It was billed as the main event of the summer, at least for comic
book fans. Marvel Studios had two films
in contention for the superhero crown: One about a Norse God who wields a
mighty hammer and the other about a super soldier draped in the American
flag. The latter had the clear advantage,
if the advance buzz was to be believed.
DC Entertainment, who also had a flagship character in the race, stumbled
out of the gate with a clumsy marketing campaign that preceded a mediocre film. The Norse God was off to a sturdy start and
solid finish. It was the super soldiers
race to lose, or so it seemed. When the
dust settled, a chimp was left standing with the first place trophy firmly in hand.
That’s right. The
modestly budgeted (relatively speaking) reboot of 20th Century Fox’s
43 year old science fiction franchise managed to outdo all four of the other so
called superhero films that invaded multiplexes this summer. How did a film dumped in the summer
blockbuster graveyards of August manage to pull off such a feat? There is a deceptively simple answer to that
question. The films endearing and
amazing central character: Caesar. The
smart and scrappy little primate has everything audiences could possibly want
in a larger than life hero and more.
Neither Thor nor Captain America: The First Avenger were
bad films by any stretch. In fact,
both were quite enjoyable. Neither, however,
managed to be more than the sum of its parts.
They bore all the characteristics of standard product from the Marvel
Studios assembly line, which dutifully continues to use the first Iron Man film as a blueprint. Thor
especially had more than a few similarities to Shell Heads first cinematic
outing. While this helps the integrity
of Marvel’s cinematic universe, is also makes their films seem overly familiar
when the studio should be striving for the exact opposite. The superhero formula needs to be constantly rejuvenated
to stay fresh.
Despite its status as the seventh film in a decades old
franchise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
provides the requisite freshness by offering audiences as unlikely a hero as
they will ever find. Caesar is not human
being enhanced by drugs, or a disgraced God that walks among men. He’s a chimpanzee, equipped with all the expected
strengths and limitations. His only
superpower is his superior intelligence (in relation to others of his kind), a
blessing bestowed upon him by the experimentation his poor mother endured. He wins the audience over because his
motivations are simple. He wants freedom
for himself and his kind. It doesn’t get
more human than that.
When one compares Caesars motivations to that of Thor and Captain America, the two Marvel characters are left sorely lacking. Thor was a spoiled child in need of severe
discipline. Drunk on his own power and
insolence, he is cast down among mortals to learn a bit of humility. Given the current animosity towards the privileged
in this country, such qualities are likely to elicit a limited amount of sympathy. Steve Rogers gets duped by his own government,
who exploit his weaknesses to their own ends.
He then becomes a both their pawn and a tool for propaganda. Again, with the way that our military have
been abused and exploited over the past decade, it’s hard to know whether to
root for Captain America or feel sort of sorry for him.
So we are left with Caesar the chimp, a primate who’s
emotional and intellectual IQ’s grow exponentially over the course of a feature
length film. The audience is made to
care for him, his plight, and goals. By
the third act of Rise of the Planet of
the Apes, Caesar has won over the hearts and minds of both fellow apes and
filmgoers worldwide. He is everything
that a great hero is supposed to be: strong, smart, visually marvelous to
behold, and endearingly human. Hail
Caesar, the first of a new breed. Marvel
and DC would do well to take notes.
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