Joe Neumaier at the New York Daily News gave Rise of the Planet of the Apes its first grade-A 100 rating. Now TIME’s Richard Corliss agrees with another perfect score. Corliss says Rupert Wyatt’s film “deserves to be in the company of the great original Kong. This year’s sixth ‘origins’ story of a fantasy franchise is also the year’s finest action movie.”
No question, the movie is an astounding triumph of visual effects. Again, Serkis is playing a motion-capture monkey — the prime primate, Caesar — and gives a performance so nuanced and powerful it may challenge the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to give an Oscar to an actor who is never seen in the film…
The original film was a satire of race relations, in the decade of the Selma marches and Watts riots, with the haughty apes treating their human invaders as inferiors. Rise is a story of emancipation as seen from both sides: the human (sympathetic liberals incapable of stanching an armed revolt) and the simian (we gotta be free).
Even if you don’t buy Rise as a semiprofound social document, the utterly seductive integration of apes and men should slacken your jaw in amazement. We have reached that moment in movie history when the century-long chasm between live action and animation has been closed; Rise is a seamless blend of the two. It marks a major advance over Avatar, for it allows the motion-capture actors and the “real” ones to interact in natural locations — in the wild, so to speak — beyond Avatar’s enclosed fantasyland of the planet Pandora. Technical innovation is sometimes yoked to leaden narratives, but Wyatt and his collaborators made sure to wed their visual strategies to potent themes. The result is a work of high, often thrilling popular art.
UPDATE: Rack up two 90s from the LATimes and WSJournal.
I saw the movie earlier this evening, and I thought it was brilliant. Proof once again that we can have a summer blockbuster with both a brain and a heart without sacrificing entertainment value and fun.
Serkis deserves serious Oscar consideration and I hope Rupert Wyatt has a long, prosperous career ahead of him.
Click on my name to watch my full review on Youtube.
I saw the movie earlier this evening, and I thought it was brilliant. Proof once again that we can have a summer blockbuster with both a brain and a heart without sacrificing entertainment value and fun.
Serkis deserves serious Oscar consideration and I hope Rupert Wyatt has a long, prosperous career ahead of him.
Click on my name to watch my full review on Youtube.
Yeah, I don’t know how to give opinions on films without giving shit away. Why is it that the most remarkable moments are always the most sensitive ones? Oh… I guess that makes sense, actually.
Yeah, I don’t know how to give opinions on films without giving shit away. Why is it that the most remarkable moments are always the most sensitive ones? Oh… I guess that makes sense, actually.
Muchas thank you!
(Any time taken away from watching Bill Maher is time gained) 😀
ha!
Love those last two paragraphs of yours. That would be make a nice Featured Reader Quote except it’s a major SPOILER
Muchas thank you!
(Any time taken away from watching Bill Maher is time gained) 😀
ha!
Love those last two paragraphs of yours. That would be make a nice Featured Reader Quote except it’s a major SPOILER
I sorry!
no sweat. no problem at all.
Does that fix it like you wanted?
I sorry!
no sweat. no problem at all.
Does that fix it like you wanted?
OOPS. I meant for those number-muncher mouths to have spoiler warnings in them. I forgot that I probably shouldn’t use that particular punctuation for that purpose, HTML and all. Ryan, would you mind fixing my stupid?
what have you done now?!
I’ll put Bill Maher on pause and see what’s happening here.
OOPS. I meant for those number-muncher mouths to have spoiler warnings in them. I forgot that I probably shouldn’t use that particular punctuation for that purpose, HTML and all. Ryan, would you mind fixing my stupid?
what have you done now?!
I’ll put Bill Maher on pause and see what’s happening here.
So I saw APES tonight. Very good, and a welcome step up from C&A last weekend. It won’t be at the top of my 2011 list, but it’s got a good shot at the top ten.
SPOILER ::: SPOILER ::: SPOILER
My broadest complaint would be that the apes weren’t scary enough. Having read some harrowing true-life tales of chimp attacks, and the very specific, spiteful ways they will hurt you, I was hoping for a nastier threat. I can understand the choice to have the apes avoid slaughter at Caesar’s behest (it fits with his upbringing, heightens audience sympathy, etc.), but it also made the uprising seem rather… toothless at times. Some more aggressive violence would have fit the bill better, I think, although that would have necessitated an R rating, which I’m sure they wanted to avoid.
I read some criticism of Franco’s performance as lifeless, but for the most part I found it credible. Scientists, by and large, are not the most melodramatic people you meet, and he came off very believable to me in most scenes. The one exception was the final scene in the redwoods–a bit more emoting would have been appropriate there. But considering how furious I was with him after the Oscars, this was a big step up.
