Where the original plot involves a disease that severely hurts the dog and cat population and has humans turning to trained apes as their pets, here a possible cure for Alzheimer's gets transmitted from a mother ape to a child ape, and instead of having damaged brain cells repaired, new ones are generated, increasing the mental capabilities of the subject. In this case, the child ape ends up in the care of the genetic researcher responsible for the cure, and is raised in secret in order to protect the young primate's life.
Will Rodman (James Franco, 127 Hours, the Spider-Man movies) is that geneticist, and his father's worsening disease is what motivates Rodman to find a cure. When a mishap in the lab leads to the chemical's funding being scrubbed and the ape test-subjects being destroyed, he realizes that the shining star in his project, an ape named Bright Eyes, was hiding a baby. Unable to actually "scrub" the infant chimpanzee, he brings it home only to realize just how remarkable this particular ape is.
Rodman also takes it upon himself to steal some of the drug and administer it to his father (played by John Lithgow). As the years pass by, not only does the Charles Rodman's health improve drastically, but the little ape, Caesar (Andy Serkis, Gollum of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) grows more human-like. In that time, Will also meets a zoo veterinarian who specializes in apes and he and Caroline (Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire) hit it off immediately.
One day though, Caesar leaves his home in order to protect Charles, whose illness starts to return. With the secret out, Will is forced to send his son/pet/friend to a primate shelter run by John Landon (Brian Cox, the Bourne Trilogy) and his son Dodge (Tom Felton, the Harry Potter films). While the father is merely the warden of the prison-like habitat, Dodge's cruel nature and mean spirit sends Caesar in a new direction. When Will explains that he can't take Caesar home, the smart ape begins to work on a plan of his own. First, he wins dominance over the collection of primates in the house, and next, he breaks into Will's workplace and steals the drug that made him what he is, only this time, it is in air-release form and it works much faster. By the time Caesar makes his defiant stance against Dodge's cruelty, the film is a non-stop rush to the finish as apes from all along the San Francisco area are turned over to Caesar's side and they seek their freedom.
From beginning to end, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a great ride. The characters are strong, the story is compelling and, from what I've been able to gather, it is enjoyable both by fans and non-fans of the franchise. Of course, there are plenty of tidbits scattered throughout the film for those who are fans. Not only are there elements in Rise that heark back to the story told in the original films, but everything from the Icarus ship launch, to the names of apes is just extra goodness for those with the knowledge to pick them up.
To top it all off, the special effects are top notch. The apes themselves look great, and while there are times when you can tell they are CG, everything from the skin texture to the hair looks right. This, coupled with the excellent acting of Serkis as Caesar, just brings the animals to life and makes the film so much better. Of course, these special effects played in HD on Blu-ray don't hurt at all. Both high quality visuals and surround sound really sell the experience.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is packed with special features as well. Anyone with even the slightest interest in visual effects or motion capture will want to dig into these featurettes. Not only is there one on Serkis himself and how he portrays the central character, but there is one on the new mo-cap technology used in Rise, one on the CG of the apes and another on the training the ape stand-ins went through in order to move like their primate counterparts.
There is another featurette on the original film series and how Rise fits in and a documentary about the species of apes featured in the film. Rise also has an interview with composer Patrick Doyle, deleted scenes and concept art for several of the main characters.
In my opinion, not only is Rise of the Planet of the Apes a must see, but the BD version is so good looking and full of so many extras that it is a must buy.
