Rise of the Planet of the Apes begins with a group of scientist experimenting with a serum to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The Serum does work but it also enhances ape intelligence. However, when bad things begin to happen, the program is shut down and all apes are to be terminated. That is until the baby chimp of one of the apes destroyed is taken out of the lab unknowingly by Will Rodman (James Franco) and raised by himself and his now cured father (John Lithgow) that was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. They name the baby ape Caesar, and it is apparent that the he is more intelligent than any other ape. All is well until Caesar witnesses an attack on Will’s father and cause neighborhood uproar when he beats on the attacker. Caesar is sent to live in a ape sanctuary with all kinds of other apes. However, all the other apes are abused, and Caesar rises up and teaches the apes to become one with each other. They soon escape, rise up and take to the streets of San Francisco after Caesar exposes them all to the same serum his mother was exposed too.

   The Blu-ray combo pack also features a DVD and Digital copy of the film as well as a ton of special features. There are eleven deleted scenes and a Character Concept Art Gallery. There is also audio commentary with the director and writers of the film. Then there are seven featurettes which include: The Genius of Andy Serkis, Scene Breakdowns, A New Generation of Apes, Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries, The Great Ape, Mythology of the Apes, and Composing the Scene with Patrick Doyle. There is also the BD Live feature with tones of extras and live lookup powered by IMDB.

    I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes in theaters and it is by far one of the best films I have seen this year. I’m a big fan of the original Apes films (Not the Tim Burton remake) and I think this film does the original films some justice. The acting is incredible and the great Andy Serkis of Lord of the Ring’s Golum fame really brings the character of Caesar to life in this film. It is an extraordinary performance. James Franco also is great in his role, one that I don’t think many people would expect him to be in. However, what really makes this film great is it’s script and the visual effects. I would not be surprised in the least if this film sweeps the Academy Awards this year with a best visual effects, art direction sound and sound editing awards. It truly is a visual treat for the eyes and ears.

   Overall, I have not seen many great films this year, but one that I found to be one of the best so far was Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and I highly recommend buying the Blu-ray combo pack or renting it. It is one hell of a great Science Fiction film.