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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0375733e0a09e5e2707badb5ac1f6edd.png]]
2
3-> ''"Ape alone, weak. Apes together... strong."''
4-->-- '''Caesar''' ''(in sign)''
5
6''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2011 film directed by Rupert Wyatt that serves as a [[ContinuityReboot reboot]] of the ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' franchise unrelated to both the [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 1968]] and [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001 2001]] films' respective continuities. The film is a loose remake of ''Film/ConquestOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' and tells the origin of a new ''Planet of the Apes'' universe with a new take on the backstory to the original films, with notable and prominent use of SerkisFolk (with Creator/AndySerkis [[TropeNamer himself]] playing Caesar) to portray the apes. Creator/JamesFranco, Creator/FreidaPinto, Creator/JohnLithgow, Creator/BrianCox, Creator/TomFelton and Creator/DavidOyelowo also star.
7
8Will Rodman (Franco) is a scientist attempting to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, fueled by the desire to cure his father Charles (Lithgow) of the illness. He finds incredible results with the experimental virus-based drug ALZ-112: "Bright Eyes", a female chimpanzee injected with the drug, becomes more intelligent soon after the drug takes effect. Will believes the time is right to fund human testing -- but during his pitch to potential backers, Bright Eyes inexplicably goes berserk and gets gunned down in the middle of the meeting.
9
10Fortunate to still have his job afterwards, Will soon finds out that Bright Eyes had just given birth, and she became aggressive as an instinctive attempt to protect her child. Will saves the young chimp from euthanasia, names him Caesar, and takes him home. The ape immediately displays intelligence beyond his years (and species), which proves he inherited his mother's enhanced intelligence. Through Caesar, Will hopes to keep his work alive -- but as Caesar grows older, a chain of events leads him on the path to self-realization and an eventual uprising.
11
12A prequel comic mostly focusing on Bright Eyes was put out as a webcomic/free digital comic in the weeks leading up to the movie's release.
13
14Two sequels, ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' and ''Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes'', were released in 2014 and 2017 respectively. Both were directed by Creator/MattReeves.
15
16A third sequel, ''Film/KingdomOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' will be released in 2024 and is directed by Wes Ball.
17
18Trailers: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1yKN0llkrY First trailer,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3tidwW1gGM second trailer,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F97vRT5W4P4 international trailer.]]
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20-----
21!!''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' contains examples of:
22* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Assuming that the beginning takes place in modern-day 2011, that would point the film's events taking place between 2014 and 2019. The fact that the story takes place in the future is confirmed by a brief reference to a manned mission to Mars.
23* ActorAllusion:
24** [[Film/X2XMenUnited Colonel Stryker]] is seen in the trailer saying, "[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman They're not people, you know.]]"
25** [[Creator/TomFelton Draco]] [[Film/HarryPotter Malfoy]] doesn't seem too friendly towards the non-humans, either, all the way down to his asserting power by wielding a [[strike:wand]] stun baton.
26** [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing Biting off someone's finger]] again, are we, [[Creator/AndySerkis Gollum?]]
27*** Andy Serkis as [[Film/KingKong2005 another ape]], no less (if smaller and smarter), let alone in another movie that features [[spoiler:an angry gorilla tackling human aircraft]].
28** Creator/JohnLithgow becomes friends with a primate. [[Film/HarryAndTheHendersons Again.]]
29* AdaptationalContextChange: The original films established that the apes rose to prominence after the nuclear war. In this film, the ALZ-113 increased the intelligence in apes, [[spoiler:and was accidentally spread by Will's neighbor Douglas Hunsiker, thus causing a world-wide epidemic]]. This cause the apes to eventually rise and take over the planet.
30* AllThereInTheManual: The prequel comic refers to Caesar's father as "Alpha" and details Bright Eyes' days at Gen-Sys.
31* ApocalypseHow: [[ApocalypseHow/{{Class 3A}} Planetary-level]], [[spoiler:with the credits showing the lethal-to-humans ALZ-113 being spread around the world]].
32* ArcWords:
33** "Home" and "No."
34** Also "Apes together strong," which serve as arc words for all films in this continuity.
35* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
36** Apes cannot speak human languages because of the different structures of their vocal cords, not cognitive capacity... [[spoiler:but then we wouldn't have two of the most powerful moments in the film, would we?]] This is best seen in real life as there have been several cases of chimps and gorillas successfully being taught human language but through sign language instead of verbal communication.
37** Apes are incapable of throwing with the distance and accuracy shown in the film. The reason that our shoulders are so different from those of apes is believed to be because we evolved to throw weapons, such as spears and rocks, to deadly effect.
38** The drugs had an instantaneous effect on the brain. Neurogenesis is an inherently slow process, with overly fast neurogenesis causing death. Which becomes a nice plot point when [[spoiler:ALZ-113 proves deadly to humans]]. That said where do all the new brain cells in the Chimps go, given their far smaller braincases?
39** The apes who become intelligent are from different species which have very different degrees of intelligence in nature, ape species being different between them as they are different from humans, yet ALZ-113 makes them all similarly smart. There is also the fact that humans are just another species of ape, if there is a chemical that transforms all form of ape then it would affect humans similarly.
