Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)
Directed by: Rupert Wyatt
Rebooting the series from the late 60s, Rupert Wyatt’s movie is very well done. Scientist Will (James Franco) is seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s for his bio-tech employer, but also for his afflicted father, played by John Lithgow. Will takes home a baby chimp when its mother is destroyed after a trial of a promising viral drug seems to have gone wrong. But the drug works, and young Caesar grows up to be smarter than his human family. The drug seems to work on humans, too, initially giving Will’s dad more than just respite from the illness. However, he later develops a resistance to the drug, his dementia returns, and when he gets into a fight with a neighbour whose car he has trashed, Caesar intervenes violently. Locked away in a brutally-run simian centre, Caesar goes through fear and depression and then finally anger, and begins to organise his fellow captives. Read more
