I think this could be great. I hope it isn't as hopelessly retarded as every Apes movie since 1972.
I have always loved the orginal, admired "Beneath..." for its apocalyptic vision, and absolutely fucking hated "Escape...," "Conquest...," and "Battle..."
And don't get me started on Tim Burton's "Spoof of the Planet of the Apes."
This one could restart the entire series on a much stronger note, much like the new Star Trek did.
Joined: 26 May 2005 Posts: 1968 Location: Progress City
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 1:27 pm Post subject:
Well, that's a complex question Mr. Mazza. The short version, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, and hippies ruining the late 60's.
Still, thanks to all for posting and for the clip! I for one agree with Bandersnatch on the quality decline of the Apes films. I really enjoyed the design imagery from Burton's flick, but the movie itself, not so much.
Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 1930 Location: Toronto, Canada
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 1:37 pm Post subject:
Looks like it could be good.
Still, I hate to see the terribly overused "Rise of" in the title. I know studio suits get the last word on movie titles in a lot of cases, but it's so lazy that it bothers me to holy hell.
So how do these damn dirty apes overcome ICBM's and submarines and stealth attack fighter jets and Chuck Norris? Also, where's the Sci-Fi at? I seem to remember an astronaut and traveling through time and a buried statue of liberty and mind-fuck stuff like that. This is boring "let's make it REAL" typical crap that has RUINED movies over the past decade.
Joined: 26 May 2005 Posts: 1968 Location: Progress City
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 11:50 pm Post subject:
Oh, I agree it seems much less heady sci-fi than the 'Apes' series ought to be. I'm thinking just the monkey-action aspect makes it look interesting. Ripping peoples arms off and shit. I dont expect it to satisfy the crowd that hoped it was going to pose interesting hypotheticals like the original series.
A 'must-see' as in on the internet. Or if it hits the redbox for a dollar someday. Or if my A/C breaks in my house a week or two after it's been out. Or I have a day off and nothing better to do, and I can find some cheap weekday showing. That kind of 'must-see'. If you good people tell me it sucks prior to that tho', I might just mow the lawn instead. Fyi.
Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 69 Location: The Netherlands
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 2:02 pm Post subject:
I think this movie is going to be a statement , like Roots back in the seventies for example, not comparing apes to people, I'm black myself, but I think the statement is about cruelty to animals.Seeing the animals fight back for once.
The difference between old "Planet of the Apes" Icon and this movie I think is the Apes are being portrayed as real animals , not so much as human-like characters, that's why I want to go see this movie.
The Anger of the beast dealing with the "Human Virus" (a bit like Hugo Weaving stated in The Matrix )
I'll call it here before it leaks. The big twist / reveal at the end will be Ceasar speaking. He'll say something like, "Rr...rra.....RISE!" to the other apes as they hoot and hollar over thousands of people dropping dead from some killer virus that we accidently released onto ourselves. zoom and pan out over apes going "apeshit" and roll credits.
Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 1930 Location: Toronto, Canada
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:40 am Post subject:
Saw it tonight (I see a lot of movies opening night) and it's great. It's neck and neck with X:FC as the best movie of the summer for me.
Quick thoughts:
- Andy Serkis should be nominated for an award - be it Best Supporting Actor or whatever (even though Caesar is the main protagonist, not James Franco) - he's that good. I'm putting my foot down: it's the best performance from a digital character out there.
- As for its connection to the other "Apes" movies, it has some easter eggs thrown in but it's certainly a re-imagining of "how it all went down." The original series made shit up as it went along anyway (literally, the movies became made from pieces of shit), so I don't think this is sacrilegious. This way makes more logical sense and is grounded in the socio-political concerns of our time (i.e. we're less concerned with nuclear annihilation than we are by deadly disease).
- Caesar's line at the end of the movie was classic movie magic, I felt.
- James Franco could have been any competent actor in Hollywood and it wouldn't have made a difference. None of the human characters are interesting at all and none have any depth since their only use is to drive the plot forward. The movie is Caesar's.
- I had to take the biggest piss of all time and missed the line "get your paws off me you damned dirty ape" and Caesar's response, which was "NO!"
