Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- 4.5/5

One word: brilliant. I'm not going to pretend that I've seen all the previous Planet of the Apes movies in full, nor will I pretend that I remember them because I watched them on TV when I was so much younger. I remember those movies as much as I remembered Star Wars, which I realized 6 months ago when my boyfriend forced me to watch a marathon of the older movies I had only retained bits and pieces of the films. I blame my sleepiness and my short attention span for movies on TV that weren't The Wizard of Oz :). But I digress.

This movie was just so well done. And dare I say it near perfect. This movie is one of the few summer films that really delivered what they promised (much like X-Men). The perfect trailers told no lies -- this movie was worth the long trudge through the under-preforming summer remakes and reboots. It flowed with such an ease, and it felt so effortlessly good. This movie delivered what it promised, which is something so many movies struggle with.

And it's not doubt who stole the show in this movie -- Andy Serkis. The other day I read an article that was about how he felt that he didn't get as much respect as an actor, because his CGI characters sort of steal the show from him. I can see where a lot of people would overlook him, for sure. He never looks like himself in movies, and always looks like something else, whether it be Gollum or Caesar. It's a shame that he's so far down the cast list on Internet Movie Database, really. He not only stole the show, but he really was the main actor in the movie. He's fabulous. There was one specific scene where Caesar is communicating to his fellow monkeys without any words or subtitles and it's beautiful. When an actor doesn't need words to keep an audience engaged, that's when you know he's among the great. Andy Serkis was much of the reason I went to see this movie, and he is very much the reason I fell in love with this movie walking out. Like Boris Karloff, Serkis brings life to his characters that are not necessarily human; A monster-actor like no other*.

If my rambles about Andy Serkis don't convince you to got out and see this movie, then please go see it for the quality. It's beautiful, it's wondrous, and it's ever so fabulous. The story is so well paced, the movie is edited so well, and I really want to go out and see this movie again before it leaves theaters. This movie does not fall short on writing. Do not miss this greatness on screen please :).

* My friend Tasha inspired this line by telling me about an article she read on Andy Serkis a few weeks ago :)