Movie Review: Apes are People, Too
Cast:
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman
Indiana Jones
Ceasar the Ape King
Brutus the Ape
I arrived at my lovely theater slightly early. So...I was able to hear the music to the credits before seeing the movie. Holy dramatic and intense music. Very intense. Sometimes drama makes me giggle. So, I giggled through the credits of the movie I was about to watch.
Then there were the previews. I won't be watching the cartoon plane forest fire one.
In this new dawn, there has been a worldwide epidemic that has killed all humans who aren't genetically immune to a deadly virus. The vast and rapid death toll has led to the breakdown of societal structures. The original virus was created by humans, and tested on apes as a treatment to alzheimers in a laboratory.
We meet the apes first. They all know sign language, and they read and write English. Their society is a happy one where the kids all go to Orangutan school and learn not to kill other apes. The males hunt for deer in the woods, and occasionally fight off aggressive bears. There was an overall disturbing lack of banana eating. Ceasar is the king of the apes, and has an adorable little family. He is married to the ONLY female ape in all of Apeland, or at least the only one we see. She has eyebrow decor so we know she's pretty.
Dr. Quinn and Indiana Jones are the diplomats sent to the apes to try and get some power going. Literal power, like the kind that makes electricity, through the dam that is located near Apeland.
The intercultural terrain they travel is very trepidus and there are many moments of suspense and misunderstandings. Dr. Quinn uses her medical skills to build some bridges, and Indiana Jones uses his intelligence and bravery to wear his hat. They have a good thing going, and everything is complicated by Brutus the Ape who was experimented on by humans in his early life and hates them. He hates humans more than he loves apes, and he is also brilliantly strategic, which leads him to be an interesting and unpredictable villain.
The storyline lacked strong female characters, especially when it came to the apes. There was room for a rocking ape lady to work some magic for good or evil. In the colony of humans, there was also shockingly little female leadership, or even weak females that need taken care of. There was just an absence that made the story less complex than it could have been if there were more female characters and relationships introduced.
There was also little eating, or concern with hygienic necessities that I think would have been very time consuming part of living in society built on the breakdown of society. Where does the food come from? How is it prepared and evenly distributed? How is laundry done, etc. It could have been addressed in the background of the story, or if someone broke their glasses or something, and how hard it is to replace physical items. I think a little bit of this would have added to the desperation the situation demanded.
There wasn't comic relief, which would have been nice. The movie was very intense, like Lord of the Rings intensity, but without little Hobbits to lighten the mood. Heavy through the end...all the way through the credits.
But, it was overall an action packed story that had great timing. The acting by the apes was really, really good. Ceasar and Brutus were very believable and did so much with their signing, that they seemed complex and interesting. Screening: one f-bomb, no sexual content, violence but not graphic violence.
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman
Indiana Jones
Ceasar the Ape King
Brutus the Ape
I arrived at my lovely theater slightly early. So...I was able to hear the music to the credits before seeing the movie. Holy dramatic and intense music. Very intense. Sometimes drama makes me giggle. So, I giggled through the credits of the movie I was about to watch.
Then there were the previews. I won't be watching the cartoon plane forest fire one.
In this new dawn, there has been a worldwide epidemic that has killed all humans who aren't genetically immune to a deadly virus. The vast and rapid death toll has led to the breakdown of societal structures. The original virus was created by humans, and tested on apes as a treatment to alzheimers in a laboratory.
We meet the apes first. They all know sign language, and they read and write English. Their society is a happy one where the kids all go to Orangutan school and learn not to kill other apes. The males hunt for deer in the woods, and occasionally fight off aggressive bears. There was an overall disturbing lack of banana eating. Ceasar is the king of the apes, and has an adorable little family. He is married to the ONLY female ape in all of Apeland, or at least the only one we see. She has eyebrow decor so we know she's pretty.
Dr. Quinn and Indiana Jones are the diplomats sent to the apes to try and get some power going. Literal power, like the kind that makes electricity, through the dam that is located near Apeland.
The intercultural terrain they travel is very trepidus and there are many moments of suspense and misunderstandings. Dr. Quinn uses her medical skills to build some bridges, and Indiana Jones uses his intelligence and bravery to wear his hat. They have a good thing going, and everything is complicated by Brutus the Ape who was experimented on by humans in his early life and hates them. He hates humans more than he loves apes, and he is also brilliantly strategic, which leads him to be an interesting and unpredictable villain.
The storyline lacked strong female characters, especially when it came to the apes. There was room for a rocking ape lady to work some magic for good or evil. In the colony of humans, there was also shockingly little female leadership, or even weak females that need taken care of. There was just an absence that made the story less complex than it could have been if there were more female characters and relationships introduced.
There was also little eating, or concern with hygienic necessities that I think would have been very time consuming part of living in society built on the breakdown of society. Where does the food come from? How is it prepared and evenly distributed? How is laundry done, etc. It could have been addressed in the background of the story, or if someone broke their glasses or something, and how hard it is to replace physical items. I think a little bit of this would have added to the desperation the situation demanded.
There wasn't comic relief, which would have been nice. The movie was very intense, like Lord of the Rings intensity, but without little Hobbits to lighten the mood. Heavy through the end...all the way through the credits.
But, it was overall an action packed story that had great timing. The acting by the apes was really, really good. Ceasar and Brutus were very believable and did so much with their signing, that they seemed complex and interesting. Screening: one f-bomb, no sexual content, violence but not graphic violence.
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