40** While humans have had varying levels of success teaching other primates to sign, Maurice displays a level of intelligence far beyond his real-world counterparts (even before he is enhanced by ALZ-113). He is capable of holding full conversations with Caesar, asking questions, and understanding Caesar's use of broken sticks to symbolize "apes together strong".
41* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: It seems unusual for lab scientists being unable to detect that a female chimpanzee delivered fresh from the jungle and into their labs was pregnant and gave birth inside its pen. Their job is to closely monitor the chimpanzee's body.
42* ArtisticLicensePharmacology: Steven Jacobs asserts to Will that if the ALZ-113 drug tested on chimpanzee boosts positive results for the chimp subject then it will have the same positive effect on humans. This is inaccurate; despite the fact that chimpanzees share 99.1% of their DNA with humans, their biology is still far too different to always guarantee the same results for humans. Jacobs' wild assumption also violates the FDA-required Phase III trials that new drugs be tested on groups of humans before final approval and distribution on the market. The predictable happens as the ALZ-113 drug doesn't really do the same for humans as it did with chimps, bonobos, orangutans and gorillas...
43* TheBadGuysAreCops: Averted. The police are not cruel or malicious, they're just trying to halt the apes from running amok fearing that the animals could harm humans. They don't know the apes were both genetically modified and then tamed by Caesar to avoid contact with humans and containing the loose apes is virtually impossible, the only way to stop the apes' stampede is by shooting them down.
44* BashBrothers: Buck the gorilla and Maurice the orangutan taking out cop cars.
45* BattleCry: After saying it for the first time, [[spoiler:Caesar rallies the other apes at the center with a repeated chant of "NO!"]]
46* BigBad: Steven Jacobs, who is Rodman's boss.
47* BigGuyFatalitySyndrome: [[spoiler:Buck gets killed]] taking out a helicopter [[spoiler:that was gunning down the escaping apes]].
48* BigNo: One happens courtesy of [[spoiler:Caesar]], and serves as [[WhamLine the single most important event of the film.]]
49* BilingualBonus: Caesar and Maurice are fluent in Sign Language.
50* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Inverted. [[spoiler:Jacobs dies last.]]
51* BloodFromTheMouth: And the nose, and the ears... the scientist [[spoiler:infected with ALZ-113 has this happen to him as he grows sicker]].
52* BrainsAndBrawn: Caesar and Buck [[spoiler:defeating Rocket.]]
53* BreakTheCutie: Abuse at the hands of Dodge and the other chimps at the primate facility do this to Caesar.
54* BullyingADragon: The CHP officer who keeps hitting Buck in the face with a baton without realizing just how suicidal of a decision that is until Buck pulls him out of his horse.
55* ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts: That Mars mission is in for a ''big'' surprise when they finally return. In fact, it's implied to be the ''Icarus'' from ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968''.
56* CallBack:
57** When Caroline says it's appropriate to be afraid of chimpanzees, Caesar mocks the idea by jumping on top of Will and miming punches at him, all while everyone is laughing. Caesar later does nearly the exact same thing to Hunsiker, except he's actually beating him up very badly.
58** During Caesar's first night in the cages, he draws a symbol resembling the attic window of Will's home to comfort himself. Later, [[spoiler:during the ape's rampage through San Fran]], the same symbol appears again [[spoiler:scrawled on a road sign, seemingly to mark territory]].
59* ChekhovsGun: Dodge likes torturing the apes with his cattle prod and fire hose. [[spoiler:Guess how he dies?]]
60* ChekhovsSkill: Inverted, sort of. The fact that Will's neighbor [[spoiler:is a pilot]] becomes relevant at the very end, [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom but in a very bad way.]]
61** Will mentions that Caesar "[[SmartPeoplePlayChess plays chess pretty well]]." In case it becomes important later that he has a grasp of tactical and strategic maneuvering, efficiently utilizing subordinates with different skills and abilities, and how to outflank and entrap opponents.
62* CombatPragmatist: Caesar ''is'' this trope. His whole revolution is predicated on him using his advanced intelligence and the apes' natural strengths and abilities to thwart the humans with every dirty trick in the book. Getting around the roadblock on the Golden Gate Bridge by climbing the struts under it, hurling ordinary objects with massive strength to disable vehicles, using handy fog to get close enough to entrenched humans to bring the apes' superior strength and toughness into play, and so on. At one point, Caesar lures Rocket into the main room of the refuge center [[spoiler:and then [[IronicEcho hits him in the head with a metal gas can]] as he's coming out of the gate. And then threatens to sic Buck on him]].
63* ComingOfAgeStory: Caesar, naturally. He is taken as a baby by Will, grows in mind and body, and then, through a series of events, leaves his nest and becomes a freedom fighter.
64* ContinuitySnarl: The 10-year projection graph at Gen-Sys 8 years before the rest of the movie contains years 2011-2019. Eight more years would place most of the film in 2019. However, the year 2016 appears on a car sticker and is even suggested as the year of this film's events by the website dawnofapes.com, which itself contradicts the 2013, 2012, and 2011 years given by the Simian Flu website, the ''Dawn'' novelization, and Motherboard's ''Before the Dawn'' shorts respectively. One thing that we know for sure is that Caesar's birth takes place no earlier than 2005 since that year is on Charles Rodman's certificate on the wall in the beginning.
65* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Jacobs, who's willing to go straight to human trials the minute they get good results on the apes, [[IdiotBall without making sure it's safe first]].
