Usually when a movie's hyped or has a good trailer, it doesn't live up to expectations. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one that holds its own.
The movie is done very intelligently. The acting by the human characters is good but not great but then, the movie's really about Caesar and how he leads his kind to freedom. And the man who plays Caesar is terrific. His facial expressions are amazing--you can tell that here is a chimpanzee with intelligence! The movie is well put together with great special effects. And it is all tied in to the original Planet of the Apes which starred Charlton Heston.
Without giving too much away, the synopsis of the story is that a researcher, whose father (played by John Lithgow) has Alzheimer's, believes that he has developed a medicine that will cure the disease. When it is tested on chimpanzees, it not only halts the brain deterioration but the chimps are more intelligent than they were before. One in particular, Caesar, whom the researcher takes home as a "pet", shows remarkable progress from the drug.
Caesar, of course, leads his fellow monkeys in an escape from captivity. How that happens, and the adventure along the way, is part of the fun of the movie.
I would rate this four popcorn bags out of five.