- I think I want to see more of Caesar and where the story goes from here, but much like X-Men I think we've seen those movies before. They won't be as interesting because this Apes movie tells an original tale. The next step is "the human population gradually dies from an outbreak of this horrible disease and Caesar lays the foundation for an Ape society?" How many times can we watch human on CGI Ape action? If the Transformers series has taught us anything it's that once we experience the shock and awe of a new technology breakthrough in an original story, the trick gets old fast unless the subsequent efforts features a WHOLE LOT of the good stuff in the story department. I don't know if Apes can deliver another one like this.
- Andy Serkis should be nominated for an award - be it Best Supporting Actor or whatever (even though Caesar is the main protagonist, not James Franco) - he's that good. I'm putting my foot down: it's the best performance from a digital character out there.
Totally agree there. I loved this film. It's the best "Apes" movie in 40 years. I loved that they took their time setting everything up, and didn't just cut to the chase, as in for example the Jurassic Park sequels. Everything seemed to move along very smoothly and logically. I don't quite get what "plot holes" some critics have been quick to point out. All of the "human" performances were fine for what was needed in this story. My only criticism is James Franco. He's ok really, but he could use a little facial motion-capture enhancement himself.
A few of the homages to the earlier films that I noticed right away -
-Malfoy Boy has at least 2 lines of dialogue that mirror Heston - "Get your stinkin' paws off me..." and "IT'S A MADHOUSE!!"
-The other guy who works in the Ape Sanctuary is watching a Heston film on TV (possibly his performance as John the Baptist in "The Greatest Story Ever Told?")
-The big Orangutan is named Maurice. Maurice Evens played Dr.Zaius in the original.
-There is an ape named "Cornelia." "Cornelius" was Roddy McDowell's character in the originals.
-Caesar's mom is called "Bright Eyes," which is what Zira calls Taylor when she first sees him.
-Caesar is playing with a model of the Statue of Liberty at one point.
-Although I have always hated "Escape," "Conquest" and "Battle," I did like the fact that something Zira talks about in "Escape" is that according to Ape History, the great Caesar said "No" to his "master," which is depicted in this story.
Other references -
-The ending airport scene during the closing credits reminded me of "12 Monkeys."
-A couple of the apes start to fight over the watering hole in the Ape Sanctuary. There's a brief shot that is almost identical to one of the Dawn of Man scenes in "2001 - A Space Odyssey."
I can't wait to see what they do with the next Apes movie!
Joined: 20 Apr 2004 Posts: 464 Location: Southern California
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 7:29 pm Post subject:
I liked the flick a lot. Hope it holds up over multiple viewings because this is something I'll definitely be picking up on Blu-ray.
Just to add to the references pile, I thought the scene where Caesar fails to break the bundle of three sticks to illustrate to Maurice the idea of strength in numbers was a nice little nod to Kurosawa's "Ran," an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear.
...a nice little nod to Kurosawa's "Ran," an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear.
Ooh! Nice catch! I never thought of that.
Also, the "Icarus" spaceship that gets "Lost in Space" on it's way to Mars is of course a tie in to the first PotA, and apparently the name "George Taylor" is in the newspaper article.
Joined: 26 May 2005 Posts: 1968 Location: Progress City
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 8:32 pm Post subject:
Watched this yesterday. Really awesome flick! Satisfying ending. And as Cogro stated above, the last line from Caeser was movie magic.
I have been thinking, of the reviews I've seen that said the human characters weren't 'fleshed out' enough. Wtf? Having seen it, I'm left to wonder, what more do you want of them here? This story is about the monkey. And it's a story worth ignoring the human characters nuances to get to where it goes. I understood them enough to fit them into the story I was shown, so who cares? It wasn't 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the Touching Evolution of Humanity Among The Humans Who Were There For It' was it? Cuz that sounds like butt.
Really does make one curious where they will go from here with it.
Joined: 20 Apr 2004 Posts: 464 Location: Southern California
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 12:57 am Post subject:
Bandersnatch wrote:
Also, the "Icarus" spaceship that gets "Lost in Space" on it's way to Mars is of course a tie in to the first PotA, and apparently the name "George Taylor" is in the newspaper article.
I totally missed that on first viewing, a buddy of mine had to point that out to me after the movie let out.
I'm definitely with the consensus here-I really want to see a sequel to this flick. I guess the next logical place for the series to go after "Rise" is to detail the fall of man and the building of an ape society. I've never read the original Pierre Bouelle novel but I've heard the apes were actually depicted as a fairly advanced civilization. Kinda wish we could see that in the next flick (or later) but I have a feeling they're going to hew pretty closely to the classic series (not that that's a bad thing).
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