66-->'''Jacobs:''' You make history. I make money.
67* CreativeClosingCredits: Goes hand-in-hand with the DownerEnding. [[spoiler:The credits roll over an animation of international flight patterns spreading the ALZ-113 virus across the globe.]]
68* DeadlyDisc: Maurice uses the classic manhole cover to take out a police car.
69* DecoyProtagonist: Will. The real protagonist is Caesar.
70* DefeatEqualsFriendship: Caesar invokes this on Rocket after getting the latter to submit to him.
71* DefinitelyJustACold: A scientist working in a lab with viruses [[IdiotBall somehow just assumes this]].
72* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Two supporting characters perish in this fashion: [[spoiler:Will's father, and Buck.]]
73* DisastrousDemonstration: Bright Eyes' spectacular escape concludes right in the middle of an investors' meeting.
74* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Jacobs]]. Off of the Golden Gate Bridge, no less.
75* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
76** A blink-and-you'll-miss-it example, but the crude sketch of the window in the Rodman's attic that Caesar [[spoiler:drew on the wall of his cage in the San Bruno Pound to comfort himself]] later shows up rather ominously on a highway marker overlooking the Bay Valley skyline when [[spoiler:Caesar and his band of apes break out of the San Bruno pound,]] as though it were graffiti left by a gang marking their territory.
77** The similarity between the animal sanctuary and a prison however is overt, and even lampshaded by Dodge when he brings his friends to visit.
78* TheDogBitesBack: Pretty much the entire plot of the movie.
79* DolledUpInstallment: A weird one. Rick Jaffa wrote the first treatment as an original story inspired by reports of people raising primates as children in their homes and being attacked by them. It wasn't until he was finishing it that he realized that, given enough time, the situation created by the ending could very well lead to the world seen in the 1968 ''Planet of the Apes''. So Jaffa contacted FOX, presented the story as a reboot for ''Planet of the Apes'', and this is the result. Notably, neither Jaffa nor Silverman had seen any of the ''Planet of the Apes'' sequels until after they were commissioned by FOX to write a full script for ''Rise'' (and may not have been aware that such sequels existed beforehand).
80* DoomedByCanon: The entire human race, given that this is a prequel/reboot of the original series.
81* DoWithHimAsYouWill: Caesar [[spoiler:considers saving Jacobs, but then decides against it, walking away and motioning to Koba that it's his call to make. Koba chooses to kill him.]]
82* DownerEnding: It seems that the apes will [[spoiler:inherit the earth after the same substance that made them intelligent kills off the human race.]] It's a bit of a ForegoneConclusion, though, since this is a prequel.
83* EarnYourHappyEnding: For Caesar and the few apes that made it past the Golden Gate Bridge.
84* EndIsNighEnding: The film's last scene is of a virus-infected airline pilot heading off to work. The credits play over a global schematic of how the resulting lethal epidemic spreads rapidly from city to city.
85* EscapedAnimalRampage: Apes escape from their own facility and release other apes from a zoo to create an army, before disappearing into the forests.
86* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Koba's introduction sequence has his repeatedly holding out his hand to get ''more'' food. The ape has learned {{Greed}}...foreshadowing his dark nature, hinted at in this film but emphasized directly in ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes''.
87* EvolutionPowerup: When any apes is exposed to ALZ-112 or the more-virulent ALZ-113.
88* FiveFingerDiscount: Caesar stealing the knife he uses to get out of prison.
89* FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome: After Will's father's body begins rejecting the treatment, his Alzheimer's starts to set back in. In fact, it gets worse, and his health declines, and he dies.
90* FogOfWar: A [[WeatherOfwar convenient fog]] hides the apes on the bridge from the police. [[StealthPun One might even say]] there are Film/GorillasInTheMist. Fog on and around the Golden Gate bridge is pretty common, so a JustifiedTrope.
91* {{Foreshadowing}}:
92** When Hunsiker confronts Will's dad for smashing up his sports car, he yells that he's an airline pilot and the accident will make him late for work. This sets up the EndIsNighEnding.
93** The final scene of the film ([[spoiler:Caesar, Koba and Will]]) practically serves as a glimpse and taste of the sequel's main plot.
94* ForegoneConclusion: It's called ''RISE'' of the Planet of the Apes, so this was to be expected.
95* FreakierThanFiction: In the film, Bright Eyes is captured as an adult in Africa and shipped directly to Gen Sys in a matter of months. In reality, she would be captured as a baby after all the adults in her troop are slaughtered, smuggled out, and probably traded multiple times as a pet before being acquired by Gen Sys, all while being abused by her sucessive owners, most likely. Poachers don't bother with capturing wild adult chimpanzees because they are too strong and combative, and a corporation like Gen Sys would be under too close monitoring to import wild chimpanzees from Africa to the United States (which is banned). Of course, such a story would probably deserve its own movie, and the writer would have to figure out a way to make Bright Eyes pregnant.
96* FromNobodyToNightmare: Caesar isn't really a BigBad in any way, but after gradually learning of humanity's overall treatment of apes, he goes from a harmless, genius-level chimpanzee to inciting an all-out revolution in San Francisco giving the world [[ForeShadowing a small preview]] of what is to come.
97* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: In this continuity, apparently we didn't "blow it up," as [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 George Taylor]] assumed.
