Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2011

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a 2011 American science fiction drama film directed by Rupert Wyatt, starring James Franco and Andy Serkis. It is 20th Century Fox's reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, intended[citation needed] to act as an origin story for a new series of films.[3] Its premise is similar to the fourth film in the original series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), but it is not a direct remake. Following its release on August 5, 2011, the film became a critical and box office success. In January 2012 the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

Plot

Will Rodman (James Franco) is a scientist at biotechnology company Gen-Sys who has been trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease and is testing a new gene therapy drug on chimpanzees. The drug, a modified virus, mutates the chimpanzees, giving them a human level of intelligence. A female chimp who believes her baby is being threatened goes on a rampage and is shot by security guards. Will's boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) subsequently orders chimp handler Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine) to euthanize the remaining test chimpanzees. Franklin cannot bring himself to kill the baby chimp and instead gives him to Will, who takes him home to raise.
Will's father Charles (John Lithgow), who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, names the baby chimp "Caesar." Caesar (Andy Serkis) has inherited his mother's high intelligence and develops quickly. One day, after he frightens the children of their neighbor, Hunsiker (David Hewlett), and receives a cut on his leg, Will takes him to the San Francisco Zoo where primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto) treats his injury. Will begins to take Caesar on excursions to the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, but after seeing a family's German shepherd, Caesar begins to resent his status as a human "pet." When Caesar questions his identity, Will tells him that his mother was given a drug and that the reason for his intelligence is that the drug affected him while still in the womb. Caesar becomes more aware of his biological identity and begins to view himself as different from his human family.
A desperate Will tests a sample of his cure on his father. At first, his father's condition improves, but eventually his dementia returns. Confused, he attempts to drive Hunsiker's car, and damages it, angering Hunsiker. Caesar witnesses the confrontation and attacks Hunsiker, prompting authorities to place him in a primate shelter run by John Landon (Brian Cox), where he is treated cruelly by the other apes and the chief guard, Landon's son Dodge (Tom Felton). Caesar escapes from his cell and frees a gorilla kept in solitary confinement. With the gorilla's assistance, Caesar gains dominance over the other apes by beating the sanctuary's alpha chimp.
Will creates a more powerful form of the virus to resume treating his father, and Jacobs clears its testing on chimpanzees, which further increases their intelligence. However, unbeknownst to the scientists, it is fatal to humans. Franklin is exposed to the new virus and begins sneezing blood. Attempting to contact Will at his home, he accidentally infects Hunsiker, and is later discovered dead in his apartment. Will attempts to warn Jacobs against further testing but when Jacobs refuses to listen, Will quits his job.
After Charles' death, Will bribes the elder Landon into releasing Caesar into his custody, but Caesar refuses to leave. He later escapes from the ape facility on his own and returns to Will's house, where he steals canisters of the new virus and releases it throughout the cage area at the facility, enhancing the intelligence of his fellow apes. The apes put an escape plan into motion. Dodge attempts to intervene, leading to a fight with Caesar. Caesar shocks Dodge by shouting "No!" at him, and later kills him through electrocution. The liberated apes storm the city and release the remaining apes from Gen-Sys, as well as the entire ape population of a zoo.
The apes force their way past a CHP blockade on the Golden Gate Bridge and escape into the redwood forest. Jacobs, aboard a helicopter, falls to his death after the helicopter crashes and one of the apes kicks it off the bridge. Will arrives and warns Caesar that the humans will hunt them down, and begs him to return home. Caesar tells Will that he "is home" among his fellow apes. The final image shows the apes climbing to the tops of the redwood trees, looking out over the San Francisco Bay.
In a post-credits scene, Hunsiker, an airline pilot, arrives at work, infected by the virus. The camera pans to a filled flight-status display board, then fades into a stylized flight map animated with blooming trajectories implying the spread of a global pandemic.

