History YMMV / RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes

* EsotericHappyEnding: Subverted. The film ends with an uplifting shot of [[spoiler:Caesar and the apes looking out at the world from the redwoods]], but a mid-credits scene brings things back down for humans.

* {{Narm}}: [spoiler: Caesar's BigNo]] is CrowningMomentOfAwesome or this.

* {{Narm}}: YourMileageMayVary if [[spoiler: Caesar's BigNo]] is CrowningMomentOfAwesome or this.

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* HighOctaneNightmareFuel:
** Yeah, the neighbor was a JerkassVictim, but consider this: Imagine being chased by a vicious chimpanzee hell bent on beating your ass to death for being angry your car's been smashed up. Or worse being the poor bastard getting beaten to death by a dozen of angry apes. [[spoiler:At least Caesar steps in to save the latter before it's lethal, putting him in a cell for his own protection]].
** Koba himself looks like HighOctaneNightmareFuel. Out of all the apes, he's the most horribly scarred and demonic looking.
** Caesar's first few moments in the primate center. Locked in a small cage, at the mercy of a threatening human "overseer" whom he can understand, and surrounded on all sides by angry chimps screaming and thrashing around violently.
** [[spoiler: Jacobs' death.]]

** Subtle differences can be found between the film's apes and real ones to make them feel more human. Observe this image of Caesar [[http://files.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/277324_S/Caesar-Ferments-A-Revolution-In-Third-Rise-Of-The-Planet-Of-The-Apes-Trailer.jpg here]] versus this photo of a real chimp [[http://www.kewlwallpapers.com/bulkupload/135/Animals/All%20Ears%20Chimpanzee.jpg here]]. Look at what's been done to the '''EYES'''.
*** The darkly pigmented chimp conjunctiva is beyond creepy.
* UnfortunateImplications: Vocal communication is used as shorthand for the fact that the apes have advanced to the human level of intelligence. There are deaf and mute people who might take an issue with that, since sign language is used to imply a less advanced communicative ability. In RealLife sign languages are fully developed languages capable of expressing everything that vocal speech can.
** Re-watching the film, it's the green eyes that are used to indicate human-level intellect. The vocalization is treated as a surprise, as Caesar was obviously a genius long, long before he reached the capability of doing it.
*** Either way, the sign language is depicted as inheritly inferior form of communication; even Caesar's dialogue is simplified and grammar broken when he uses sign language to impress how much better vocal speech is at communication. This is patently wrong in every way as most deaf people could tell you.
**** It's not inherently inferior, it's just an alien form of communication since apes do not communicate with words and different species have different forms of communication and there is no common language for them. Even for Caesar, who was RaisedByHumans, signing is unnatural.
**** In addition, apes (and our neanderthal ancestors) simply lack the proper voice box to make human vocalizations, such as proper consonants and vowels. Sign language is a way of getting around that. A gorilla or a chimp might be highly intelligent and be able to understand speech, but does not have the physical ability to vocalize any speech in return. Sign bypasses that physical limitation, and is not inferior. This does, however, bring up a bit of FridgeLogic in how, possibly, Caesar's voice box could have been so suddenly mutated as to produce coherent human speech.

* SpiritualLicensee: OrsonScottCard, the author of ''EndersGame'', whose book has been [[DevelopmentHell on-and-off on development status]] for years, considers ''"Rise"'' to be "[[http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2011-08-11.shtml the first truly successful adaptation of my novel... to appear on the screen]]".

* AwardSnub
** Nor did it win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects

** Andy Serkis didn't even get a ''nomination'' for his portrayal of Caesar.

*** Either way, the sign language is depicted as inheritly inferior form of communication; even Caesar's dialogue is simplified and grammar broken when he uses sign language to impress how much better vocal speech is at communication. This is patently wrong in every way as most deaf people could tell you.
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome

* JerkassHasAPoint: The jerkass neighbor loses audience sympathy for two scenes. In the first, he finds a chimpanzee in his home, ''[[PapaWolf near his children]]'', and has the nerve to fend off what he obviously believed was a dangerous wild animal. In the second, he gets angry because an old man smashed up his car. Yeah, he might have realized that Will's father wasn't all there, but in the heat of the moment a lot of people might have reacted the same way. Adding insult to injury, that same "perfectly harmless" chimp from the first scene then waltzes in and viciously attacks him.

** Re-watching the film, it's the green eyes that are used to indicate human-level intellect. The vocalization is treated as a surprise, as Caesar was obviously a genius long, long before he reached the capability of doing it.

** AndySerkis didn't even get a ''nomination'' for his portrayal of Caesar.

** YourMileageMayVary because the only ape who speaks in the film is Caesar, who was changed at the genetic level in the womb. His vocalization is less about showing his intelligence (which was obvious from the beginning) and more about showing how completely different he is from other apes, effectively the first of a new species.

* EsotericHappyEnding: Played straight then averted. The film ends with an uplifting shot of [[spoiler:Caesar and the apes looking out at the world from the redwoods]], but a mid-credits scene brings things back down for humans.