Rise of the Planet of the Apes

In this cautionary tale inspired by the sci-fi simian mythology created by Pierre Boulle in his bestselling 1963 novel Planet of the Apes, James Franco stars as hotshot research scientist Will Rodman—working at San Francisco's Gen-Sys laboratory—who is determined to find a cure for Alzheimer's, which afflicts his father (John Lithgow). Will's new drug, ALZ 112, looks incredibly promising, but when the chimp receiving the experimental treatment goes berserk, he's told to abandon the project. After Will discovers that the animal was just protecting her newborn, he scoops the infant up and takes it home. Years pass, during which the DNA-altered offspring—named Caesar (played by Andy Serkis in a nuanced, motion-captured performance)—demonstrates remarkable intelligence and communication skills to Will and his veterinarian girlfriend, Caroline (Freida Pinto). But Will's even stronger, brainpower-increasing serum, ALZ 113, eventually has an adverse effect on Caesar, who resents being treated as a quasi-pet and must be remanded to a primate facility run by John Landon (Brian Cox) and his son, Dodge (Tom Felton). Brutal mistreatment there leads to rebellion, as Caesar shrewdly unites his fellow prisoners for a primate uprising, ultimately battling atop the Golden Gate Bridge. Director Rupert Wyatt effectively delivers action-packed entertainment here with a pinch of social commentary. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (12 min.), “The Genius of Andy Serkis” on the star (8 min.), a “Mythology of the Apes” making-of featurette (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are two audio commentaries (the first by director Rupert Wyatt; the second by writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver), “The Great Apes” ape facts (23 min.), behind-the-scenes featurettes on “A New Generation of Apes” (10 min.), “Breaking Motion Capture Background” (9 min.), and “Composing the Score with Patrick Doyle” (8 min.), a brief scene breakdown (2 min.), a character concept art gallery, the BD-Live function, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid sci-fi thriller.] (S. Granger)