GRADE: B

Yes, there are two “of thes” in the title, the film dropped in the late summer season — usually not the time for quality blockbusters — and the main character is an ape. But Rise of the Planet of the Apes works. The apes are compelling as the focus of this story and look so realistic you forget they are computer generated.  They have many discernible humanistic qualities, and the main monkey Ceasar flourishes in the spotlight. It is easy to say that this film is worth your time. It wasn’t my favorite of the year, but I would definitely classify Rise of the Planet of the Apes as a must see for a variety of reasons.

Leaving the theater I wasn’t blow away by the film, but as the week progressed I found myself stewing over favorite scenes or pieces. As I previously stated, the lead ape Caesar — fitting name for the figurehead of a revolution — wholly embodied human emotions. His growing and later diminishing relationship with Franco was the driving piece of this narrative. Caesar found himself not truly a part of the human world, but as a more intelligent ape, he didn’t fit in with his fellow apes either. This struggle made me standby Caesar even amidst the chaos him and his fellows unleash upon humankind — but frankly, by this point, most should feel the apes have been marginalized and deserve some sort of retribution.

The apes look and feel like real characters with a justifiable plight for equality. Legendary motion capture actor Andy Serkis — the man who portrayed Gollum in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the over sized ape in King Kong — again brilliantly portrayed a character without the audience ever seeing his real face. While many of you may not recognize Serkis’ work, his performances are always engrossing — have you seen Gollum before? Is his performance as Caesar Oscar worthy? Could the Academy someday nominate a motion capture Best Actor? Maybe, but not sure if 2011 is that year.

While the movie wasn’t too long at 105 minutes, the payoff towards the end was far less interesting than the setup. The apes invading civilization was fun, but the role of the main humans did not seem to shine. Of course they are just supporting characters, but they almost felt like background noise. Franco did a nice job, but the progression of the movie seemed to steal from his character. Frieda Pinto’s female lead character was absolutely benign and absent of a purpose to this film besides serving as the prototypical love interest. There were also scenes scattered throughout that did not work and left me with a sour taste in my mouth  — most of them involved Draco Malfoy, err, Tom Felton.

Overall, Rise of the Planet of the Apes may have a bad title, and look like a revamp of the spiritless Mark Wahlberg 2001 Planet of the Apes, but this 2011 chapter is a solid flick. It’s not a product of perfection, but the strong performances from the cast, the realistic apes, the substance within the pages of the script, and the concept itself make this a Summer movie that anyone should see.

What Should You Do? Apes as main characters is a tough sell, but give the film a chance to see if you can be bought.