98* GeniusBruiser: Maurice the orangutan is the only other ape who initially knows sign language, but being an orangutan, he's incredibly strong and at one point hurls a manhole cover straight through a police car windshield as if he were throwing a Frisbee.
99* GoneHorriblyRight: Yes, ALZ-113 '''does''' improve mental functions! [[spoiler:To lethal degrees.]]
100* GraffitiOfTheResistance: Shows up briefly, where the picture Caesar drew on his wall in the animal shelter to represent his window at home is seen spray-painted on a road sign following the apes' revolt.
101* GreyAndGrayMorality: One can't fault the apes for rebelling, humans being bastards (of course you soon find out that Apes are bastards too if you know anything about the movies, guess it just comes with intelligence) and all (some more so than others), but the tests being conducted on them was for a good cause.
102* GuileHero: Caesar.
103* GuiltByAssociationGag: Zigzagged. After the apes kill Dodge, they turn on his unwilling and far more sympathetic coworker, Rodney. Caesar however recognises this and stops them before having him gently imprisoned.
104* GunboatDiplomacy: Caesar pulls this on Rocket to get him to step down as the leader of the apes. Rocket is a lot more compliant when Caesar's 450-pound gorilla friend is around to help with the convincing.
105* HateSink: While the film has several contemptible characters, Dodge indulges in his villainy on a strict diet of [[LargeHam ham]], and the CorruptCorporateExecutive Jacobs is largely relegated in screentime. Hunsiker, however, is a full embodiment of this trope due to his unexplained IrrationalHatred of the film's protagonists, and he's considered a VeryPunchableMan whenever he's the KarmicButtMonkey.
106* HeroicBSOD: Poor Caesar goes under ''two'' of these -- the first one after experiencing his CurbStompBattle of a beatdown by then-alpha male Rocket, the second after learning once again that he could not go home with Will and Caroline after the hell he has experienced.
107* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Buck, the main gorilla,]] [[DyingMomentOfAwesome has one to take out the helicopter]].
108* HeroOfAnotherStory: Throughout the film, various background references are made to a manned spaceflight that gets "lost in space", no doubt into some kind of wormhole that will spit them out thousands of years into the future right near a watery planet, the third from the sun in its solar system.
109* HighVoltageDeath: Landon, the son of the owner of the ape sanctuary dies of electrocution. After Caesar has enough of Landon's abuse and speaks, he turns the kid's hose on him, and since Landon is still holding his activated cattle prod... well, he dies. Combined with a bit of HoistByHisOwnPetard, it seems.
110* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
111** [[spoiler:Dodge is killed when he [[TooDumbToLive activates his stun baton just as Caesar sprays him with the water hose]].]]
112** An unintentional one when the gorilla attacks a police car with ''a parking meter''.
113* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:For Will when he sees the initial cure work on his father. However, anti-bodies eventually develop to fight the cure and the Alzheimer's comes back with a vengeance.]] Serves as a bit of ShownTheirWork, since this is generally the final outcome of most Alzheimer's treatments in real life (the ones that work at all, anyway).
114* HulkSpeak: Sign language between apes are subtitled in what appears to be poor grammar. However, ASL is a simplified language where many conjunctions are implied. A literal translation appears akin to bad grammar in English.
115-->'''Maurice:''' [[MemeticMutation Why]] [[DefeatMeansFriendship cookie]] [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Rocket?]]\
116'''Caesar:''' [[DividedWeFall Apes alone: weak. Apes together: strong.]]\
117(''apes start fighting'')\
118'''Maurice:''' [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Apes stupid.]]
119* {{Hypocrite}}: Will confronts Jacobs, the CEO of Gen*Sys, for rushing tests of ALZ-113 despite the unknown risks to humans... after he's spent the ''last five years'' secretly subjecting his father with ALZ-112 to ward off his Alzheimer's. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] directly by Jacobs immediately after.
120* IChooseToStay: Caesar rejects both opportunities he's given to come with Will back home, at first when Will bought his freedom back from the primate shelter and lastly at the end when Will offers to hide him from the police authorities who may potentially hunt down the apes Caesar led into the Muir Woods forest.
121* IdiotBall:
122** Will. When your father has advanced Alzheimer's, it's generally not a good idea to leave him alone in the house while you're at work.
123** Double for Hunsiker, who apparently leaves the door of his sports car unlocked and open, with keys in the ignition, on a regular basis.
124** Gen*Sys not immediately quarantining Franklin after he inhales the untested ALZ-113, or building their large-animal testing lab out of anything but glass, even after a disastrous, project-wrecking ape escape during a board meeting.
125** None of the scientists had any idea Bright Eyes [[spoiler:was pregnant]]?
126*** On that note. Creating holding cells for the apes which have dark areas which the scientists cannot see into.
127** If Will would have told his boss everything during the ''five years'' of his father's miraculous recovery, ALZ-112 would have been Jacobs's blockbuster drug, millions of Alzheimer patients would have gotten their lives back, and Caesar might have been invited to talk shows.
128** Aerosolizing the ALZ-113 in the first place. It makes dosage control all but impossible and the only reason for it seems to be because the plot requires it.
129** The police helicopter, after seeing the apes climb to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge and hide in the fog, don't bother to warn the officers at the north end that they might be attacked from above.
