Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) Trailer

This movie is shorter compared with the recent movies on screen. It’s only 105 minutes. However, it fits the perfect screen time of movies. The movie is exciting both in visual and sound. I walk out of the cinema feeling satisfied with the story. And I immediately research the types of ape. I find that apes are different from monkeys for which they have no tails.

The 3 Act Structure
This movie fits perfectly the 3 act structure. Let’s look at it in details.
The first act is the exposition of the premise. The main character, Will, is introduced in a lab. We quickly understand that he’s a scientist. The exposition is integrated into the story when Will is pitching to the investors about what their research company Genesis is doing. It is well executed as there is a montage of a conflict between an ape and a lab technician. This adds excitement to the story. The first Act ends when the investors reject to invest and that the lab is a mess after the conflict.

The second act starts when Will takes the baby ape home to look after. He treats it as an experimental subject for the cure of his father’s illness. There are many winkles and reversals in the middle. There is a physical conflict between Caesar, the ape which Will takes home, and his neighbour; conflict between Will and his supervisor; emotional conflict of Caesar as he wants to win the attention of Will over his girlfriend; physical conflict of the sanctuary keeper and Caesar; physical conflict of Caesar and the other apes; conflict of Will and the sanctuary supervisor; conflict between the apes and the Police, etc.

The third act is very short. It starts when James takes a Police car and follows Caesar to the red woods. James wants to bring Caesar home but Caesar refuses. He says, “Caesar is home”. The movie ends with a twist that the pilot who lives next door to James caught the virus. This buries a time lock for a sequel.

There are not much catchy phrases. However, all dialogue serves its purpose as it moves the story forward. Characters don’t sit and talk. There is no scene in a restaurant. Instead, they act and talk in the elevator and corridor. There is no repeat of information, which is seen by the audience, by one character to another. So the movie is precise. None of the scenes is boring. Everything is integrated into the story.

To conclude, this is a highly recommended movie with great plot, cinematography and CG animation.