[movie]Rise of the Planet of the Apes

[Bullwinkle]

Saw it today and loved it.

Any techno-griping made in the spoilers goes out the window in the face of the holy-shittedness of the moment.  That was a chilling, awesome moment (in all sense of the word awesome) as evidenced by Draco Malfoy's reaction, too.  Like Hep, I totally sat upright with a chill down my spine.  Completely worth the mild suspension of disbelief required.

Spoiler for Hiden:

And the sentence at the "end" was less complex than the "example" "given". But, yes, that was more for a resolution with the characters and a bit more of a stretch.

[Mr. Fed]

The wife and I saw it.  We liked it.  I was surprised, as it's really not her type of movie.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I admired the light touch they used in setting up sequels with the bit about the Mars mission, and its apparent failure, in the background.

[Bullwinkle]

The wife and I saw it.  We liked it.  I was surprised, as it's really not her type of movie.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I admired the light touch they used in setting up sequels with the bit about the Mars mission, and its apparent failure, in the background.

That was one of my favorite details as well.

[Blackjack]

Then I realized something.

It's fiction.

Once it hit me that none of this was actually real, I could sit back and enjoy the film.  

 

That's b.s. and you know it. Even within the world of fiction there are certain rules set forth. If Caesar had started flying and shooting lasers from his eyes would you say "Oh, that's some neat fiction".

No, but damn! If Caesar did that, I would've run out and seen the movie opening day!  

Seriously, I have read enough general positivity here that I promise I'll try to get out and see this at some point (along with Fright Night). I had pretty much thrown poo at it, so to speak...

[PR_GMR]

Watched it last night and thought it was terrific. It exceeded my expectations. A very smart sci-fi thriller. Andy Serkis as Caesar was basically the show. He definetely humanized that character. The CGI action sequences at the end were great also. Also liked how they tied the movie to the original 'Planet Of The Apes'. There are only two passing references--and if you blinked you missed them--but they do tie it up so well. If they make a sequel of this caliber, I'll be there!  

Spoiler for Hiden:

Loved that 'Holy Shit!' moment when Caesar finally speaks and says 'No!'. Very well played!

[metallicorphan]

finally got round to seeing this tonight,it was planned to see it tonight so all week i have watched the first 5 movies(didn't get round to re-watching Tim Burtons movie)

The problem with the earlier films,especially Conquest or Battle that the fight scenes were pretty much 20 apes Vs 20 Humans(low budget),so it was always a stretch that something like that could lead to world dominance by the Apes

so i am glad that this time they worked in a

Spoiler for Hiden:

Virus

and i love how they did at least acknowledge the original films as well,and not just THAT line

Spoiler for Hiden:

in the originals,Cats and Dogs all died out and Man wanted something to replace them as pets,they chose Apes but after awhile they were being used more as slaves than pets,and The Apes of the future talk of the original Ape who rebelled with one word,and that word was "NO"

Tom Feltons(Draco Malfoy) iconic Charlton Heston line was a tad corny,but i still loved it

[Bullwinkle]

They actually had a couple of iconic lines in there.

[Bullwinkle]

Sequel is on

Serkis and the director are on board.

[CeeKay]

just saw this tonight;  not too shabby.  interested in where they are going to go with the sequel.

[Roman]

agreed - re-watched with my wife last week and really enjoyed it.
Loved the part with the news bit about the lost Mars space probe......

[hepcat]

just saw this tonight;  not too shabby.  interested in where they are going to go with the sequel.

From what I've heard, they're going to add in the story of the original x-men as teenagers during the 60's.

[Ironrod]

I saw it a couple of nights ago. Thought it was well-done overall, aside from a few over-the-top scenes and some marginal CG. I especially enjoyed the references to the old POTA movies. Caesar's radicalization in the primate facility was especially good.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Saw this last night and maybe I'm just a curmudgeon but I thought the movie was terrible. The premise was fine, but once Caesar gets to the sanctuary it just all goes to hell. The chimp behavior, even before the virus, was completely unrealistic. And every primate has the same hand signal for submissiveness? I will admit that I may be looking at it with too critical an eye, however, since animal behavior is what I study.

More importantly, though, some parts make absolutely no sense. A couple of examples:

 

Spoiler for Hiden:

Caesar can get on the roof of the sanctuary from a pulley that's placed within the chimp pathways that opens the window? Not a smart design.

How was it that as soon as they free the chimps and apes from the zoo, those animals are all suddenly just as smart as the rest of them (as is evidenced from the apes using the bus as a barricade when only one ape was given the virus)?

Finally, the ending was ridiculous. So these chimps have just escaped to the woods by outsmarting and killing scores of humans. But 1) James Franco still wants to take him home and 2) when Caesar says he is home, he just shrugs his shoulders and just walks away? Uh, maybe leaving these murderous primates alone isn't the best idea in the world?

