Anyone who knows me knows that I think that simians are the creepiest things ever. I cannot stand them! They freak me out! So, that being said, how can I explain Rise of the Planet of the Apes being the movie that I’ve dreamed of for years? Am I a monkey masochist?
Not really. I avoid the gorillas, chimps and other apes in the zoo. I can’t stand the smell and seeing them gives me nightmares, but… The old Planet of the Apes movies delighted me! Who knows why? I think I had a crush on Roddy McDowell even done up in that chimpanzee makeup.
When the Mark Wahlberg version came out, I had high hopes, but that movie left me flat. I watched it again recently and it still didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t that it was bad, but it just wasn’t great. Maybe I’ll review that movie and go into my reasons for my dislike sometime.
It seems I wasn’t the only one who had just “eh” feelings about that movie. It didn’t get stellar reviews or do booming box office business. It was just another very average sci-fi movie about creepy-ass talking monkeys. I figured my hopes for some kind of continuation or revitalization of my childhood favorite had died with that mediocre cinematic attempt.
Yay for Rise of the Planet of the Apes!!! Yay for taking it in a totally different direction than the rest of the movies while nodding to them with humor and respect. Yay for keeping the movie timely and for showcasing issues and concerns that affect people right now without being preachy, making it relevant to anyone in any theatre anywhere. Yay for bring an aspect of science and research into the movie and the science fiction element into it and introducing the intelligent apes without the need of space travel!
The script and story are wonderful. The acting, especially John Lithgow’s performance, is superb and understated. The CGi is grand and isn’t that what CGI is for?
The apes were realistic enough to make me shudder with revulsion (remember, they gross me out big!) but the acting and story was so good that I could overcome that repulsion and had to fight back tears a couple of times. The apes and the humans were humane.
Awesome movie! Two thumbs up from Serena! So worth the movie ticket and the price of the popcorn and bottled water!
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