Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review: A rad reimagining of Conquest
The original run of Planet of the Apes was a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, making it one of the most interesting quintologies of all time. While I loved the first and third movies, the others weren't all that great. So how can the first of the modern trilogy compare? We shall see in today's article: a Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review: A rad reimagining of Conquest.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes starts at a very different part of the story than the original films. Whereas the original movie takes place after the catastrophe that put apes into power, this film starts from the beginning with Caesar's revolution, which caused the whole ordeal. In a sense, this film takes the premise of the fourth Planet of the Apes film and redoes it with a modern flair... which is incredible! I enjoyed the fourth OG film as a piece of social commentary and morally rich storytelling, but its budgetary constraints held it back from being an entertaining experience. Conquest reminds me of To Kill A Mockingbird, where its main draw is its function as a cautionary tale.
On the other hand, Rise is more like, say, The Hunger Games. It may not have as strong of a message, but it is able to be morally interesting and super entertaining simultaneously. Maybe not the best analogy, but, you know, that's how I feel. I will now continue to explain how great this film is, continuing to juxtapose the two films to elevate this film's strengths.
What I loved most about his movie was its new twist on Caesar's origin story! Instead of forming a rebellion against humans due to their foul treatment of apes, Caesar is loved initially and raised like an average, intellectual child. Due to a brain-boosting, dementia-curing medication developed by the corporation Gen Sys, the main human character is able to temporarily cure his dad's ailments after relentless experimenting on apes. While many of the tested apes are put down or locked away, Caesar isn't and is raised out of guilt due to the death of his mother. Seeing Caesar grow up akin to any other child was heartwarming and entertaining! However, all good things must come to an end, as Caesar protects his owners at the cost of severely injuring his neighbors. The film then traps Caesar for a lot of the movie before he lowly builds up rebellion forces and begins to flood the world with ape intellectuals. Simply put, this movie is really just a much more entertaining version of Conquest with a little less intriguing subtext—a fair tradeoff in my eyes.
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 82%
Letter Score: A-
Star Ranking: 4 out of 5
On paper, I'd never find this script to be as exciting or bizarre as some of the original films. However, in practice, this film is able to excellently execute its story, cinematography, acting, presentation, action, narrative, and characters to become a tightly woven experience. This film far surpasses most of the original movies due to its near-perfect execution, and that is coming from somebody who doesn't mind (and enjoys) the graphics of old movies. This movie perfectly depicts what I envisioned Caesar's rise to power would look like in modern cinema. And, for that, this is an absolutely excellent film.
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