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Popcorn Chimp

What's a movie studio to do with the "Planet of the Apes" franchise? After five movies, a TV series, an ill-advised Tim Burton remake - and the career of Roddy McDowall - what's left? Well, in a post "Phantom Menace" world, you do a prequel of course! And so we have "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", hands down the best movie about a planet of apes since the iconic 1968 Charlton Heston classic.

"Rise" revolves around Will Rodman (James Franco, simultaneously an odd and perfect choice), a genetic scientist (!) at the multibillion dollar GEN-SYS corporation. In search of an Alzheimer's cure for his ailing father (John Lithgow, in a thankfully restrained turn), Will discovers a formula called ALZ-112 that boosts the IQ in lab chimps. After a typically laughable disaster, the project is shut down and Will takes matters into his own hands - literally - by removing a baby chimp from the facility. Will raises the baby as his own, calling him Caesar. And as played via motion-capture by Andy Serkis (who, after Gollum and King Kong, has this down pat), the character is pure anthropomorphic bliss.

But Caesar isn't just another manic monkey. He's remarkably expressive and understandably frustrated at being put through a corrupt system of bureaucracy that would make "E.T." phone home. And, as you might expect, Caesar quickly learns to organize his simian brethren. But despite the telegraphed plot, there are still surprises to be had in "Rise". With many clever nods to the original films (no fun giving them away) and several tricks up its sleeve to keep you guessing, the script - by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver ("The Relic") - is intelligent enough to make you think it might have been given a dose of ALZ-112. Likewise, the pacing and action sequences by relative-newbie director Rupert Wyatt are startlingly fresh. And of course, the special effects are flawless (just try to pick out the CGI monkey business from the real thing).

But prequels are a tricky breed (if you're tired of the "Phantom Menace" bashing, just look at "Terminator Salvation" for proof). As a screenwriter, you're locked into a storyline, so the stakes can only get so high. If you're J.J. Abrams, you'll change the timeline, and therefore the rules (as he did with his admirable "Star Trek" reboot). But "Rise" sticks close to the mythology. Men will fall, apes will rise and someday, in some distant sequel, those maniacs...they'll blow it up (damn them all to Hell). In the meantime, if you're looking for a prequel to "Planet of the Apes", you're not going to do much better than this one. And take that for exactly what it is.