Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Difference between revisions

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The 2011 film '''''Rise of the Planet of the Apes''''' serves as a [[Continuity Reboot|reboot]] of the ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' franchise. [[Word of God]] says the film, a loose remake of ''[[Planet of the Apes|Conquest of the Planet of the Apes]]'', will mark the [[Origin Story]] for a new ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' universe (and future films).

 

 

 

The film marks the first time in the franchise that filmmakers used [[Serkis Folk]] (with [[Trope Namer|Andy Serkis himself]] playing Caesar) as apes.

 

* [[Abnormal Ammo]]: Who would've thought that manhole covers could be used as shuriken or the posts of wrought-iron fences as spears? The apes did, and with surprising accuracy.

* [[Apocalypse How]]: Planetary-level.

* [[Art Major Biology]]: Apes cannot speak human languages because of the different structures of their vocal chords...but then we wouldn't have two of the most powerful moments in the film, would we?

* [[Brains and Brawn]]: Caesar and Buck {{spoiler|defeating Rocket.}}

* [[Break the Cutie]]: Abuse at the hands of Dodge and the other chimps at the primate facility do this to Caesar.

** Especially notable in the scene where he confronts Franklin. Yes, he was trying the doors to the neighbor's house, but calling the cops and keeping an eye on the situation would probably be a better bet than getting directly in the suspicious person's face, especially when it's not your house.

* [[Call Back]]: When Caroline says it's appropriate to be afraid of chimpanzees, Caesar mocks the idea by jumping on top of Will and miming punches at him, all while everyone is laughing. Caesar later does nearly the exact same thing to Hunsiker, except he's actually beating the shit out of him.

** Actually, the response to that wasn't disbelief, it was "Good."

* [[California Doubling]]: New Zealand for [[San Francisco]].

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Caesar lures Rocket into the main room of the refuge center {{spoiler|and then [[Ironic Echo|hits him in the head with a metal gas can]] as he's coming out of the gate. And then threatens to sic Buck on him.}}

* [[Coming of Age Story]]: Caesar, naturally. He is taken as a baby by Will, grows in mind and body, and then, through a series of events, leaves his nest and becomes a freedom fighter.

* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Jacobs, who's willing to go straight to human trials the minute they get good results on the apes, [[Idiot Ball|without making sure it's safe first]].

* [[Creative Closing Credits]]: Goes hand-in-hand with the [[Downer Ending]]. {{spoiler|The credits roll over an animation of international flight patterns spreading the ALZ-113 virus across the globe.}}

* [[Deadly Disc]]: Maurice uses the classic manhole cover to take out a police car.

* [[Disney Villain Death]]: Well, the finale takes place on the Golden Gate Bridge, so yeah, folks are gonna be falling.

* [[The Dog Bites Back]]: Pretty much the entire plot of the movie.

** A blink-and-you'll-miss-it example, but the crude sketch of the window in the Rodman's Attic that Caesar {{spoiler|drew on the wall of his cage in the San Bruno Pound to comfort himself}} later shows up rather ominously on a highway marker overlooking the Bay Valley skyline when {{spoiler|Caesar and his band of apes break out of the San Bruno pound,}} as though it were graffiti left a gang marking their territory.

* [[Downer Ending]]: {{spoiler|It seems that the apes will inherit the earth after the same substance that made them intelligent kills off the human race.}} It's a bit of a [[Foregone Conclusion]] though since this is a prequel.

* [[Earn Your Happy Ending]]: For Caesar and the few apes that made it past the Golden Gate Bridge.

* [[Evil Brit]]: Dodge and John Landon. At the very least, they are portrayed by British actors with the former English and the latter Scottish respectively.

** [[Stealth Pun|One might even say]] there are [[Gorillas in The Mist]]

** Fog on and around the Golden Gate bridge is pretty common.

** [[The Hero]]: Caesar

** [[The Lancer]]: Rocket the bald chimpanzee

* [[Genius Bruiser]]: Maurice the orangutan is the only other ape who initially knows sign language, but being an orangutan, he's incredibly strong and at one point hurls a manhole cover straight through a police car windshield as if he were throwing a Frisbee.

* [[Gone Horribly Right]]: Yes, ALZ-113 '''does''' improve mental functions!

* [[Guile Hero]]: Caesar.

* [[Gunboat Diplomacy]]: Caesar pulls this on Rocket to get him to step down as the leader of the apes. Rocket was a lot more compliant when Caesar's 450-pound gorilla friend was around to help with the convincing.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|Buck, the main gorilla, [[Dying Moment of Awesome|has one to take out the helicopter]].}}

* [[Hero of Another Story]]: Throughout the film, various background references are made to a manned spaceflight that gets "lost in space", no doubt into some kind of wormhole that will spit them out thousands of years into the future right near a watery planet, the third from the sun in its solar system.

** An unintentional one when the gorilla attacks a police car with ''a parking meter''.

* [[Hope Spot]]: {{spoiler|For Will when he sees the initial cure work on his father. However, anti-bodies soon develop to fight the cure and the Alzheimer's comes back with a vengeance.}}

* [[Hot Scientist]]: One could say both Will and Caroline fall into this category.

