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Created Sep 10, 2012 06:06PM PST • Edited Sep 10, 2012 06:06PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   Allow me to start this review off with a brief history and how low my expectations were for this film before i had finally seen it. The “Planet of the apes” series is hit or miss (to say the least), and our last foray into the franchise was in 2001 with tim burton’s remake…that was subpar. Perhaps even bad. That seriously depends upon the individual, but the taste in the mouth of this reviewer was sour. A prequel? An origin story? A less tested cast? Presumably a smaller budget? The one thing blowing my mind was the motion capture by andy serkis. My expectations were not high for this. Perhaps that was the best way to watch this because WOW! Every frame is so very graphic, real, and emotional while also showing you the badass “Apes” movie we all knew lurked beneath the surface. Could it he the best of the series? Once again up to the individual? But this film is powerful, moving, and endlessly watchable.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   the cast for the film is surprisingly small, with the major players being andy serkis (caesar), james franco ( will rodman), freida pinto ( caroline aranha), john lithgow (charles rodman), brian cox (john landon), and tom melton (dodge landon). To compliment andy serkis on his work as caesar is going to be an understatement no matter how i try; lets simply say that its a revelation and the man deserves every accolade he earned or will earn. James franco, as good as he is, can be hit or miss on occasion. Well he hit this out of the park. The scenes with his father (john lithgow) are heartbreaking in every way, the scenes with freida pinto are playful and sad at the same time, and his scemes with caesar are simply moving. Add brian cox as the heavy and tom melton as his spoiled and morally sick son Dodge and you have a wonderful cast making wonderful movie magic.

5. Male Stars Awful 0.0

6. Female Stars Awful 0.0

7. Female Costars Awful 0.0

8. Male Costars Awful 0.0

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    To start: having never heard of rupert wyatt before this film, i was above impressed and am quite happy to hear Fox has him locked in for the sequel. The man has revived a dormant franchise. We care about the apes again! WETA labs and their groundbreaking special effects (lord of the rings, king kong) create a world believable beyond anything i imagined from motion capture apes (coulda learned my lesson from king kong i suppose) and coupling it with the motion capture worl on display, you find yourself watching magic on the screen.

11. Direction Awful 0.0

12. Play Awful 0.0

13. Music Awful 0.0

14. Visuals Awful 0.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.1

    This movie has its share of violence, man against man, man against animal, and animal against animal, for its rating it pulls little punch, making the emotional connection to the scenes more haunting and vicious. The movie also contains numerous adult themes and wrenching moments that may be hard for younger audiences to fully grasp. As much as i would love to say that it a film that any audience member cam and should enjoy, i would also add that as a parent, ill be waiting until my children are Much older before putting this movie into the player.

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Brutal 3.3

19. Rudeness Salty 2.2

21. Reality

    Surreal 2.8

    its the most realistic planet of the apes movie yet! Haha, ok that seems a bit backhanded, but it is true. The film takes place in the present day, uses present technology and ideals, and gives us a recognizeable world that is simultaneously easy to understand and feel integrated within. That being said, it is a movie about hyperintelligent apes leading the charge and overthrowing humanity and taking over the modern world. While a possible dystopian scenario one day (good lord i hope not), the conceit is also a work of fiction, and not feasible in the moment, and is in that a nice consolation when looking at a world that seems all too possible and real upon the screen.

22. Circumstantial Surreal 2.7

23. Biological Glib 1.6

24. Physical Surreal 2.2