Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

To be honest, I wasn't really expecting much from this movie. At one point, I even questioned if there's really a need for another installment of the franchise. But while there were certainly good parts in it, Rise of the Planet of the Apes I thought was just an okay film.

The visuals were easily the strongest part of the movie. Though a bit cartoonish in parts, I thought the overall execution of the effects were quite excellent. I was actually impressed with the fact that Ceasar's character (the ape) had nuances that were astonishingly believable and far more convincing than his human counterparts.

Yes, I found most of the actors average at best. Frieda Pinto was extremely underused, John Lithgow gave a banal performance, and Tom Felton was, well, Draco Malfoy sans the magic. Haha. James Franco, who's usually charismatic, seemed a little ordinary in his portrayal of the lead role. Was it the material he was given? Maybe.

I mean, the character development was there, but most of it fell flat and the actors were left with a limited material to work with. Also, I found the supposedly poignant scenes unmoving for some reason and that, to me, was quite problematic. To be fair, the story was solid enough if a bit silly at times.

Oh, and everything was a little lightweight and toned down in terms of violence and suspense for a film about apes taking over the world. I guess, the film was unable to generate any form of excitement throughout the movie.

Overall, Rise of the Planet of the Apes was not a bad film - far from it actually. It's a decent movie that worked best when the action scenes kicked in, which was roughly 20 minutes before the movie actually ended. Haha. Decent, but forgettable.