Cast

• James Franco as Dr. William "Will" Rodman, a scientist who is trying to cure his father's Alzheimer's disease by testing it on chimps. He is a father figure to Caesar. James Franco was cast after talks with Tobey Maguire broke down.
• Andy Serkis as Caesar, a chimpanzee whose intelligence is increased due to inheriting ALZ-112 from his mother during her pregnancy, and who is raised by Will for eight years. He later leads a revolution against humanity and leads the apes to freedom.
• John Lithgow as Charles Rodman, Will's Alzheimer's-afflicted father and a former music teacher who improves after Will gives him the ALZ-112 and forms a strong bond with Caesar.
• Freida Pinto as Caroline Aranha, a primatologist who starts a relationship with Will and has grown attached to Caesar for five years.
• David Oyelowo as Steven Jacobs, Will's greedy boss. His last name is a reference to Arthur Jacobs, the producer of the original Planet of the Apes series.
• Brian Cox as John Landon, manager of the San Bruno Primate Shelter where Caesar is confined for a time. His full name is a reference to one of the astronauts in the original Planet of the Apes.
• Tom Felton as Dodge Landon, John's son and an animal caretaker at the shelter, who enjoys treating the apes cruelly. His first and last name are references to two of the astronauts in the original Planet of the Apes.
• Chelah Horsdal as Irena, a nurse who is looking after Charles.
• Tyler Labine as Robert Franklin, a chimp handler at Gen-Sys who becomes infected with ALZ-113.
• David Hewlett as Hunsiker, Will's hot headed neighbor, who is later infected with the ALZ-113, and then starts a global pandemic.
• Jamie Harris as Rodney, a caretaker who is kinder to the apes at the sanctuary.
• Karin Konoval as Maurice and Personnel at Police Station. Maurice is a Bornean orangutan who had retired from the circus and knows sign language; he becomes Caesar's closest ally. His name is a reference to Maurice Evans, who played Dr. Zaius, the principal orangutan in the original Planet of the Apes.
• Richard Ridings as Buck, a western lowland gorilla who pledges his allegiance to Caesar after he is freed by him.
• Christopher Gordon as Koba, a scar-faced booboo who has spent most of his life in laboratories and holds a grudge against humans.
• Terry Notary as Rocket and Bright Eyes. Rocket is the former dominant chimp at the ape sanctuary, until Caesar overthrows him, then he becomes a loyal follower of Caesar. Bright Eyes is Caesar's mother who was captured in Africa and was experimented on and later killed protecting her child. The name "Bright Eyes" is a reference to the name given to Charlton Heston's human character in the original Planet of the Apes.

Pre-production

In a segment of a video blog post, director Rupert Wyatt commented on the originality of the plot: "This is part of the mythology and it should be seen as that. It's not a continuation of the other films; it's an original story. It does satisfy the people who enjoy those films. The point of this film is to achieve that and to bring that fan base into this film exactly like Batman Begins.
The screenplay, from an original idea by and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, contains several tributes to specific scenes, characters, and cast and crew from the previous Apes film series. In particular, Caesar's treatment at the primate sanctuary parallels Taylor's treatment as a captive in the original film.

Production

In a 2009 interview, Wyatt said, "We've incorporated elements from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, in terms of how the apes begin to revolt, but this is primarily a prequel to the 1968 film.... Caesar is a revolutionary figure who will be talked about by his fellow apes for centuries.... This is just the first step in the evolution of the apes, and there's a lot more stories to tell after this. I imagine the next film will be about the all-out war between the apes and humans.
Filming began in July 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Filming also headed to San Francisco, California, and around Oahu, Hawaii.
Unlike the original Apes film franchise (which used actors in make-up), Weta Digital created the apes digitally in almost every case through performance capture. Advances in the technology allowed the use of performance capture in an exterior environment, affording the film-makers the freedom to shoot much of the film on location with other actors, as opposed to the confines of a soundstage.

Music

The score for the film was written by Patrick Doyle and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony.

Reception

Critical response

Reviews for Rise of the Planet of the Apes have been positive, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reporting an 83% "Certified Fresh" rating, and an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 227 reviews. The site's summarized consensus is: "Led by Rupert Wyatt's stylish direction, some impressive special effects, and a mesmerizing performance by Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes breathes unlikely new life into a long-running franchise. Another review aggregator, Metacritic, reports a score of 68 based on 39 reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and praised the role of Caesar and Andy Serkis by stating it was a "wonderfully executed character" and "one never knows exactly where the human ends and the effects begin, but Serkis and/or Caesar gives the best performance in the movie." Richard Corliss of Time named the film one of the Top 10 Best Movies of 2011, saying, "Rise restores wonder to the word "movie.

Box office

Rise of the Planet of the Apes made its debut in the United States and Canada on roughly 5,400 screens within 3,648 theaters. It grossed $19,534,699 on opening day and $54,806,191 in its entire opening weekend, making it #1 for that weekend as well as the fourth highest-grossing August opening ever. The film held on to the #1 spot in its second weekend, dropping 49.2%, and grossing $27,832,307. Rise of the Planet of the Apes crossed the $150 million mark in the United States and Canada on its 26th day of release. Entertainment Weekly said that this was quite an accomplishment for the film since the month of August is a difficult time for films to make money.
The film ended its run at the box office on December 15, 2011 with a gross of $176,760,185 in the U.S.A and Canada as well as $304,522,617 internationally, for a total of $481,282,802 worldwide