This post began as a reply to a comment a good friend and family member posted to my Google+ post about me thinking Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a smart sci-fi.  I’ve only done some light editing to preserve my reaction.

The reason I see this as a smart sci-fi (and mind I’m critiquing this more as a science fiction story, less as film), is… well, for a couple reasons.  This movie had four other films and stories to work with.  Mind, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen the originals, but the Walhberg experience just needs to be forgotten.  So what did ‘Rise’ do?  Instead of being just another Planet of the Apes movie, it became the set up that we never saw in the rest of the films.  That’s all this movie is, set up.  There’s pay off within the film, but for the entire franchise, it’s just rising action.

That plays into another reason it was smart, because it didn’t try to be a movie where you got a lot of pay off.  Most movie goers went in expecting to see how the apes took over.  But that’s not this movie.  This movie is about the ancestors of all the apes from all the other movies.  How’d they get so smart, where did their hierarchal system come from?  And instead of trying to show it from a human perspective, it tried to do it from the apes.  Sure, this proved to have some very cheap moments, like Caesar communicating with the orangutan. But how else are we going to see apes interact without speaking english?  It was handled as good as we’re going to see it in my opinion.

Another aspect is probably the most important question a movie goer could have had.  How do a handful of smart apes, not get wiped out by 6 billion humans?  If we think about it, that’s the real story of how the Planet of the Apes came about.  And is probably the most driving story arc for the entire franchise.   So, what did these film makers do?  They moved it to a completely subtextual realm without any real verbal element.  Brilliant!  Absolutely brilliant!  The main characters were kept in the complete dark about what was going on in that arc, keeping them on track with the story this movie was telling.  Even with very obvious camera work and hints sprinkled throughout the movie, it was never a daunting idea that mixed with who we, the audience, were supposed to care about.  They could have tried shoving in this very major plot element to run along side the (arguably) less important story of the apes getting smart and breaking out.  But then it would have felt too busy, too full, and the movie would have been too long.  Or instead, shove the Caesar story to the back burner, making mans fall the main point.  Then it becomes less about the rise of a planet dominated by apes, and one about humans losing control.

The idea of using biotechnology wasn’t harped on, we’re all familiar with the idea of playing around with genes, virus, etc.  It wasn’t hammered out, it was only talked about as much as it needed to be.  No more, no less.  That was another strike of simplicity in one area, so focus be kept on another.  They took what movie goers already (hopefully) know about the dangers of “playing god” and let them put two and two together.  There was very little hand holding in this movie, than I’ve experienced in other.  Think of Will Smiths I Am Legend and its beginning/flashbacks.  That was another smart, minimalist use of the biotech “fear factor.”

A relationship that could have been handled better, but sufficed for what it was.

So really, this is a great movie.  It takes a very broad idea, and moves it down to where it’s being told by the characters that matter.  Their responses, actions and emotions might feel out of place at occasional moments in the film, and certainly there are some obvious script missteps (last scene with Caesar and Franco anyone?).  As a film, yes, it certainly has failings.  The Caesar characters motivations were not well defined throughout most of the movie.  For some reason, this didn’t bother me, despite having thought it at multiple intervals whilst watching the film.  The acting, yeah, not the greatest.  Even though 127 Hours proved James Franco to be a great actor.  I’m going to have to blame the director on that end.

But in all, this was a win as far as science fiction goes.  It’s focus on character, subtext, and the treatment of the fall of man was a perfect mix to make something quite different.  This isn’t a very complex film, but it has a dash of subtlety that makes it good science fiction.