130*** Similarly, none of the humans in the bridge confrontation even ''considered'' that the apes might be moving or attacking from the underside.
131* ImprovisedArmor: Several gorillas push over a bus and slide it towards a police roadblock to block their fire.
132* ImprovisedWeapon: The apes are absolute masters of finding innovative uses for random stuff -- wrought-iron fence poles become spears, a manhole cover becomes a [[DeadlyDisc thrown anti-vehicle weapon]], and [[spoiler:[[ChainPain a heavy iron chain can kill a helicopter's door-gunner]].]]
133* IronicEcho:
134** From how [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 Landon]] uses the phrase "It's a madhouse!" in the original to how Dodge uses it.
135** Likewise, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!" is used by the oppressor, not the prisoner.
136** Also, within the movie, "Stupid monkey!"
137* ItCanThink: The whole plot revolves around the advanced intelligence of the apes, [[spoiler:and its culmination in their uprising]].
138-->[[spoiler:"He spoke! Your ape. He spoke..."]]
139* {{Jerkass}}: As much as Hunsiker is this trope, Dodge is '''''even worse'''''. Creator/TomFelton has said that Dodge "makes [[Film/HarryPotter Draco]] look soft" and, let's face it, ''he'' would know.
140* JerkassHasAPoint: The jerkass neighbor gains audience sympathy when he finds a chimpanzee in his home, ''[[PapaWolf near his children]]'', and has the nerve to fend off what he obviously believed is a dangerous wild animal.
141* JustBeforeTheEnd: Or rather, at the very ''beginning'' of it.
142* KarmicButtMonkey: Hunsiker. [[spoiler:Every scene involves him suffering one way or another. We never get to see the guy in a good mood because of this.]] Though if your reaction to everything is extreme violence and anger, this quickly becomes LaserGuidedKarma and make you a VeryPunchableMan. Especially notable in the scene where he confronts Franklin. Yes, he was trying the doors to the neighbor's house, but calling the cops and keeping an eye on the situation would probably be a better bet than getting directly in the suspicious person's face to do a citizen's arrest out of IrrationalHatred of his neighbors, especially when it's not your house.
143* KarmicDeath:
144** Let's just say that being mean [[spoiler:to Caesar]] is not a good way to make it to the end credits.
145** There's also [[spoiler:Jacobs]], who's killed not by Caesar, but by Koba, who has a more [[ItsPersonal personal]] reason for killing him.
146--->'''Jacobs:''' Not you.
147* KickTheDog: Dodge does this a lot, starting with [[DisproportionateRetribution spraying Caesar with a high-powered hose after the latter flings slop into his face]].
148* KillerGorilla: Buck, and most of the rest.
149* KindlyVet: Caroline, who ends up marrying Will early in the film.
150* LabPet: Caesar, the son of a lab chimp, is taken home and made a pet.
151* LanguageEqualsThought: The line "Why cookie Rocket?" in the dialogue between Caesar and Maurice could symbolize the solidarity of the apes in fighting for their cause. Their use of language is similar to others which don't pinpoint blame for actions.
152* LargeHam: [[Creator/TomFelton Dodge]].
153* MamaBear: Why Bright Eyes goes berserk.
154* MassOhCrap: When Caesar [[spoiler:says his first word,]] even his fellow apes are shocked. This apparently carried over into real-life for anyone who saw this movie in theatres.
155* MeaningfulName:
156** Obviously Caesar, as the military and political genius.
157** Koba, the first successful test subject for ALZ-113. "Koba" was also the code name of [[spoiler:UsefulNotes/JosephStalin, which the Georgian based on Myth/RobinHood-type character from a local book, ''The Patricide'']].
158** Charles Rodman may be named after Charles Darwin, who is known for contributing to the theory of evolution, a theme in this film.
159** All of the apes had names based on the names of the actors from the [[Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes original film series]] or crew members that worked on the original film series.
160** Alzheimer's victim Charles Rodman, references Charlton Heston, star of the original ''Planet of the Apes'' movie, who went public with his diagnosis of Alzheimers.
161* TheMentor:
162** Sort of. Will does teach him the developmental skills he needs to survive during the first eight years of his life, and Maurice helps reintroduce him into ape society and acts as a surrogate parent, but Caesar, due to the ALZ, is his own mentor, having managed to teach and improve upon all the skills taught to him within those eight years.
163** Caesar himself will presumably become the mentor for his fellow apes, as they build their own society.
164* MosesInTheBulrushes: Franklin makes Caesar this to Will.
165* MoodWhiplash: The average audience reaction to the film's climactic moment goes like this. [[spoiler:When Dodge snarls [[MythologyGag "Take your stinking paw off me, you damn dirty ape!"]], people laugh ([[{{Narm}} or groan]]). When Caesar stands upright and shouts his BigNo, entire movie theaters fall silent.]]
166* MonumentalBattle: The final showdown between apes and humans takes place on the Golden Gate Bridge.
167* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
168** Caesar's reaction as soon as Will's father snaps him out of his unstoppable rage towards his neighbor.
169** Also, while he gets over it quickly enough, [[spoiler:Caesar still looks incredibly shocked at Dodge's death, as it was unintentional on his part]].
170* MythologyGag: Has [[MythologyGag/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes its own page]].
