Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox, 2011)

Planet of the Apes is literally ingrained in my DNA. I watched re-runs of it on Channel 7 in the mid-to-late '70s. Every time that they had 'Ape Week' I was in my glory. They'd show a combination of the movies and the TV series, which they'd re-cut into "movies". I was so excited to see the franchise revived in 2001. That is...until I saw that dreadful atrocity which was a crime against humanity. The good name of Planet of the Apes was besmirched by that abomination. 

Fast forward 10 years, and we have what is, in my opinion, the finest Planet of the Apes film since the 1968 original. Dare I say it, but this was more plausible than the 1972 classic it was based on, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. While no one can replace Roddy McDowall or the pioneering efforts of the special effects geniuses of the original movies, this is one fine film. The racial tensions of the time that were used as a metaphor in the original films are replaced with a gene therapy backdrop. Gene therapy doesn't seem as combustible a topic, but these are different times.

This is a great movie that is worthy of the hype (and your hard earned discretionary income).