Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the impressive prequel to the 1968 original Planet of the Apes which stared Charlton Heston. The film effortlessly mixes state of the art CGI with a brilliant live action performance by Andy Serkis, who plays a super intelligent chimp named “Caesar”.
Serkis has become renowned for his motion capture performances, having previously portrayed the mighty King Kong, as well as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings. In Rise of the Planet of the Apes however, Serkis was tasked with more than simply imitating a chimp. Rather, Serkis had to develop a character that begins as a simple ape, and eventually ends as a revolutionary leader.
In the coming months Andy will re-appear on our screens as Captain Haddock in Steven Spielberg’s Tintin. He has also re-prised the role of Gollum in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, due in 2012.
For the moment though, you can catch Andy alongside James Franco and others in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a hugely enjoyable thriller which is out now.