171* NeverTrustATrailer:
172** The trailer suggest that the ape horde Caesar leads are trying to violently conquer the whole planet, when in the actual film they're just trying to escape from captivity, generally only responding violently as a reaction to humans trying to hurt them.
173** Another thing the trailers omit is any of the primates talking, making it seem like it might be a departure from past entries in the series. [[spoiler:While it is a departure in some regards, Caesar ''does'' speak during the film, starting with his BigNo.]]
174* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
175** Will's Cure version 2.0 allows Caesar to smarten the other apes and cause an uprising which kills at least four people. Worse, because Jacobs refused to ensure no side effects would occur to humans, ALZ-113 ends up dooming the whole human race, although [[DiabolusExMachina probably not in the way one would expect]].
176** Will's father refusing the ALZ-113 treatment, in an odd way. Yes, it would have killed him, but they'd potentially have had warning about the side effects earlier and may have been able to curtail the epidemic.
177* NoOSHACompliance: Or No CDC Compliance -- Gen*Sys has some serious issues about keeping experimental drugs from being constantly stolen from their labs. An employee is maskless in the same room as an untested, genetically modified, airborne virus -- yet he is not detained for observation, and he calls off sick for ''two days'' before '''anyone''' puts two and two together.
178* OhCrap:
179** Rodney, Dodge, and even Buck reacts like this when [[spoiler:Caesar screams "NO!" to Dodge.]]
180** Will's, Caroline's, Will's father's, and even Caesar's [[MassOhCrap reactions]] to when Caesar viciously bit -- nearly severed -- the {{Jerkass}} neighbor's finger when trying to defend Will's father.
181** Rocket when Caesar corners him with Buck the gorilla.
182** Jacobs when seeing the facility's balcony filled with apes.
183** The cops when wrought-iron fenceposts start raining down on their cars.
184** Jacobs again in the aforementioned helicopter scene.
185* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Dodge, occasionally, especially during his more [[Film/HarryPotter Draco Malfoy]]-esque lines.
186* PapaWolf: Inversion. Caesar, upon seeing Charles Rodman being picked on by his neighbor, immediately rushes off to defend Rodman from him, going [[TheBerserker berserk]] at his neighbor.
187* ThePlague: Th aerosolized ALZ-113 virus created to combat Alzheimer's, mutated to be fatal to humans. It gets unwillingly spread worldwide [[spoiler:by Will's JerkAss neighbor]].
188* PoliceAreUseless: Since humans are physically weaker than all ape species seen in this film and they're not capable of climbing, the California Highway Patrol are unable to repel the hordes of apes escaping from zoos. One CPD officer even tried whacking Buck, a full grown male gorilla, with merely a nightstick.
189* PoorCommunicationKills:
190** Will drops the ball many times. He doesn't fess up about taking the cure home and its effect on his father until his father is starting to relapse. He doesn't fess up and point out that one of the test apes intelligence is off the charts. Despite knowing the intelligence level of Caesar, and knowing full well there are children out in the street Will doesn't have "the talk" with him.
191** Perhaps if Caesar had used his sign language to let Will know the reality of the primate facility -- and that he wasn't being kept in that prettily painted, toy-filled cage, Will might have gotten him out sooner. And perhaps if Will had taken time to explain WHY he couldn't take Caesar home -- that the courts were forcing him not to but that he was working all out to get past that -- perhaps Caesar would have felt less betrayed and abandoned by his human friend.
192* PreAsskickingOneLiner: [[spoiler:Caesar's first word in the movie may qualify for the shortest version of this trope ever.]]
193* PreviewsPulse: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3tidwW1gGM&t=1m13s The film's trailers use a metallic chord]], which actually does show up in the film once, when the spear-wielding apes appear on a roof.
194* PsychoSupporter: A DeletedScene [[spoiler:has Caesar pushing Jacobs off the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead, the movie has him walking away and refusing to help, while Koba does the job instead, which not only is more in-character for both of them but helps foreshadow the problems Koba will cause in the sequel.]]
195* RaceLift: Will, who is white, is more or less a CompositeCharacter of two characters from ''Conquest of the Planet of the Apes'': Armando (who is Mexican) and [=MacDonald=] (a black man).
196* RaisedByHumans: Caesar.
197* RealityHasNoSubtitles: Caesar signs that Will should ask Caroline out to dinner. This is left untranslated as Caroline can't understand the signs used.
198* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Will's drug gives his father full reversal of Alzheimer's for eight years (followed by a rapid regression and progression). A potential pharmaceutical gold mine he dumps and starts over from scratch ''because it wasn't permanent.'' Granted, his father's death messed with his judgment, but still.
199* LaResistance: By the end of the movie, Caesar's ape tribe has become this.
200* RockBeatsLaser: Against all expectations, the rogue apes easily defeat a police force with automatic rifles and mounted units on the Golden Gate bridge, thanks to Caesar's excellent leadership and strategic acumen (and some [[IdiotBall convenient stupidity]] from the police). San Francisco's Finest are quickly enveloped and attacked on all sides (including above and below) and soon fall back in a panicked rout. [[ChekhovsSkill All those chess games taught him well.]]
201* RoofHopping: It's easier when you're an ape.
202* SequelHook:
203** Along with the apes united on a forest, [[spoiler:a disease that will wipe out humans starts spreading.]]
204** Possibly the Icarus spacecraft evidently disappearing in space.