Of course, the real acting story here is Andy Serkis. Maybe the most significant thing I can say about it is this: it was at all times utterly believable as a super-intelligent ape, yet at the same time, I think I would have recognized it as a Serkis performance even if I had not known it beforehand. Maybe that is the calling card of a really great actor–the ability to leave one’s unmistakeable mark on a role, while still delivering a performance that is completely true to the character.
The gutsiest, most brilliant moment in the movie was this: Tom Felton’s character delivers a reprise of the original PLANET OF THE APES’s most famous line, which draws a mix of knowing chuckles and “that’s corny” moans from the audience. The viewers thus disarmed, the film delivers a swift palm to the nose as Caesar lets out a scream that is, for the first time, speech. It’s a catch-your-breath moment. The timing is perfect, the strategy ingenious.
::: END OF SPOILER :::
So I saw APES tonight. Very good, and a welcome step up from C&A last weekend. It won’t be at the top of my 2011 list, but it’s got a good shot at the top ten.
SPOILER ::: SPOILER ::: SPOILER
My broadest complaint would be that the apes weren’t scary enough. Having read some harrowing true-life tales of chimp attacks, and the very specific, spiteful ways they will hurt you, I was hoping for a nastier threat. I can understand the choice to have the apes avoid slaughter at Caesar’s behest (it fits with his upbringing, heightens audience sympathy, etc.), but it also made the uprising seem rather… toothless at times. Some more aggressive violence would have fit the bill better, I think, although that would have necessitated an R rating, which I’m sure they wanted to avoid.
I read some criticism of Franco’s performance as lifeless, but for the most part I found it credible. Scientists, by and large, are not the most melodramatic people you meet, and he came off very believable to me in most scenes. The one exception was the final scene in the redwoods–a bit more emoting would have been appropriate there. But considering how furious I was with him after the Oscars, this was a big step up.
Of course, the real acting story here is Andy Serkis. Maybe the most significant thing I can say about it is this: it was at all times utterly believable as a super-intelligent ape, yet at the same time, I think I would have recognized it as a Serkis performance even if I had not known it beforehand. Maybe that is the calling card of a really great actor–the ability to leave one’s unmistakeable mark on a role, while still delivering a performance that is completely true to the character.
The gutsiest, most brilliant moment in the movie was this: Tom Felton’s character delivers a reprise of the original PLANET OF THE APES’s most famous line, which draws a mix of knowing chuckles and “that’s corny” moans from the audience. The viewers thus disarmed, the film delivers a swift palm to the nose as Caesar lets out a scream that is, for the first time, speech. It’s a catch-your-breath moment. The timing is perfect, the strategy ingenious.
::: END OF SPOILER :::
Get a room.
Get a room.
So you fell into the trap of a troll? That must make you a film expert. Wow you started this last year. My god! I will bow before you.
PS. I have a degree in Zoology. Engeniring huh? Man That must have been hard to get into. I can’t think of a single school that teaches that. *rolls eyes* Exclusive!!!!!!
So you fell into the trap of a troll? That must make you a film expert. Wow you started this last year. My god! I will bow before you.
PS. I have a degree in Zoology. Engeniring huh? Man That must have been hard to get into. I can’t think of a single school that teaches that. *rolls eyes* Exclusive!!!!!!
^
bravo. the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
^
bravo. the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
FYI Craig my “start” occured over a year ago. I followed last year’s race intently, especially following the release of Inception. And then battling that troll zombiefag who hated everything Nolan…
FYI Craig my “start” occured over a year ago. I followed last year’s race intently, especially following the release of Inception. And then battling that troll zombiefag who hated everything Nolan…
Let me guess, your degree is in communications? It seems to be the standard for those not smart enough for any other major.
Let me guess, your degree is in communications? It seems to be the standard for those not smart enough for any other major.
Hahaha Scott. Whatever helps you sleep at night. I’ll believe you have a brain as soon as you say something remotely intelligent.
PS. I already have a degree.
Hahaha Scott. Whatever helps you sleep at night. I’ll believe you have a brain as soon as you say something remotely intelligent.
PS. I already have a degree.
You do realize the one fault of engineer’s is that they have trouble communicating, right? English isn’t exactly our forte, lol
just teasing, Scott.
hard to stand by quietly when readers are flinging Fucks at each other.
