The summer movie season officially begins in May. Although this year Fast Five declared that it started in April. On most years Hollywood parades out their biggest movies in May, June, and July. August is left over month. It’s still a part of the summer movie season but it’s typically reserved for the weaker movies of the summer.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out in August. To my surprise it was really good. Now I’m not sure if it’s a reboot or a prequel to the Planet of the Apes series. If feels like a prequel but if it is there is one big oversight. The Planet of the Apes movies are all in the sci-fi future. They aren’t supposed to be in our time. This movie takes place in our time.  The timeline is off. If the apes took over in modern times then it wouldn’t have been a surprise to future Charlton “Moses” Heston or future Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg. Other than that the movie is really well done.

Another surprise to me about the movie is the lack of action. That’s not a bad thing. It’s more of a drama with the last 20 minutes becoming an action movie. The creators of this film did a great job of creating characters that you care about. There aren’t a lot of laughs but it actually does tug at the heart strings. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is rated PG-13 for a few swears, mild action/violence, and some intense monkies. I give it one thumb up.

Rob’s Rating System =
Two Thumbs Up – A great movie worth paying full price.
One Thumb Up – A decent attempt and worth seeing at a matinee price.
Thumb to the side – An ok film, but wait for video.
Thumb down – A stinker of a film. Don’t waste you life seeing it.