With the newest installment, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, just days away, it's a good time to revisit a film that surprised many of us, including the studio, I suspect, since it pushed the release date until early August 2011, aka the dog days of summer in the U.S. As I wrote at the time: "Until it succumbs to blockbuster-itis, and its sister virus Reboot Syndrome, Rise of the Planet of the Apes forges its own distinctive trail, powered by smart choices, good direction by Rupert Wyatt, and splendid-looking creatures. And by that point, it's built up such a propulsive head of steam that you may embrace its excesses. "It's a clever take on an origin myth, one that appears to have been...

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