I will grant that the CGI was generally well done and, even though I thought the movie was horrible, it certainly wasn't boring. So that's something.

[hepcat]

So you weren't bored but thought it was a horrible movie?  Well, that makes perfect sense.   

[Ralph-Wiggum]

So you weren't bored but thought it was a horrible movie?  Well, that makes perfect sense.   

Movies don't have to be boring to be terrible, although boring movies usually are terrible. There are all sorts of reasons that can make a movie bad.

[Devil]

I agree with Ralph AND was bored.

I was looking forward to finally seeing it and thought it sucked for a million reasons.

Really disappointed. 

[hepcat]

To each their own, I suppose.  I enjoyed it quite a lot and am looking forward to the sequel.

[rickfc]

To each their own, I suppose.  I enjoyed it quite a lot and am looking forward to the sequel.

this.

[hepcat]

I will say that if at any point in the sequel, Caesar starts flying and shooting lasers from his eyes, I will leap from my seat and yell out, "THIS FILM HAS GONE TO 11!"

[Bullwinkle]

To each their own, I suppose.  I enjoyed it quite a lot and am looking forward to the sequel.

this.

I'm in this boat, too.

Not sure why Devil didn't like it, but I will say it sounds like Ralph never should have come anywhere near this movie, given his background.  You remind me of when my dad, who was a lawyer, went to see The Untouchables, and when the courtroom scene at the end happened, he threw up his hands and said, "That would never happen!  This movie's terrible."

[Ralph-Wiggum]

To each their own, I suppose.  I enjoyed it quite a lot and am looking forward to the sequel.

this.

I'm in this boat, too.

Not sure why Devil didn't like it, but I will say it sounds like Ralph never should have come anywhere near this movie, given his background.  You remind me of when my dad, who was a lawyer, went to see The Untouchables, and when the courtroom scene at the end happened, he threw up his hands and said, "That would never happen!  This movie's terrible."

Perhaps so. Throughout the movie I kept wondering what Jane Goodall would think.

[hepcat]

Perhaps so. Throughout the movie I kept wondering what Jane Goodall would think.

Probably "What, no flying and lasers!?!?"

[rickfc]

To each their own, I suppose.  I enjoyed it quite a lot and am looking forward to the sequel.

this.

I'm in this boat, too.

Not sure why Devil didn't like it, but I will say it sounds like Ralph never should have come anywhere near this movie, given his background.  You remind me of when my dad, who was a lawyer, went to see The Untouchables, and when the courtroom scene at the end happened, he threw up his hands and said, "That would never happen!  This movie's terrible."

Perhaps so. Throughout the movie I kept wondering what Jane Goodall would think.

I understand to a point, but it's also a movie about intelligent apes taking over the world. I didn't go in expecting a nature documentary about real-world behavior of chimps, much like I don't expect hacking and/or computer programming to be depicted accurately on screen.

Suspension of disbelief and whatnot.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

No doubt. And most of my behavior problems with the movie didn't come from after the chimps were smartified; it was in their behavior beforehand. Like that damn orangutan, when asked why he was so smart - "I was raised in a circus". Ugh.

But I think you guys are missing the forest for the trees in my criticisms; I thought the behavior stuff was bad, but that wasn't my main concerns. My bigger issues were the ridiculous plots points I listed in the spoiler section. And I didn't even list half of my issues. Really, the last 40 minutes of the movie was just a mess.

[hepcat]

I have no issue with you disliking the film, everyone has their own tastes and far be it from me to tell someone they're wrong; but since you pointed to them, the complaints you list above are more in the category of nitpicking (the pulley), or easily explained (chimps and apes became smarter after Caesar exposed them to the virus in gas form as he did with the others in the sanctuary.  I believe it was implied by the scene in the sanctuary in which he did just that.  And they weren't super intelligent.  It doesn't take Stephen Hawkings to know what cover is and how to make one from a solid object).  As for Franco's scene with Caesar at the end, look back on the numerous parents of incarcerated people out there that still love their children in spite of their criminal behavior....no matter how heinous.  And Caesar was guilty primarily of trying to stop the abuse of his fellow primates.  Something that a human might find themselves capable of empathizing with.  It's not like they were moving into the city to destroy all humans.  They were trying to escape from them.

[Bullwinkle]

Also, I would say if you're already seeing the movie with a skeptical eye, you're less likely to be swept up by the story and suspend that disbelief.

Alternately, if you're my father, an ending that doesn't jibe with your very specific real world experience can make you turn a skeptical and negative eye to a movie you had been enjoying up to that point.

Of course, this is the same man who didn't enjoy Schindler's List because he thought it was cliched...