Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)

So i went to see this film in the cinema, and to be honest, i didn't know a lot about it. i knew it was something about monkeys, maybe to do with animal testing, and i knew it was a 12A, which made me instantly doubt whether it would actually be any good, or if it would just be one of those 'feel good happy ever after' endings which don't really make a lot of sense, just because the producers needed it to end on a good note. but honestly, walking out of screen eight that night, i felt like i'd been changed a little bit inside.
So it was based around this one ape, Caesar, who had been genetically changed by this drug which was designed to cure alzheimer's in humans, but had been tested on Caesars mother, so because of this he had developed the capability to understand a lot more than the average ape, his IQ was above average ectect. i was going to start this review with 'the main character, Will Rodman (James Franco) but actually, i'd say the main character in this was Caesar. because right from the beginning, he really did have a character and although in reality if there was really an ape running around with the humans, i think i'd be pretty terrified, the whole way through this film, i felt a massive amount of empathy for him any time someone treated him badly. well, what would be treating him badly if he was a human - as an ape it was pretty standard care. but anyway, i think if i keep talking about how amazingly good this film was at bringing out my sensitive side, i'd probably give all the good bits away.
So James Franco was awesome, i don't think i can fault his acting or his character in any way. Will's girlfriend, Caroline was played by Freida Pinto was also pretty good. i recognised John Lithgow instantly, from my Third Rock From The Sun phase i went through as a child, but it was horrible to see his character, Charles, Will's father, suffer from such a horrible disease, and i really did feel sympathy for their family which was put in such a difficult situation.
The only place i think i could really fault this film is with the CGI. i mean, i appreciate how difficult it must be to make them look realistic, but there were a few moments when Caesar did just look like a man in a monkey costume. but on the other hand there were moments when he looked amazingly real, but i suppose having never really seen an ape up close and personal, i can't really fault that as a definitive point.
So i don't really want to say to much more about it, but i genuinely cannot get over how good this film was. i really wasn't expecting it to be that great, but i know i'll be watching this one again. and i'll probably think more about buying products tested on animals, even if that wasn't the whole conclusive point of this film. in conclusion, just watch it.

of course, this is all just my opinion.. feel free to disagree...ܤ