Rise of the Planet of the Apes

In 2011, director Rupert Wyatt brought to life a gripping prequel to the iconic Planet of the Apes franchise with the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The film begins with James Franco's character, Will Rodman, a scientist at the Gen-Sys biotech company in San Francisco. Will's research focuses on genetic mutations that could potentially cure Alzheimer's disease, a condition that has claimed his father's sanity and his mother's life. To carry out his research, Will adopts a genetically enhanced chimpanzee named Caesar, who has been born with advanced cognitive abilities. Willy, the company's security captain, oversees Caesar's care at the Rodman's home in a suburban San Francisco neighborhood, where the chimpanzee grows up surrounded by his adoptive family. Will uses Caesar as a test subject, hoping to harness his intelligence to develop a cure for Alzheimer's. Caesar's intelligence is apparent from an early age, as he quickly learns to communicate with those around him. He forms a close bond with Will, who comes to regard the chimpanzee as a son. However, as Caesar continues to grow and develop, the limitations of his caretaking become apparent. Despite his exceptional abilities, Caesar is kept confined in a domestic setting that cannot provide him with the intellectual stimulation he craves. The turning point in the film comes when Will's research receives funding from a wealthy investor, Steven Jacobs. Feeling pressure to deliver results, Will transplants a strain of genetically enhanced chimpanzee cells into a human patient, leaping the hurdles of approval needed to start clinical trials, in the hopes that this can kick-start scientific breakthrough with Alzheimer’s. However, the treatment fails catastrophically, and the human patient dies within hours of receiving the injection. Undeterred by his failure, Will becomes obsessed with finding a cure for Alzheimer's and more radically contemplates the cure he can achieve through enhanced primates. He teams up with Caroline, a veterinarian who gets increasingly entangled in Will's personal world. Meanwhile, the primate facility at the Willow Corporation in Northern California begins looking into Will's research. That facility's harsh methods become glaringly apparent as they induce a strong emotional and physical distress within the great apes in captivity. When Will's continued commitment to his groundbreaking discoveries puts Will at odds with his project backers, he becomes afraid that a more socially and socially unacceptable form of exploitation under the guise of scientific research, taking place right under his nose at the primate facility in the bay area does not violate basic laws for the humane treatment of animals and ultimately spells out what can go right in the situation.