Rise of the Planet of the Apes: No animals were used during the making of this film

Not only is “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” a modestly great reboot of a franchise that desperately needed it, but it also was a big step forward in the CGI world.

Caesar and the rest of his ape teammates were created using flawless digital work from the mind of Andy Serkis, who used motion-capture technology to play the role of the ape leader. It absolutely worked in bringing realistic facial expressions and movements to light. From hand-to-hand combat to free roaming jungles, this is one of the finest uses of CGI to date.

In fact, that seemed to be the theme with “Rise” throughout the film: realism. The story centers on the work of a scientist who searches for the cure to Alzheimer’s disease. Instead, he discovers a serum that heightens intelligence to unprecedented levels. Of course, this was most prevalently evident with Caesar, who became more than an ape who understands voice tones and a few simple signs. He learns to communicate with the scientist (Will Rodman, played by James Franco). Caesar even begins to understand his place his society, which is little more than a pet who needs to be kept on a leash.

And therein lays the conflict. Caesar’s emotional outbursts lead to exile, a seemingly low-brow asylum for apes. From there, Caesar, in a sense, starts plotting his path to freedom, and he brings his fellow prison mates with him – and teaches them a thing or two along the way.

But the true beauty of the story is how closely we become attached to Caesar. Reality tells us that, yes, he’s just an ape, and apes have their place. That may be true, but it’s startling how emotional it is when Caesar shows how he feels betrayed by Rodman. And how sorrowful he looks to be tamed and mistreated when placed with apes of much lower intelligence (that includes the humans who run the place, too). In one scene, he uses chalk to draw a picture of a window that he used to stare through back at his home, and it’s touching to see just how badly he wishes to be there one more time.

The rest of the cast serves more as a function than it does an integral part of the movie. That’s not a bad thing, either. The story and development of Caesar is at the forefront, and that’s the way it needed to be.

In fact, it’s fulfilling when a prequel/reimagining of a prequel gets it right. Caesar’s rise seamlessly leads into the saga of the Ape movies. In fact, after discussing with my father, it actually mixes up a little of what we know in regards to how the apes take over. Sure, there’s going to be a war, but during the credits, it’s shown that the virus that was used to make the apes more intelligent – which has adverse effects on humans – spreads throughout the world, both infecting more and more people and apes alike. This isn’t to suggest that there isn’t a war, but the virus becomes a serious concern for humans (though not in the degree of, say, a “Resident Evil” or “28 Days Later” virus.

The movie makes several references to the saga, including the classic “Get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape” line that actually seemed out of place considering it was said during a somewhat serious moment. Still, the film as a whole had a plan, and executed it quite nicely.