Apes are so fascinating!
They’re strangely human and have the capability to be so intelligent. Besides that they’re also really really terrifying. The image of the woman who had her face ripped off by her pet chimpanzee is burned into my mind.
Anyways, my boyfriend absolutely loves apes. So we decided to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a 2011 action sci-fi film that follows the story of a highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar.
I adored this film as a child. It has such a captivating and unique concept, an engaging plotline, and incredible visuals. I couldn’t fathom how they were able to make apes do all this acting. But in reality, as you may have suspected, this film uses CGI. Even now re-watching it a decade later, the CGI is really impressive.
One of the most frustrating things about current films is CGI. Unfortunately, it tends to look kind of… cheap? And is overused a lot. (For example, Disney with their constant remakes. Some portions realllyyyy don’t need CGI, but it uses it anyway.) Although it is definitely impressive, it’s not as good as you would expect it to be. I think one of the differences is both time and care.
When watching information about the creation of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the deep care and thought put into every single little detail of these apes is mind blowing. That’s not to say modern films don’t care as much. Rather, I think it’s because it was so difficult to get convincing CGI during this time that it was important to make it as realistic as possible. Especially in a film where the main character is digitally rendered.
I’m a sucker for old CGI and practical effects because it came off as a labor of love instead of the norm. CGI is so common now and it comes off like audiences are expected to understand that it’s just CGI. But the thought that goes into making every detail of this film as realistic and emotive as possible to bring characters like Caesar to life is so beautiful. Even to the point where he seems more alive than the actual human actors in the film.
Overall I’d really recommend watching this film. It is extraordinarily captivating and wonderful. Besides the CGI, the story itself is heartbreaking and wonderfully written.
You can watch all nine films within the series on Hulu. Don’t have Hulu? Try finding them at your local library!
Featured Image: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318514/