* [[Hulk Speak]]: Sign language between apes are subtitled in rather poor grammar, including Ceasar's. However, this isn't because the ape are unintelligent, it's because it's an alien way for them to communicate with one another. Different species have different methods and the signing is a common language they can learn.

'''Maurice:''' [[Crowning Moment of Funny|"Apes stupid."]] }}

* [[Human Trial Is Human Error]]: Will, without any authorization, tested the ALZ-112 on his father, who had advanced, and rapidly deteriorating Alzheimer's. At first, everything seemed to be going well (he regained every single piece of his memory and his physical condition improved drastically). But then, the Alzheimer's [[Gone Horribly Wrong|rebounded with a vengance.]] This is after Will informed his superior that he had performed the tests with significant success, and that they already started to work on the ALZ-113. Little do they know that this batch has an even nastier side effect: {{spoiler|an unstoppable plague that threatens the very existence of mankind.}} And only a select scientists, Will being one of them, know that both the ALZ-112 and -113 is what gave the apes their superintelligence and hatred towards their former masters.

* [[Idiot Ball]]: Will. When your father has advanced Alzheimer's, it's generally not a good idea to leave him alone in the house while you're at work. Double for Hunsiker, who apparently leaves the door of his sports car unlocked and open, with keys in the ignition, on a regular basis.

** Gen*Sys not immediately quarantining Franklin after he inhales the untested ALZ-113.

** If Will would have told his boss everything during the ''five years'' of his father miraculous recovery, ALZ-112 would have been Jacobs's blockbuster drug, millions of Alzheimer patients would have gotten their lives back and Caesar might have been invited to talk shows.

* [[Ironic Echo]]: From how [[Planet of the Apes|Landon]] uses the phrase "It's a madhouse!" in the original to how Dodge uses it.

** Also, within the movie, "Stupid monkey!"

* [[Jerkass]]: Dodge is actually '''''even worse''''' than Hunsiker. [[Tom Felton]] has said that Dodge "makes [[Harry Potter|Draco]] look soft" and, let's face it, ''he'' would know.

* [[Karmic Death]]: Let's just say that being mean to Caesar is not a good way to make it to the end credits.

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Dodge does this a lot, starting with [[Disproportionate Retribution|spraying Caesar with a high-powered hose after the latter flings slop into his face]].

* [[Killer Gorilla]]: Buck, and most of the rest.

* [[Large Ham]]: [[Tom Felton|Dodge]]. And '''''HOW!!'''''

* [[Mama Bear]]: Why Bright Eyes goes berserk.

** A real life version for anyone who saw this movie in theaters.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Obviously Caesar, as the military and political genius, but also Koba, the first successful test subject for ALZ-113. "Koba" was also the code name of {{spoiler|[[Joseph Stalin]], which the Georgian based on [[Robin Hood]]-type character from a local book, ''The Patricide''}}.

** All of the apes, i.e. Maurice, had names that were based on names of apes of the [[Planet of the Apes|original film series]] or crew members that worked on the original film series.

* [[Multinational Team|Multi-species Team]]: Caesar's a chimpanzee and his eventual allies include gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos.

* [[Monumental Battle]]: The final showdown between apes and humans takes place on the Golden Gate Bridge.

** Also, whilst he gets over it quickly enough, {{spoiler|Caesar still looks incredibly shocked at Dodge's death}}.

*** That might be more of a {{spoiler|"Holy fuck what just happened?" reaction, since he's probably never seen anything like what killed Dodge.}}

'''Dodge:''' "It's a madhouse!" }}

** The way Caesar is treated at the ape prison is nearly identical to the way Taylor was treated in the original film.

** The start of the movie with the poachers hunting the wild chimp troop is similar to the human-hunting scene from the original movie (albeit done in a way that also echoes how poachers hunt chimps in [[Real Life]]).

** "Bright Eyes" was the name Zira gave Taylor in the original ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' before learning his real name.

** Part of Caesar's plan for getting through the police blockade involves him {{spoiler|riding a horse}}.

** One of the characters is named Dodge Landon, Dodge and Landon were Taylor's male companions in the first movie.

* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: The trailer suggest that the ape hoard Caesar leads are trying to violently conquer the whole planet, when in the actual film they're just trying to escape from captivity, generally only responding violently as a reaction to humans trying to hurt them.

* [[No OSHA Compliance|No CDC Compliance]]: Gen*Sys has some serious issues about keeping experimental drugs from being constantly stolen from their labs. An employee is maskless in the same room as an untested, genetically modified, airborne virus - yet he is not detained for observation, and he calls off sick for ''two days'' before '''anyone''' puts two and two together.

** It is implied that Koba was used in other kind of tests before, for the same company; now that he is intelligent; he realizes Jacobs is somehow responsible for the PAST tests; so he's not evil in any way, he's getting revenge on one of the guys responsible for the scars he has. When they first set him up to take the drug; the lab guys comment on how easy it is to work with him since he's used to it.

