Rupert Wyatt
2011
Grade: B-
I remember being pleasantly surprised the first time I saw this movie in the theater, and I’m glad to say that the experience holds here. I had been a fan of both the original 1968 film and the novel before Tim Burton’s perhaps overly maligned attempted reboot in 2001, so my expectations were measured going into this one to say the least.
There is inherently some danger in going back to the foundations of a beloved story and writing the events that lead up to it. The danger of contradictions, paradoxes, and most of all of failing to live up to the expectations set by the original must have been a constant companion for the production crew. However, even though I prefer to judge a work on its own merits rather than in the context of other films and filmmakers, I can honestly say that I enjoyed all the effort the writers went through to fit this piece into the larger narrative.
Normally I’d not spend much time on a discussion of special effects, but in this instance they are tied directly to one of the film’s most masterful traits, namely the performance of Andy Serkis as Caesar. Beyond being a pioneer in this form of acting, Serkis is still the standard by which motion capture performance is judged. The CGI allows for a complete transformation into the movement and physicality of a chimpanzee without masking the subtleties of the work Serkis does with his eyes. Sympathetic, joyous, frustrated, confused, wrathful, this performance is powerful yet subtle and done almost entirely without the aid of dialogue. The supporting roles are performed well in the main with John Lithgow’s portrayal of Will Rodman’s(James Franco) Alzheimer’s riddled father deserving special mention.
The plot, which could have easily devolved into a bad science turns into global catastrophe trope, focuses on the treatment and evolution of Caesar and allows the understated and unintended consequences of humanity’s scientific hubris to run quietly in the background. This does cause thematic problems for the larger narrative, but that is rather an issue for the series and less for the individual work.
The action sequences are exciting and well paced with the sheer power of the apes being prominently displayed. The outstanding sound design adds real weight and substance to the apes’ interactions with their environment such that a silverback gorilla throwing a parking meter into an oncoming police cruiser feels more tangible than it has any right to.
The film does struggle from occasional two-dimensionality in some of its supporting characters and a plot that is overly conscious of the metanarrative. Tom Felton stays on brand as an irredeemable bully who finds joy in tormenting animals and is simultaneously too foolish to realize the danger in confronting an adult male chimpanzee. This can be forgiven as the film clearly plans nothing more from his character than the catharsis of watching him get electrocuted in the height of his malice and stupidity. Similarly, David Oyelowo is tasked with giving life to a character concerned with nothing beyond the accumulation of wealth at whatever cost. These are minor nuisances that nonetheless serve a narrative purpose whereas the overall plot struggles to find its own direction as it works to be the foundation of a larger story.
Ostensibly, the goal of the film is to show the awakening of the apes, Caesar’s rise to power, and his Moses-like orchestration of the exodus of the apes of San Francisco. However, even if the viewer is completely ignorant of the metanarrative, it’s impossible not to see this story as the foundation of something larger. Even the outstanding climax of the film, with the apes making a daring escape across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, doesn’t feel like the culmination of the narrative. The clearest sign of this is when the credits roll and the animation shows the spread of the newly created virus.
Though it is perhaps unfair to this individual work, I think a moment to explore the thematic challenges this work makes to the series to which it belongs will not go amiss. Ever since Charleton Heston’s iconic declaration, “You maniacs! You blew it up!”(Planet of the Apes 1968) the implication has been that human pride, greed, lust for power, and hubris caused the downfall of humanity and allowed the dominant rise of the apes on this planet. This theme is complicated by casting Will Rodman(James Franco) as the instrument of the downfall of humanity. Rodman is altruistic, kind, and motivated by a genuine desire to cure the debilitating affliction that is killing his father. This turns the inevitable fall of humanity as a result of its moral failings into a tragic accident born of the best of intentions. Rodman can be criticized for the manner but never the goal. This leads to a much milder condemnation of humanity.
Overall, the film is enjoyable from start to finish with a lead performance of the highest quality. It faithfully sets the groundwork for the classic story even though it’s under no real obligation to do so. Well worth a watch.
Kommentare