Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Chimp-to-chieftan tale of how planet Earth got monkeyfied. Or rather, an account of how apes grew brains big enough to ditch the tea ads and arm themselves, which is why it’s structured like so many other reboot origin stories, except instead of web-slinging or telepathy the apes develop the power to organise themselves into a sort of hairy terrorist cell.

Franco is out of his depth as our human hero, a brain scientist developing a cure for senility. It’s tough to buy the laid back star as a doctor, and his end of the emotional relationship with adopted super-monkey Caesar is fumbled . Much better, despite being entirely covered in CG prosthetics, is Andy Serkis as the fast-evolving head ape, although not even his performance can hide the fact that the events of the film lead us right to the edge of something interesting happening and then stop. Bring on The Arrival Of The Planet Of The Apes.

This text originally appeared in Official Xbox Magazine