It's actually quite good, and better than I was expecting, considering the dodgy trailers.

Where the film succeeds most, I think, is in the portrayal of the apes, specifically Caesar, who is by far the most fully realized and three-dimensional character in the film. If we didn't already know what Serkis was capable of, it'd be an astounding performance, made even moreso by the (almost) complete lack of dialogue and subsequent emphasis on facial expressions and body movements. In fact, it's the scenes between apes, in which thoughts and feelings and plot developments are communicated completely non-verbally (except for a bit of goofy subtitled sign language, which admittedly made me laugh), that are the true standouts. It's a rather amazing combination of performance and special effect, turning these apes into fleshed-out individuals. A somewhat clichéd death scene, which would be fairly unmemorable in any other film, is perhaps the most moving moment of the entire thing. And it's entirely because of the motion-capture effects. This is what Avatar was meant to be like.

Unfortunately, the human bits of the film drag it down, perhaps appropriate considering the subject matter. The lab stuff is pretty standard sci-fi nonsense, though thankfully the film doesn't dwell too much on it. The homelife scenes work, mostly due to Lithgow and Caesar, but they're clearly just a placeholder for later events. Most of the human actors don't add much: Franco doesn't do anything, Freida Pinto is totally meaningless, Brian Cox is a complete waste, and Tom Felton is just reduced to playing Draco Malfoy again, albeit with a slight tan and borderline American accent. If it weren't for the apes, it'd be a wash.

The big action sequence is suitably thrilling, even if it ends rather abruptly (as does the film) without much of a conclusion. I wanted more ape uprising, but there's clearly a set-up for a sequel/new franchise, which I wouldn't be opposed to. The film even explains how the apes are able to overrun the obviously technologically superior human race, economically tying it in to the very means of their increased intelligence. And there's some clever nods to the original film, which I'm always in favour of.

So yeah, I was expecting the worst, but this is an exciting and entertaining blockbuster. A great popcorn flick.

theres about 10 minutes of action.

but its a good movie.

Surprisingly one of the stronger films of the summer season. The visual effects are spectacular and Andy Serkis does an amazing job. The Golden Gate Bridge sequence is one of the better action movie moments of the year. My biggest problem with it was the very end. I wish they could have ended it on the downbeat note I thought it was headed towards, and while the ending isn't necessarily "happy," I could have done without the soaring musical score and the final line between Caeser and Franco. It came off as cheesy and unbelievable. Still though, definitely worth checking out. It's a lot of fun. B+

This was really entertaining. Caesar has become the most engaging CG character both technically and emotionally in a live-action film in quite some time. As soon as the apes escape and bring chaos to the city, it was bananas! lol Scenes beforehand in the facility were equally awesome too, I'll never get tired of animals beating the shit out of "bad" people. The final scene is a perfect set-up for a sequel, which will be huge. I haven't seen the '68 original in a long time so the only reference that I recognized was the Statue of Liberty replica which Caesar was holding in particular scene.

It still surprises me that this will end up being a more statisfying summer film than HP7 2.

B+

Good fun, could have been very good if they had gone for more realism at key moments. Too many times things were too easy and quick and coincidental and the boss was a walking (and poorly acted) deus ex machina. But definitely better than Tim Burton's Apes franchise entry, this was an entertaining trip to the movies.

So far this year I'd rank Sci Fi/Fantasy films....

Super 8
Potter 7pt2
XMen FC
Source Code
Apes
Adjustment Bureau
Transformers 3
Cowboys and Aliens

While I understand Caesar is the subject of the film, the protagonist was Franco's character for most of the movie and the writing lost sight of that towards the last half hour as he became more of a passive observer. You might say well it had to be that way given the subject but I think good writers could have found a way to make his story more interesting. The "prison" scenes, while understandable, went on forever and got boring. Also the audience laughed a number of times at unintentionally funny things including a certain developmental progress Caesar exhibited towards the end. But the movie had many good aspects and was much better than it could have been.

Where was the awesome, hospital-scene-in-The-Dark-Knight-esque shot from the trailer of Franco driving away from an exploding building?

Liked it a whole heck of a lot.

There's another shot in the trailer not in the movie: Caesar tenderly embracing a (presumably female?) ape in a lab setting. I wonder if there's a much longer cut of this movie waiting for its DVD/Blu-ray release this fall.

My review: http://www.worldofkj.com/article.php?i=368

No doubt one of the most positive surprises of the summer, Rise of the Planet of the Apes overcomes a lot of pre-release baggage to be a solidly entertaining popcorn movie. It also has more quiet moments of "humanism" at the expense of unnecessary action scenes, which I appreciated. The human actors are fine (James Franco doesn't really have to stretch his abilities here but he's competent), but it's Andy Serkis who is truly remarkable. In a just world, he would receive an Oscar nomination for this. Also, the special effects are superb. B+

This was pretty awesome. I'm really surprised.

You shouldn't be surprised, people. Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes were very good movies after all.

The original is felled by Heston's absolutely awful performance, though.

Heston's perfectly over-the-top in the original. How can you not have fun with that performance?

You did NOT just diss Charlton.

His laughably ham & cheese performance just feels too removed from what is otherwise a very solid, adventurous, paranoid sci-fi movie.

You totally went into that movie with the wrong attitude. Planet of the Apes is a giant Twilight Zone movie, and Heston's performance is perfect for it.

The whole film is OTT. From Goldsmith's atonal score to the goofy makeup to Schaffner's crazed direction (it's all about the insane zooms). Heston fits right in.

Or, what TDS said.

We should just go back to dissing Heston (RIP) for his NRA presidency.

It's actually quite amusing that end of his life hardcore right-winger Charlton Heston starred in the uber-liberal POTA.

And his only scene consisted of warning Tim Roth about the dangers of guns.

Apparently Roth was super-hesitant and reluctant to share the screen with Heston until he read the scene.

hmm, this is an odd one. As a stand alone film, its actually very engaging. As an Apes film it kind of doesn't live up to its name

But other than that minor qualm and Draco Malfoy being downright terrible in his first big Non Potter role, I really enjoyed a lot of it. I think the Apes title gave it more box office, but this is an entirely different kind of film. More like an updated Elephant Man.

B+

I don't think you need to worry about spoilers. Anyone reading reviews before they see a film is risking seeing spoilers anyway.

As to your comment about there not being enough of them. There doesn't need to be. Did you stay through the credits? There is extra footage more or less explaining how the apes take over without further war.