So, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, could have been a popcorn masterpiece with a better screenplay and a longer runtime, as it is though it's still a surprise of the summer. Yes, this is very much the apes' story, but it bugged me a lot that we didnt know more about the human characters, and pretty much each one of them seems like they had a sceneor two deleted that would have filled us in. People give James Franco a lot of crap, and I will admit he phones in 3 performances for every strong one he turns in, but while he isnt remarkable here, he and Lithgow are the only human characters with any emotion and he isn't given much to work with. Also while Tom Felton plays his role well, I can't help but think taking that role was a mistake. After instilling some much needed pathos into his Draco Malfoy in the last 3 Harry Potter films, he's back to playing a deranged 2D kid, he's a strong actor and needs to find a more sympathetic role if he's to continue in Hollywood. My disappointment is strengthened by the idea that they're going to set up a franchise where the audience is supposed to root for humanity, when the groundwork is laid here for you to be on the apes' side all along. There are however, many great homages throughout.
The direction of the action was well done, but the style of the film itself is nondescript, it's only the effects and Andy Serkis' performance that capture your attention. I seriously can't help but wonder what Scott Frank's version was going to be like, obviously they took their cues from his screenplay, but in the end he isn't even credited as a writer. He was also the original director for this, and considering how much potential he showed with The Lookout, I bet he would have made this even better than it was.
I think I'm pointing out the negatives too much here, there is a lot of upside, it's just one of those cases where you could see how it could be so much more, only made worse bynknowledge of the history of inferior talent replacing the original crew. Kind of what I'm expecting with Moneyball as well.
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