You do realize the one fault of engineer’s is that they have trouble communicating, right? English isn’t exactly our forte, lol
just teasing, Scott.
hard to stand by quietly when readers are flinging Fucks at each other.
Craig, shut the fuck up. As an engineering student I may think different then most but I can assure that I’m intellectually superior to yourself.
…I can assure that I’m intellectually superior to yourself.
Something about the syntax there doesn’t look very structurally sound. Should I be wearing a hard hat?
Craig, shut the fuck up. As an engineering student I may think different then most but I can assure that I’m intellectually superior to yourself.
…I can assure that I’m intellectually superior to yourself.
Something about the syntax there doesn’t look very structurally sound. Should I be wearing a hard hat?
Worth pointing out, I think, that Metacritic’s interpretive skills (what makes a review a 90 as opposed to a 100?) sometimes leave a lot to be desired. I’ve seen them give a 50 to a flat-out rave (and also the reverse) and it sometimes takes forever for them to correct it.
Worth pointing out, I think, that Metacritic’s interpretive skills (what makes a review a 90 as opposed to a 100?) sometimes leave a lot to be desired. I’ve seen them give a 50 to a flat-out rave (and also the reverse) and it sometimes takes forever for them to correct it.
“Scott says:
August 4, 2011 at 12:13 am
Best film according to who…? I highly doubt it’ll get 100% approval from top critics with an 8.8 average like Deathly Hallows: Part 2 did!”
Just had to say that since you are the one who wrote this idiotic gem I really have to believe that you were serious earlier. I don’t think you have the mental capacity for sarcasm.(and that is a low form of comedy as it is) “According to who?”???? The person who wrote the fucking article. That’s who. Just because a movie is the most acclaimed film of the year doesn’t make it the undisputed choice for best film. There is no such thing. (this is coming from someone who DID think HP 7.2 is the best film so far this year). If your just gonna just bitch about every film that people like more than Harry Potter all year you are gonna turn into the new Afrika and get your ass banned. Calling Ryan a liar and an idiot in the same day isn’t a good start.
Thanks, Craig Z.
No fear of anybody getting banned as long as you’re here to school them.
“Scott says:
August 4, 2011 at 12:13 am
Best film according to who…? I highly doubt it’ll get 100% approval from top critics with an 8.8 average like Deathly Hallows: Part 2 did!”
Just had to say that since you are the one who wrote this idiotic gem I really have to believe that you were serious earlier. I don’t think you have the mental capacity for sarcasm.(and that is a low form of comedy as it is) “According to who?”???? The person who wrote the fucking article. That’s who. Just because a movie is the most acclaimed film of the year doesn’t make it the undisputed choice for best film. There is no such thing. (this is coming from someone who DID think HP 7.2 is the best film so far this year). If your just gonna just bitch about every film that people like more than Harry Potter all year you are gonna turn into the new Afrika and get your ass banned. Calling Ryan a liar and an idiot in the same day isn’t a good start.
Thanks, Craig Z.
No fear of anybody getting banned as long as you’re here to school them.
Look who is trying desperately to save face! Lol. Now your calling Ryan an idiot? Your first apology wasn’t very tongue in cheek. Shouldn’t “I was joking” been the first thing you said not “sorry”?…..unless you are just pretending to be kidding now? Hmmmm
Look who is trying desperately to save face! Lol. Now your calling Ryan an idiot? Your first apology wasn’t very tongue in cheek. Shouldn’t “I was joking” been the first thing you said not “sorry”?…..unless you are just pretending to be kidding now? Hmmmm
BTW, sorry for the multiple posts…you really should bring back the edit option!
BTW, sorry for the multiple posts…you really should bring back the edit option!
Now that I’ve apologized for my lack of attentiveness can someone point me to this other article Ryan mentioned?
Now that I’ve apologized for my lack of attentiveness can someone point me to this other article Ryan mentioned?
I guess I picked a bad time to come back, but I’ve been so busy and uninterested since the end of last awards season I wasn’t keeping up with this site very regularly…until DH2 was getting such fantastic reviews and I guess I just missed the early posts in figuring there would be articles on the first page.
I guess I picked a bad time to come back, but I’ve been so busy and uninterested since the end of last awards season I wasn’t keeping up with this site very regularly…until DH2 was getting such fantastic reviews and I guess I just missed the early posts in figuring there would be articles on the first page.
PS, if you guys aren’t smart enough to figure out I was being tongue in cheek about making up the article after the fact then you are the true idiots, lol.
PS, if you guys aren’t smart enough to figure out I was being tongue in cheek about making up the article after the fact then you are the true idiots, lol.
