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Created Aug 25, 2011 03:00PM PST • Edited Aug 25, 2011 03:00PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”
   —Dostoevsky

   Through the use of incredible special effects, Rise of the Planet of The Apes tells the story of Cesar, a chimp who leads other primates out of captivity and fights against oppression. While the notion of rebelling against brutal prisoner conditions isn’t new, and has been enjoyed in films such as Spartacus and Bridge on the River Kwai, Rise of the Planet of the Apes succeeds in capturing the same anti-establishment rage.

   Will (James Franco) is working on new medicine the reverses Alzheimers disease, allowing suffers to actually improve mental function. He brings home Cesar, a baby chimp who becomes part of his family, quickly bonding with Will’s father Charles (John Lithgow) who suffes from the disease himself.

   After acting out, Cesar is sent to a Primate Refuge, where he endures brutal conditions and abuse. Eventually, through the enhanced mental capacity from the medicine, Cesar is able to lead a rebellion and strike back.

   As a child, i always enjoyed the Apes movies, collecting my fair share of movie related toys. This movie is different, striking out in a new and bold direction that ensures future sequels will have the necessary foundation to build upon.

   Dostoevsky was referring to human prisons in his quote, but can’t we too judge those who abuse animals?

4. Acting

   Good 3.0

   James Franco is good, but not great, in his role as the adoptive father of Cesar. I felt he was good, but overshadowed by somewhat weak dialogue, and special effects.

   The real star was the ability to create realistic looking monkeys and apes from digital animation and special effects.

5. Male Stars Good 3.0

   Franco was good, but not great.

   John LIthgow was wonderful in his role as the elderly Dad who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Very well done.

6. Female Stars Good 3.0

   Freida Pinto was the leading female, never receiving enough character development to stand out. In fact, her role seems almost like a last minute decision. Nice, but what was the point?

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Good 3.0

   Tom Felton stood out to me in his role as an abusive animal handler.

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

    Kudos to Director Rupert Wyatt, who intentionally stayed away from rehashing the original Apes movies, and boldly layed the foundation for a new series of films. His creative integration of special effects made this effort enjoyable, and it will be interesting to see how the stroylines play out.

12. Play Good 3.0

    The film takes the time to tell the story, without minimizing anything.

13. Music Good 3.0

14. Visuals Great 4.0

    Powerful special effects make this movie, and they certainly are worthy of recognition.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.0

17. Sex Titillating 2.3

18. Violence Brutal 3.0

    Lots of fighting, death, and mayham. The violent scenes are intense, and I would not recommend taking little ones to see this film.

19. Rudeness Nasty 3.7

21. Reality

    Supernatural 3.6

22. Circumstantial Supernatural 3.7

    Yes, I suppose it could happen, but is it really likely?

23. Biological Fantasy 4.2

    I struggled a bit with the rapid progress made by those using the experimental drugs.

24. Physical Surreal 3.0

    Physical injuries appear realistic, both to chimps and humans.