205* SerkisFolk: Starring Serkis himself. Interestingly, two apes shared an actor, Bright Eyes and Rocket.
206* ShipperOnDeck: Caesar for Will and Caroline.
207* ShoutOut: Several of them.
208** At one point, Caesar is constructing a model of the Statue of Liberty, which was featured in the TwistEnding of the first film.
209** Will Rodman was named after Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, who wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film.
210** His name (possibly by coincidence) sounds similar to Will Robinson, the geneticist in Terry Hayes' 1996 screenplay ''Return of the Apes.''
211** Perhaps also by coincidence, "Rodman" is almost an anagram of "Armando," which was the name of the circus owner who owned Caesar in ''Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' and ''Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.''
212** Robert Franklin is named after Franklin J. Schaffner, the director of the 1968 film.
213** Caesar appears on horseback late in the film.
214** The orangutan is named Maurice, after Creator/MauriceEvans, who played the orangutan Dr. Zaius in the 1968 film. An early draft included a human character named Evans.
215** Buck the gorilla is named after Buck Kartalian, who portrayed Julius the gorilla in the 1968 film.
216** Rocket is named after set decorator Norman Rockett from the 1968 film.
217** John Landon and Dodge Landon (the father and son who worked at the San Bruno Primate Shelter) were named after one of the astronauts John Landon and Thomas Dodge in the 1968 film.
218** Dodge firehoses Caesar, as Taylor was firehosed in the 1968 film.
219** Dodge has two lines originally spoken by Charlton Heston (See MythologyGag.)
220** In the Gen*Sys lobby, there's a "Nova" Cafe. Nova was the beautiful, mute NubileSavage played by actress Linda Harrison, who befriends both Taylor and Brent in the original films.
221** Gen*Sys scientist Linda Andersen is named after Nova actress Linda Harrison.
222** Steven Jacobs, head of Gen*Sys, is named after Arthur P. Jacobs, the producer of the original film series.
223** Caesar's mother was nicknamed "Bright Eyes," the nickname Zira gave to Taylor in the 1968 film.
224** A female chimp is named "Cornelia."
225** A bonobo is named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Koba]], like the protagonist of Alexander Kazbegi's "The Patricide." [[spoiler:Guess what he ends up doing to his metaphorical father Jacobs, personification of Gen*Sys — not to mention the fate of all other humans.]] Also, it was Josef Stalin's favorite pseudonym.
226** The movie that Rodney is mouthing along to stars Charlton Heston.
227** Rodney is named after Roddy [=McDowall=], who portrayed Cornelius and Caesar in the original film series, as well as Galen in the live-action TV series. Rodney revealing to Will that Caesar spoke mirrors Cornelius revealing in ''Escape'' that an ape named Aldo was the first to speak, his first word being "No."
228** The cops chase after the apes on horseback with night sticks, similar to the apes on horseback chasing after Taylor in the first movie.
229** The cure, ALZ-112. 112 was the original runtime of the first ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968'' film.
230** Buck [[spoiler:jumping at the helicopter and getting shot]] is similar to Film/KingKong [[spoiler:getting shot down by airplanes.]] Serkis played King Kong in the [[Film/KingKong2005 2005 remake]].
231* ShoutOutToShakespeare: Unlike ''Film/ConquestOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', where [[MeaningfulName Caesar]] is given that name after he picks out of a dictionary (albeit Armando had already given him that name prior), this film has the chimp being named by the father of the human protagonist starting to quote ''Julius Caesar'' once he sees the baby ape.
232* ShownTheirWork: ''Possibly''. A leading theory for the cause of the rapid spread of AIDS in North America is "a promiscuous flight attendant".[[note]]This would be [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaëtan_Dugas Gaëtan Dugas]], a gay flight attendant who was one of the first cases, but not the first in America, and was vilified by a mostly false and embellished book in 1987 due to the writer mistaking "Patient O" as in O for Outside California, for "Patient 0" as in Patient Zero.[[/note]]With even more air travel and an easier route of transmission, the spread isn't that hard to believe.
233** Rocket makes noise with a gas can to reinforce his position as leader. Later, Caesar uses the same gas can to hit Rocket, and ends becoming the new leader of the sanctuary. This is reminiscent of a real case studied by Jane Goodall, where a clever young chimp realized that the noise made with a gas can scared the other chimps and used it to become the tribe's leader.
234* SmartPeoplePlayChess: An early sign that Caesar is progressing ''way'' beyond ordinary chimp capacity. [[ChekhovsSkill Also that he is able to think strategically, plan ahead, and utilize numerous subordinates with differing skills and abilities. Just in case that will come in useful later.]]
235* SoftGlass: The Apes charge through tons of glass with no ill-effects.
236* TheSonsAndTheSpears: Caesar does this with Maurice to explain why he's trying to get the apes to band together.
237* SpreadingDisasterMapGraphic: During the end credits [[spoiler:as the virus that will wipe out humanity spreads.]]
238* StarringSpecialEffects: ''Literally''. The trailers said "From Weta Digital: the Visual Effects Company for ''Film/{{Avatar}}''"
239* TastesLikeFriendship: Caesar cements his authority in the ape shelter by stealing Dodge's cookies, giving one to Rocket, then having Rocket give cookies to all the other Apes.