Sorry, I guess it was so far in advance it got bumped off the main page. I suppose I was expecting to see some articles like maybe 3 or 4 days in advance at most, when it had a substantial # of reviews counted.
Sorry, I guess it was so far in advance it got bumped off the main page. I suppose I was expecting to see some articles like maybe 3 or 4 days in advance at most, when it had a substantial # of reviews counted.
It’s hard to believe it was only four months ago when I was laughing at the initial trailer.
It’s hard to believe it was only four months ago when I was laughing at the initial trailer.
I’d have to agree with Craig Z. Scott, you are an idiot. To insinuate that Ryan would make up evidence is not only ridiculous but also offensive. I know some sites tried to brush off the critical acclaim Potter received just because it’s Potter, but Awards Daily isn’t one of them. This site fairly covered the last Potter film a few weeks ago, and they seem to be doing the same with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Okay, so maybe this particular post by Ryan about Apes is a little weird because it only mentioned the positive reviews on Metacritic and disregarded the mixed reviews, but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal considering the general consensus to the film has been positive. Overall, the coverage has been fair.
Okay, so maybe this particular post by Ryan about Apes is a little weird because it only mentioned the positive reviews on Metacritic and disregarded the mixed reviews..
I can explain that weirdness!
From our initial reaction to the trailers, we were all prepared for the worst, weren’t we? The story, to me, was not the mixed reviews — because we expected mixed reviews, right? The story I saw was the complete and total absence of bad reviews. Out of 35 reviews, there were only 2 scores lower than 50. The reviews are overwhelming positive and virtually no critic hates it.
In fact, I did mention 2 of the lowest reviews in one of the first comments on this page. I pointed out that a C grade from Stephanie Zacharek only serves to reassure me that the movie is great. Because she gave a C to Tree of Life and Midnight in Paris too.
In simplest terms: I’m not going to pull excerpts to quote from a review I think is full of shit.
😉
Nice of you to speak up, Paul… (and this is the thanks you get!?) ha
Seriously, I appreciate it.
I’d have to agree with Craig Z. Scott, you are an idiot. To insinuate that Ryan would make up evidence is not only ridiculous but also offensive. I know some sites tried to brush off the critical acclaim Potter received just because it’s Potter, but Awards Daily isn’t one of them. This site fairly covered the last Potter film a few weeks ago, and they seem to be doing the same with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Okay, so maybe this particular post by Ryan about Apes is a little weird because it only mentioned the positive reviews on Metacritic and disregarded the mixed reviews, but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal considering the general consensus to the film has been positive. Overall, the coverage has been fair.
Okay, so maybe this particular post by Ryan about Apes is a little weird because it only mentioned the positive reviews on Metacritic and disregarded the mixed reviews..
I can explain that weirdness!
From our initial reaction to the trailers, we were all prepared for the worst, weren’t we? The story, to me, was not the mixed reviews — because we expected mixed reviews, right? The story I saw was the complete and total absence of bad reviews. Out of 35 reviews, there were only 2 scores lower than 50. The reviews are overwhelming positive and virtually no critic hates it.
In fact, I did mention 2 of the lowest reviews in one of the first comments on this page. I pointed out that a C grade from Stephanie Zacharek only serves to reassure me that the movie is great. Because she gave a C to Tree of Life and Midnight in Paris too.
In simplest terms: I’m not going to pull excerpts to quote from a review I think is full of shit.
😉
Nice of you to speak up, Paul… (and this is the thanks you get!?) ha
Seriously, I appreciate it.
PS Scott Rottentomatoes is in on it too!!! http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_deathly_hallows_part_2/reviews/#page=13 Looks like they were all fabricating these reviews and changing the dates so Ryan could make you look stupid today. Crafty sons of bitches.
PS Scott Rottentomatoes is in on it too!!! http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_deathly_hallows_part_2/reviews/#page=13 Looks like they were all fabricating these reviews and changing the dates so Ryan could make you look stupid today. Crafty sons of bitches.
Scott, you’re an idiot. Do you also think Ryan fabricated the 28 comments too? Yes the movie was reviewed that early. Look at the dates on those reviews yourself.
Scott, you’re an idiot. Do you also think Ryan fabricated the 28 comments too? Yes the movie was reviewed that early. Look at the dates on those reviews yourself.
No chances for BP.
No chances for BP.
I would give it 3/5 it was okay but nothing great.
Just saw the film an hour ago but can barely remember it.
I would give it 3/5 it was okay but nothing great.
