Now I Know How the Apes Took the Planet

Taylor and I watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Rupert Wyatt, director, 2011) last night. It was a fine movie, very emotional. It is sad when friends get separated, and that happens back and forth in this movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I don't want to ruin the ending for you, but if you are familiar with the original Planet of the Apes (1968) movie, starring Moses, then you can probably guess where this new movie ends us. Seeing as that it is a prequel (meaning that after having made the remake and it wasn't as much of a success, they thought they could try telling the back story and have a better go at it). Continue reading or don't, I won't be giving away crucial storyline details, just alluding to one aspect of the ending.

You see, I had a dream last night after watching the movie. I had a lot of dreams, actually. The one where I seemed to be part of the family on Full House was rather odd; Michelle had apparently run away at some point and learned about smoking while she was gone, now she was back and Danny was talking to her about her encouraging her friend and his grandfather to smoke. She was the 4 year old Michelle. Very odd. Jesse and Stephanie were trying to cover up a plumbing leak where water was spraying through the wall in a very Three Stooges fashion. I ratted them out to Danny because I didn't want to get blamed for the water mess. I digress.

At one point in the Apes movie we see Will and Caesar at a crucial decision making point. They are in the woods. Caesar is with a lot of other primates and Will is alone. Will is the scientist working on the drug that lead to Caesar's advanced intelligence and ability. Will is inviting Caesar to return home with him, as Will acted as a surrogate father for the chimp. Here is where I picked up the storyline in my dream. Will invites Caesar to come with him and Caesar denies. Then in the background you see something behind a tree that looks like a dinosaur tail. Will gets a stupid grin on his face and says that the Apes weren't the only thing he had been doing research on, and he leaves. Just then dinosaurs come out from everywhere and attack the apes.

I was left to believe that Will had previously done experimentation on dinosaurs, was able to recreate them, and then placed them in the redwood forest to live peaceably away from humans. Now he was bringing the hyper-intelligent apes to do the same thing. It didn't make sense, but it certainly changed the storyline of the movie. It also turned Will into a villain in some ways, thereby making it easier for me to accept Caesar not wanting to return with him, but at the same time, it makes it worse because the apes all were eaten by dinosaurs. I almost thought there was some closure in there for me, but turns out there isn't. So much for that. It is interesting that I dreamt an alternate ending for a movie I had only seen a few hours prior.

In the end, the movie was entertaining, if not terribly sad. But like I said in the title, I now know how the apes took over the planet. I Have never seen the original movie or it's Mark Wahlberg remake from 2001. I've seen a few minutes of both on television, but never devoted the time to either one fully. I am interested to do so now. This movie was able to answer all of the how and why questions very easily. There is the overall genetic therapy drug that is being created, which is how the apes become intelligent and how so many humans die. Then there are the two news headlines that come up kind of in the background about a mission to Mars that gets lost in space. And there you have it, apes take control of Earth.

The end.