord of satisfaction with the viewer through its turning of his arc (from oppressed to opponent) while supporting the key theme of rebellious display.
Screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver not only counter absurdity with aplomb, but balance clumsy structural elements with seeming ease. Moving characters through a decade of time as well as objects from location to unrelated location can be cumbersome, yet here plot necessities like Caesar’s acquisition of ALZ 112 from Will’s home are positioned subtly in earlier scenes and actions (Will’s secret attempts to cure his father). Credit for such moments does not solely fall to the writing, however, as Wyatt’s clever visual shorthand (i.e. Caesar catching Charles’ misuse of the fork) and Serkis’ ranged, silent performance heft a portion of the weight.
Though technical and narrative cognition are worthy of regard, where the full commingling of direction, scripting, and delivery comes to fruition is with the film’s message. Following Will and his adopted primate offspring allows for a distanced study of humanity’s various successive and destructive self-treatments. Positively, we are shown humans’ ability to learn compassion as we see Caesar mimic Will’s devotion to curing his father’s aliment, while, conversely, witnessing the instilling of a cyclical eye-for-an-eye mentality when Caesar reacts with aggression to the physical mistreatment laid upon him at the zoological shelter. The film’s journey also offers metaphors for a number of society’s other de-humanizing institutions and practices, such as prison systems, police brutality, capitalistic greed, and the bureaucracy of the judicial body. Utilizing a core conceit of Sci-Fi storytelling, Wyatt creates a vantage point toward today’s misdeeds while providing a veiled distance through which the audience may view them.
While at times occupied with broad characterizations or franchise reboot requirements (catchphrase repurposing, sequel preparations, etc.), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (okay, I’ll type it once) has been injected with an unlikely amount of invention and self-awareness, while concurrently proving it has more on its mind than a typical aught remake.
However, the possibility of its guttural groaning and screeching raising an army of similarly inclined features to conquer the multiplexes seems as likely as a talking monkey.
Reel-ality 