Reboots and remakes can be a wonderful thing. Star trek (reboot) reignited my love of Star Trek and The Hills Have Eyes(06) is one of my all time favorite movies. When Planet of the Apes was getting there shot, I was skeptical. I wasn’t a fan of the original series and well, my first foray into the series was Tim Burton’s remake so…yeah. I was pretty stunned afterwords.
A scientist is testing an Alzheimer’s cure on chimps for a multi- billion dollar company; one of the test chimps was pregnant and birth an adorable baby chimp. Will, one of the main scientists, takes the baby chimp home and raises him as his own. The chimp named Caesar is not like a normal monkey, his intelligence is well beyond that of a normal chimp. The happy life Caesar leads doesn’t last forever; he’s taken back by the company and it’s there that Caesar learns the cruelty of man, and its then that Caesar spreads his gifts to the other apes and they break free…
Nothing about this movie feels goofy like the others that came before it. The CGI and motion capture work is beyond recognition combined with effort of the actors making the apes amazingly lifelike. Andy Serkis is outstanding as Caesar. The plot maybe streamlined but there’s a ton of heart to carry the movie. I must say though, the after credit scene is vital to the series so definitely stay tuned until the very end. I love the emphasis on remaining a grounded drama first and sci-fi movie second. It’s a great first chapter to an awesome trilogy and I highly recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
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