** So murdering somebody out of revenge (Who is begging for mercy.) isn't evil in any way? news to this troper, Koba is very obviously evil from the first time you see him.

** Possibly one for YMMV. I agree with the previous troper. Somewhat oddly - since the rest of the apes in the lab are obviously fit, healthy and well cared for, despite the experiments - Koba has obviously endured years of sustained abuse at the hands of the scientists. If he is evil then all the apes are, since Buck and the others are shown more than once to be perfectly happy to beat a human to death as revenge for the abuse they suffered at the primate facility. Only Caesar prevents them. And, starkly in contrast to that compassion, Caesar refuses to save Jacob's life and then cooly gives Koba permission with a nod to kill him. And I find myself somewhat disturbed by the implication that Koba is 'evil the first time you see him'. Evil is too often equated to how someone looks, rather than how they act and Koba's scarred face is no indication of his personality at all.

* [[Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping]]: Dodge, occasionally, especially during his more [[Harry Potter|Draco Malfoy]]-esque lines.

* [[Papa Wolf]]: Inversion. Caesar, upon [[Berserk Button|seeing Charles Rodman being picked on]] by his neighbor, immediately rushes off to defend Rodman from him, going [[The Berserker|berserk]] at his neighbor.

* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: Will drops the ball many times. He doesn't fess up about taking the cure home and its effect on his father until his father is starting to relapse. He doesn't fess up and point out that one of the test monkeys intelligence is off the charts. Despite knowing the intelligence level of Caesar, and knowing full well there are children out in the street Will doesn't have "the talk" with him.

** Perhaps if Caesar had used his sign language to let Will know the reality of the primate facility - and that he wasn't being kept in that prettily painted, toy-filled cage, Will might have gotten him out sooner. And perhaps if Will had taken time to explain WHY he couldn't take Caesar home - that the courts were forcing him not to but that he was working all out to get past that - perhaps Caesar would have felt less betrayed and abandoned by his human friend.

* [[La Résistance]]: By the end of the movie, Caesar's ape tribe has become this.

* [[Rock Beats Laser]]: [[Incredibly Lame Pun|And Caesar beats Rocket.]]

* [[Sequel Hook]]

* [[Serkis Folk]]: Starring Serkis himself. Interestingly, two apes shared an act''ress'', Green Eyes and ''Koba''.

** At one point, Caesar is constructing a model of the Statue of Liberty, which was featured in the [[Twist Ending]] of the first film.

** Caesar appears on horseback late in the film.

** The orangutan is named Maurice, after Maurice Evans, who played the orangutan Dr. Zaius in the 1968 film.

** Dodge firehoses Caesar, as Taylor was firehosed in the 1968 film.

** Dodge has two lines originally spoken by Charlton Heston (See [[Mythology Gag]].)

* [[Smart People Play Chess]]: An early sign that Caesar is progressing ''way'' beyond ordinary chimp capacity. Also that he is able to think strategically, plan ahead, and utilize numerous subordinates with differing skills and abilities. Just in case that will come in useful later.

* [[Soft Glass]]: The Apes charge through tons of glass with no ill-effects.

* [[Suddenly Voiced]]: It's quite an [[Justified Trope|important]], and [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|awesome]], scene.

* [[Third Person Person]]: {{spoiler|Caesar. With a sample size of 1 ("Caesar is home"), it's hard to say if it's an example of [[Hulk Speak]] or if Caesar is imitating his namesake [[Julius Caesar|Julius]] (who Will's father is fond of quoting).}}

* [[Thirteen Is Unlucky]]: ALZ 113 is the designation of the drug that causes the whole mess.

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: {{spoiler|Dodge Landon. Even if Caesar wasn't aiming a hose at him at the time, what kind of idiot arms an electric prod, whilst ''standing in a puddle''?}}

* [[Towers of Hanoi]]: named in the film the "Lucas Tower", after its inventor, even though no one calls it that.

* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: {{spoiler|Bucks death by taking down the chopper, was one of the most used scenes for promoting the film.}}

* [[Weirdness Censor]]: The Sanctuary manager clearly notices that something is off when he sees the apes 'political rally', but he ignores it because it's [[Wrong Genre Savvy|just a bunch of silly apes]].

* [[We Need a Distraction]]: Caesar and his apes battle the California Highway Patrol on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a distraction so that most of the apes could escape by crossing the bridge from ''underneath'' undetected. Also, Will needs to get past the police to reach Caesar, so Caroline climbs onto the railing to get their attention.

** We never see what becomes of Caroline after the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge. Did she actually get arrested? Do she and Will get back together? Then again, considering that it's shown already that the human race is doomed, maybe we're better off not finding out.

** John Landon also vanishes from the film rather abruptly; he is last seen discovering the police watching security cam footage of his son's death at the hands of Caesar.

* [[You Shall Not Pass]]: Done with an orangutan wielding a manhole cover and a gorilla wielding a parking meter ''he ripped from the pavement.'' Exactly as [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|awesome]] as it sounds.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Science Fiction Films]]

[[Category:Films of the 2010s]]

[[Category:Film]]