Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Movie Review

I was fortunate enough to go to a screening of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (the night before its wide release is still pretty early). It is directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring James Franco (of Freaks and Geeks, Spiderman, and Pineapple Express fame), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), John Lithgow (too many to name his credits but one of my faves is Third Rock from the Sun), and Tom Felton (the one and only Draco Malfoy!).

Working in the Alzheimers field, I found it to be an interesting story line based upon the present time research and new developments in Alzheimers therapy and medication. It’s far more believable that these amazingly intelligent apes stemmed from the result of animal lab testing vs. time traveling apes in the original story (Planet of the Apes movie, 1968).

Overall, the movie was well paced and kept me intrigued with the gradual growth of the main chimpanzee, Caesar. I remember watching the old Charlton Heston movie and thinking how scary it would be if our roles on this earth were reversed. Despite depicting the catalyst for the revolution (and evolution) of the apes, this movie definitely has a touch of sensitivity throughout. Go see it!!!