Can you have a Planet of the Apes movie without actually calling it that? Losing some of its marquee name, Rise of the Apes from 20th Century Fox has found itself re-titled prior to its August 5th, 2011 bow by now being called Rise of the Planet of the Apes. A little lengthy, but it fits in perfectly with what has come before, even with the 2001 reboot which we’ll all pretend never really happened. Every movie in the original run had worked off of the title of the first and with lengthier words to open it than Rise as well, so this one certainly isn’t bad. It just feels out of place at a time when movie titles generally go for something shorter, something with what the marketing folks like to call a little “bam!” to it that’s easier to advertise and not quite a mouthful
Of course, if you look at the lengthy naming of the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies, well…
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
- Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
- Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Plot summary: James Franco is set to play a scientist working on a cure for Alzheimer’s by testing on apes. When test subject Caesar suddenly begins to mutate rapidly, the scientist takes him home to remove him from the cruel lab doctors.
