Some of you may have read my blog from last year regarding the new Planet of the Apes movie. If not, go to May 2010 and read it. Or, you can just read the specifics here in this new blog.
Initially, I was against a new POTA movie. But after reading about the film and seeing the trailers, I became more interested. It looked different enough to make it work. Well, I went to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes and was disappointed. I won't list my specific likes and dislikes here because I am against spoilers. Instead, I will dissect my original blog and see how it compares to my current opinion.
"...it seems to me that they make these movies for a new generation that has never bothered to watch the originals..." I still think this is true. I can see many of the people who did not grow-up with the originals liking this film very much.
"Fox also plans on doing all of the apes in CGI..." "...unless they really change it up for this new movie (which could also be a mistake)..." The CGI apes looked really good. I thought that the main orangutan and gorilla actually looked better than the chimps. Making the apes look real as opposed to people in make-up worked. It was not a mistake and it was one of the things that made me want to see the movie.
"Yes, I am a huge fan of this franchise." This fact did not impact my opinion of this new movie. I was able to watch and critique it solely based on its own efforts. Of couse when discussing the movie, some comparisons do have to be made.
"Maybe next summer, when the CGI apes are up on the big screen taking over the world, I will be cheering in the theater." I wasn't.
It is very clear that there is going to be a sequel, and I do like part of the path that it is on. Maybe the next one will work better for me. But until then, give me Chuck Heston and a bunch of actors in make-up.
