Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

In San Francisco, Will Rodman is a scientist who is looking to find a gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease, at the Gen-Sys lab. All the research is done on apes. Bright Eyes is one such ape which gets injected with the drug ALZ-112 (which is a modified virus) but, gets killed unfortunately while protecting her baby. Will takes the baby chimp home and names it Caesar. Will also tries this drug on his ill dad but, not with long lasting results.

The drug is passed on to Caesar through his mother and he is hyper intelligent and much more capable than humans. He doesn't like to be treated as a mere pet. Beyond a point, he is not tolerated by the neighborhood and he is sent to a Primate Sanctuary where there are several other apes. They are cruelly treated.

Meanwhile, testing on a new drug ALZ-113 is under way at Gen-Sys, headed by Will. The chimp handler Franklin is killed by this virus which is fatal for humans but is very potent on chimps.

After a point, Caesar takes control there due to his obvious superiority and he also manages to get the new drug passed on to the other apes as well. Now, the apes go on a rampage led by Caesar. They go to the Gen-Sys lab and destroy everything. Finally, they move to the Redwoods State Park beyond the Golden Gate bridge and make it their home. They destroy whatever force that comes against them and also make sure that the greedy proprietor of Gen-Sys, Jacobs is killed.

The movie ends with the premise of a sequel as ALZ-113 spreads all over the world reducing human population and making the world truly a haven for apes.

Hits

• Amazing performance capture again, for the apes. Andy Serkis does the honors for Caesar. 
• The visual effects particularly in the final Golden Gate sequence when the apes go on a rampage, is very ambitious though it is very evident in few places. When Caesar flies from one place to the other and in the trees at Redwood as a young baby, it makes one emotional. 
• The music of Patrick Doyle is Hans Zimmer like. It adds to the edge-of-the-seat and thrilling action. 
• Movies on genetic drugs and viruses are always appealing. 

Comments

• The actual actors don't have much work. The handsome James Franco and the petite Freida Pinto make a very good pair. John Lithgow as Will's father is the only human with some scope for acting and he does very well. 

VERDICT

Typical blockbuster Hollywood action where apes are in a much higher league compared to humans.