240* TakeMyHand: Averted; [[spoiler:Caesar thinks of helping Jacobs, but then walks off and lets Koba shove him off the bridge.]]
241* TakingTheBullet: Buck shoves aside Caesar when the helicopter pilot starts shooting at him, then charges.
242* ThirdPersonPerson: [[spoiler:Caesar. With a sample size of 1 ("Caesar is home"), it's hard to say if it's an example of HulkSpeak or if Caesar is imitating his namesake [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar Julius]] (who Will's father is fond of quoting).]]
243* ThirteenIsUnlucky: ALZ 113 is the designation of the drug that causes the whole mess.
244* ThouShaltNotKill: Caesar. While he seems fine with certain [[{{Jerkass}} people]] [[KarmicDeath dying]], he is clearly not kill-happy. [[spoiler:He jumps in and stops the apes from killing one of the guards at the ape-facility, stops [[TheBigGuy Buck]] from killing a police officer, and while he personally kills [[AssholeVictim Dodge]], he is clearly [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone shocked]] by it. Besides, it's more an [[SelfDisposingVillain accident]] caused by [[TooDumbToLive Dodge's stupidity]] than anything else. See TooDumbToLive below for an exact explanation]].
245* {{Timeskip}}: Three major ones occur within the 105-minute timespan of the film. The first occurs during the DistantPrologue, or at least the distant prologue presented in in Bright Eyes' flashback, creating an undetermined amount of time between when she was captured and brought to the Gen Sys laboratories. Two more timeskips occur after that, whittling down 8 years of Caesar's life into 40-70 minutes.
246* TooDumbToLive:
247** [[spoiler:Dodge Landon. Even if Caesar wasn't aiming a hose at him at the time, what kind of idiot arms an electric prod, whilst ''standing in a puddle''?]]
248** All three ape-housing facilities that we see have the worst animal-handling policies imaginable.
249** [[spoiler:When testing a new virus (ALZ-113) and you see another scientist get exposed to it, do ''not'' simply assume he's okay because he ''says'' so, not bother to check him for contamination or immediately ''let him go home?!'' Congratulations, you've just doomed humanity!]].
250** Near the end of the movie, [[spoiler:an horse-riding policeman attacking Buck, a ''gorilla'', with nothing more than a baton. He'd be killed if Caesar didn't stop Buck.]]
251* TowersOfHanoi: Named in the film the "Lucas Tower", after its inventor, even though no one calls it that.
252* TrailersAlwaysSpoil:
253** [[spoiler:Buck's death, by taking down the chopper, was one of the most used scenes for promoting the film.]]
254** Averted with [[spoiler:Caesar's ability to speak. All of the trailers kept it hidden, maintaining the surprise and shock for audiences in theaters when he shouts that first word]].
255* UndyingLoyalty: Caesar apparently earned this from Buck the gorilla when he let him out of his cage for the first time.
256* UnstoppableRage: Caesar, when he sees Charles Rodman being bullied by his neighbor, goes berserk and attacks the neighbor, eventually biting off one of his fingers until Will Rodman manages to call out to him and snaps him out of his enraged state.
257* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Will's neighbors don't notice a large primate looking out his windows and ask about it. No-one notices the primate in the back of his station wagon as he drives around.
258* UpliftedAnimal: The accidental result of an Alzheimer's treatment on apes. [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters You can probably guess what happens next.]]
259* WeirdnessCensor: The Sanctuary manager clearly notices that something is off when he sees the apes' "political rally", but he ignores it because it's [[WrongGenreSavvy just a bunch of silly apes]].
260* WeNeedADistraction:
261** Caesar and his apes battle the California Highway Patrol on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a distraction so that most of the apes could escape by crossing the bridge from ''underneath'' undetected.
262** Also, Will needs to get past the police to reach Caesar, so Caroline climbs onto the railing to get their attention.
263* WhamLine:
264** [[spoiler:Caesar's BigNo.]]
265** There's also [[spoiler:"Caesar ''is'' home."]]
266* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
267** It's unknown what becomes of Caroline after the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge. Did she actually get arrested? Do she and Will get back together? Then again, considering that it's shown already that the human race is doomed, maybe things are better off left unknown.
268** John Landon also vanishes from the film rather abruptly; he is last seen discovering the police watching security cam footage of his son's death at the hands of Caesar. He was supposed to reappear in the woods and accidentally shoot Will while trying to get revenge on Ceesar, but the ending was scrapped and he wasn’t seen again.
269* WhyDontYouJustShootHim:
270** Sort of. Despite making short work of the California Highway Patrol, the apes never seem to bother to take their guns despite having numerous opportunities to do so.
271** Plus, sending the cops in with bats rather than guns once they make it to the bridge.
272* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Caesar and ''all'' the apes of the film. They are going to destroy the ''entire'' human world.
273* YouShallNotPass: Done with an orangutan wielding a manhole cover and a gorilla wielding a parking meter ''he ripped from the pavement.'' Exactly as [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome]] as it sounds.
274* YouWillBeSpared: Will Rodman, Caroline, and the person in charge of the San Bruno Animal Pound were spared without a single scratch. Rodney, the guard who worked alongside Dodge is an interesting case: Though he was at the mercy of a furious NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, he was still spared since, compared to Dodge, he treated the apes with more compassion and actually tried to stop Dodge's ruthless tactics on more than one occasion.

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