Just saw the film an hour ago but can barely remember it.
it’s a 72 on metacritic, lets all calm down
it’s a 72 on metacritic, lets all calm down
July 6th? Did the reviews even come out that early? You sure you didn’t just make that article up after the fact? Cause I saw no reports of the overwhelming critical response on the main page for like the whole week leading up to release…
Scott, what that actual fuck, dude?
You berate me for not mentioning the great reviews for Deathly Hallows 2. Then when I show you where I did cover it, you tell me I’m a liar? We were on top of the knockout early reviews long before many other sites started salivating,
I covered it again with another extensive post that compared Deathly Hallows spectacular critics scores with other BP winners of the past 2 years — with the help of charts and data collected by a couple of our longtime contributors. But I’m not even gonna show you that post, because I don’t want you accusing the entire readership of the site of conspiring to trick you.
July 6th? Did the reviews even come out that early? You sure you didn’t just make that article up after the fact? Cause I saw no reports of the overwhelming critical response on the main page for like the whole week leading up to release…
Scott, what that actual fuck, dude?
You berate me for not mentioning the great reviews for Deathly Hallows 2. Then when I show you where I did cover it, you tell me I’m a liar? We were on top of the knockout early reviews long before many other sites started salivating,
I covered it again with another extensive post that compared Deathly Hallows spectacular critics scores with other BP winners of the past 2 years — with the help of charts and data collected by a couple of our longtime contributors. But I’m not even gonna show you that post, because I don’t want you accusing the entire readership of the site of conspiring to trick you.
Time is on your side. Yes it is.
I thought the trailer made the film look awful but the positive critical response at AD and elsewhere has me intrigued.
Time is on your side. Yes it is.
I thought the trailer made the film look awful but the positive critical response at AD and elsewhere has me intrigued.
You know it’s really comical how you post an article such as this but I saw no similar ones for the Potter finale prior to release, even though it scored what, 10 perfect scores on Metacritic and has the highest score of the year for a major motion picture?
hey Scott, it’s comical how we sometimes see only what we want to see.
https://www.awardsdaily.com/2011/07/harry-potter-the-deathly-hallows-sticks-the-landing/
we’re both so comical, let’s take our act to Vegas.
You know it’s really comical how you post an article such as this but I saw no similar ones for the Potter finale prior to release, even though it scored what, 10 perfect scores on Metacritic and has the highest score of the year for a major motion picture?
hey Scott, it’s comical how we sometimes see only what we want to see.
https://www.awardsdaily.com/2011/07/harry-potter-the-deathly-hallows-sticks-the-landing/
we’re both so comical, let’s take our act to Vegas.
Oh my!
Oh my!
though i am not judging apes but TIME’s film criticism is awful. Richard Corliss, Richard Schikel and Mary Corliss, I don’t know, rate and write about film from totally other world. Boring, populist and conservative.
though i am not judging apes but TIME’s film criticism is awful. Richard Corliss, Richard Schikel and Mary Corliss, I don’t know, rate and write about film from totally other world. Boring, populist and conservative.
But such a sparkly one!
But such a sparkly one!
“It marks a major advance over Avatar, for it allows the motion-capture actors and the “real” ones to interact in natural locations — in the wild, so to speak — beyond Avatar’s enclosed fantasyland of the planet Pandora.”
Pure and utter nonsense. Avatar’s setting was no less impressive and complicated and wasn’t dictated by any technological limitations.
As for the Apes, honestly, King Kong impressed me more.
Avatar’s setting was no less impressive and complicated and wasn’t dictated by any technological limitations.
“Natural locations” is the key phrase. Among Avatar’s technical limitations is the fact that everything had to filmed indoors on sound stages. That’s why it feels like it takes place in a terrarium.
“It marks a major advance over Avatar, for it allows the motion-capture actors and the “real” ones to interact in natural locations — in the wild, so to speak — beyond Avatar’s enclosed fantasyland of the planet Pandora.”
Pure and utter nonsense. Avatar’s setting was no less impressive and complicated and wasn’t dictated by any technological limitations.
As for the Apes, honestly, King Kong impressed me more.
Avatar’s setting was no less impressive and complicated and wasn’t dictated by any technological limitations.
“Natural locations” is the key phrase. Among Avatar’s technical limitations is the fact that everything had to filmed indoors on sound stages. That’s why it feels like it takes place in a terrarium.
As of Thursday evening
73 on Metacritic
85% Rotten Tomatoes
95% Rotten Tomato Top Critics
As of Thursday evening
73 on Metacritic
85% Rotten Tomatoes
95% Rotten Tomato Top Critics