Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2011

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: You may, like me, skulk into the new "Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' expecting the worst. And you may, like me, be genuinely surprised by where this movie takes you. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: It's just an apes-on-the-rampage creature feature, with a decent setup, a wobbly second act, and a glorified-videogame urban-action payoff. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: ...very nearly close to completely awesome, and is the best sci-fi blockbuster of the summer, in a walk, even. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Precisely the kind of summer diversion that the studios have such a hard time making now. It's good, canny-dumb fun. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Rises above its dramatic deficits, boosts the collective IQ of this summer's movies and swings into flights of kinetic fantasy that blow the collective mind. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: An odd blend of silly popcorn entertainment and sometimes startling poignancy. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Wyatt ... keeps the action compelling whether focusing on apes as they run amok or as they quietly contemplate their next move. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: If you've ever seen or heard about a "Planet of the Apes" movie, you know where this is leading. But that doesn't make the trip any less enjoyable. Read more

Chicago Reader: The first half (presumably where most of the narrative scenes were excised) is frustratingly arrhythmic; more satisfying is the ape revolution of the final half-hour, a scary and deftly handled passage. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Swift and nimble, like the rising ape at its center, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is gratifyingly free of the usual big-budget blockbuster weight and volume. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Since the only really good Planet of the Apes movie was the 1968 original with Charlton Heston, I've always wondered why filmmakers can't just leave well enough alone. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Conjured through the ever-expanding magic of performance-capture technology, the apes are easily the most compelling elements of Apes. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Tthe movie has some plot-point missteps. But it seldom puts the brakes on a story that moves toward a furious ape-human rumble, not in a jungle, but atop the Golden Gate Bridge. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Pass the bananas. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: Sweet fragrant bananas, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a blast. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: Strong action, special effects and by far the most credible ape "performances" yet seen will spell box office to inspire chest-thumping in all markets. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" does it right. Smart, fun and thoroughly enjoyable, it's a model summer diversion that entertains without insulting your intelligence. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Rarely has a story about the end of the world seemed so boring. Read more

David Thomson, The New Republic: Caesar [the main ape] is the reason to see this daft, breathless picture. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: Rise of the Planet of the Apes is spectacle with a kick: the transcendence of the normal in creatures so like ourselves is both an entertainment and a needling rebuke to human vanity. Read more

Bruce Diones, New Yorker: The action scenes (particularly a battle between humans and apes on the Golden Gate Bridge) are inventively spectacular, and the story at the movie's core is evocative and engaging. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: What isn't here are any of the joys of the classic film. Read more

Jeannette Catsoulis, NPR: A creature feature of disappointing stupidity, Rise of the Planet of the Apes replaces the sociopolitical underpinnings of the original film and its sequels with a limp warning about the evils of animal testing. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is this summer's best popcorn flick. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: They probably should have called it "Beneath the Dignity of the Planet of the Apes," but "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is tolerable if you'll just keep in mind that the original feature was an overachieving B-movie. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: In the oeuvre of Planet of the Apes pics - four sequels to the original, and the 2001 Tim Burton-directed remake - Rise is certainly not the most interesting, nor the most inventive. But it's not risible, either. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The central problem with Rise of the Planet of the Apes is that it feels more like a piece of something larger than a complete motion picture. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: A well-crafted B movie with astonishingly effective motion capture CGI technology. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: One never knows exactly where the human ends and the effects begin, but Serkis and/or Caesar gives the best performance in the movie. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Rise of the Planet of the Apes rises and, at times, even soars - all thanks to what human actors in league with computer technology can now achieve to bring the apes to life. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: I kind of enjoyed "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" despite its evident silliness and the fact that nobody's likely to remember it three weeks from now. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It is not what could be fairly called a bad movie, but neither is it fine enough to be a good one, with its lineup of dull characters and a limp story that functions like a conveyor belt. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: This seventh film in the Planet of the Apes series rises to such ridiculous heights, it's impossible not to laugh out loud -- in a good way, in appreciation. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: This movie is a worthy claimant to the simian throne and the rare summer blockbuster that gets more, not less, fun as it goes along. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is first-class entertainment, packed with clever, unsettling and even inspired ideas. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It's faint praise to say that this is the best of the "Planet of the Apes" movies, because the evolution of special effects and makeup was predictable. But the unexpected strength of the film is its heart. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: [H]alf good and half bad, and the primary dividing line is by genus. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: The running time is efficient, the direction is clean, the story is simple but resonant, the effects are understated yet impressive, and the near-wordless star of the show puts on an acting clinic. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Everything Burton's movie wasn't -- smart, exciting and thought-provoking, while operating in the realm of the movies' great misunderstood monsters. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: As both a simian simile and a wonder of technology, Rise of the Planet of the Apes deserves to be in the company of the great original Kong. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: Distinguishes itself from other ill-conceived reboots in general, and from Tim Burton's disastrous 2001 remake in particular, by looking with fresh, simian eyes at its core conflict between human and primates. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Wyatt's version, scripted by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (who previously teamed for The Relic), pays tribute to the original series without being bound by it. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: With its skillful blend of live action and motion-capture technology, it's a handsomely made prequel to familiar monkey business. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Rise of the Planet of the Apes makes for an impressive, if predictably downbeat prequel to a franchise famous for unhappy endings. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: Caesar's prison conversion to charismatic pan-ape revolutionist is near-silent filmmaking, with simple and precise images illustrating Caesar's General-like divining of personalities and his organization of a group from chaos to order. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: The filmmakers seem to have spent so much attention and, presumably, money on getting the primates right that they completely forgot about the people. Read more