Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Rifftrax)

Film Year:  2011
Genre:  Science Fiction, Drama
Director:  Rupert Wyatt
Starring:  Andy Serkis, James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton
Rifftrax Year:  2012
Riffers:  Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett

The Movie

In this second reboot of the Planet of the Apes series (oh, I'm sorry Tim Burton, your shit film was a "re-imagining"), we explore the origins of talking apes and, to a lesser extent, the beginning of the near extinction of mankind.  Scientific experiments seeking a cure Alzheimer's on a chimp named Bright Eyes results in her giving birth to a super intelligent ape child named Caesar.  Bright Eyes panics in protection of her newborn, which results in her death and the shelving of the formula used to boost her intellect.  Upon discovering Caesar, head research scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) takes him home and raises him, as he continues the formula experiments on his ill father.  But when Caesar's protective nature gets him in trouble with the authorities, Caesar is taken into custody and put in a facility to house apes.  Caesar's time away from home hardens him, as he bonds with his fellow apes and becomes a leader figure.  Caesar and his apes plan a jailbreak to free themselves into the forest.

I've been a Planet of the Apes fan since I was very young, having watched the original five films many, many times in my youth (fuck Star Wars, I was all about the Apes).  I had seen the Tim Burton film in theaters and was like "nope."  I went into the idea of a second with a bit of hesitance, with news of the film coming out and myself just giving a little shrug.  Then they released trailers for the film and I was like "Oh yeah, this is a thing that's happening."  Rise of the Planet of the Apes is probably one of the most surprisingly not terrible movies of the last decade.

Despite using more extravagant special effects methods in this take on the POTA saga, the film stays humbly a character drama, as opposed to the 2001 film which was just eye candy.  Casting at times can raise an eyebrow, though usually less restrained performers of James Franco and John Lithgow actually give great performances here (though the less said about former Harry Potter actor Tom Felton the better).  But the actor this film belongs to is Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar.  His second simian performance (after King Kong in 2005), Serkis's mostly pantomime performance (spoiler alert:   apes eventually talk in a Planet of the Apes movie...just not right away) is an acting achievement worth seeing.  His facial expressions always make Caesar's emotions and thoughts clear, even if he can't verbally express them.

Serkis is only the tip of the iceberg, as all the apes are actors in mocap outfits performing for a digital character, and everyone else is just as impressive, even if they aren't given the same opportunity to shine.  CGI is pretty good, even if it is inconsistent when characters are in motion.  But that was something a lot of Weta company CGI suffered from at the time dating all the way back to Lord of the Rings.

If the human story doesn't seem all that compelling, remember that this movie belongs to the apes.  And the apes deliver in this movie, successfully rebooting one of the best film franchises ever.  Most seem to agree that the sequels are even better than this one, though personally I find Dawn of the Planet of the Apes a dully acted slog, though I concede War for the Planet of the Apes is quite fabulous.  Though, whatever the future of this franchise held for it, Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a quaint surprise when it was released.  It's easy to forget just how refreshing it was.

The Trax

When this riff hit my rotation, I wasn't too enthused.  To me this was another example of Rifftrax overlooking films that would benefit from a riff commentary more and take aim at the popular film of the month.  Was there a creative reason that Rise of the Planet of the Apes received a riff while Tim Burton's 2001 Planet of the Apes film didn't?  Even a riff of Battle for the Planet of the Apes would have been a more welcome announcement to me.

Jumping into the riff, I started to feel like this one was going to make for a bland Trax, as the opening scenes play out with cute comments, but not a real laugh in sight.  But I think I let my guard down, and then in the scene where James Franco asks the board for permission for human trials, Mike busts out the line "We've spiked your coffee with the drug.  Let us know how it works out for you." and I got my first real laugh of the riff.  Then the film returned to more tepid amusement before returning to some more consistent laughs.  Then it drops again, and then it rises, before dropping again.  During many of the early moments where I found myself laughing, I thought to myself "If they can keep this up, this could be a good one."  But it becomes clear about halfway through that they can't maintain momentum.  It pretty much returns to that slightly amusing feeling from its lowest moments throughout the remainder of the film.

I don't really think Rise of the Planet of the Apes gives them much to work with.  Granted, it's a silly sci-fi movie with a lot of apes, but it's a fairly straightforward drama that doesn't do anything relatively crazy with its runtime.  And this is the Planet of the Apes franchise.  Crazy is its business.  This is the franchise that had a bunch of chimps pull a destroyed space capsule out of the ocean, learn how it works over the span of a few days, decide to launch themselves into space just before the Earth blows up, only for the explosion to push them back in time to the 1970's.  I'd argue there is probably more to riff on in virtually any other Planet of the Apes movie over this one.  A lot of the more successful zingers that Mike, Kevin, and Bill offer take aim at some of the film's sillier melodrama, like Caesar's biting off a neighbor's finger then becoming upset:  "It was terrible!  That bad man put his finger in my mouth and broke it off!"  I also enjoyed some of the jabs at the film's willy nilly time passing sections early on, such as a montage with Caesar swinging on a tree in the forest:  "What?  They've been in that park for five years waiting for their monkey?"

The best moments of Rise of the Planet of the Apes made me long for the entire riff to be just as good as those moments.  But toward the end, I found my attention drifting.  It's not a bad riff, but it feels like they're just riffing in the wrong direction by picking this movie at all.  I will profess admiration that the riff is more restrained than I thought it would be.  I expected there to be more poo-flinging jokes, a lot of Harry Potter references when Tom Felton is onscreen, and more references to classic Planet of the Apes films.  Instead they restrict themselves to a handful, and the ones they do select are pretty funny, such as having Felton say "Engorgio!" upon seeing Freida Pinto for the first time, or Caesar's urging of James Franco to march into Pinto's "Forbidden Zone."  There seems to be some ideas on how to make this riff work, but they don't build upon them in a successful way.

Note:  Rise of the Planet of the Apes has a very early mid-credit scene.  Stick with the riff for a minute after the film ends for more riffing.

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