The first time I watched this movie was in year 5 at school, and it left a permanent mark on me as one of my all-time favourite flicks. I enjoy it today just as much as I did when I was a child.
The storyline is very touching, and delivers a powerful message about how humans have continued to exploit animals in the name of 'scientific research'. Viewers are taken on a moving journey from start to end, as the film visits scenes which are heartfelt, humorous and horrific. You can't help but get that fuzzy feeling inside as you are introduced to the chimps on a more personal basis (and each one has its own unique little personality - from the aggressive attitude of Goliath, to the raw cheekiness of Goofy) and then shed a tear or two when both you, and Jimmy Garrett - Matthew Broderick's leading character - realise what the true intent of all the flying training actually is.
All the actors do a great job in this movie, including Matthew Broderick who is just as entertaining to watch in a serious role as he is in a comedic one. A young Helen Hunt also does a fantastic job as Virgil's loving trainer. Even William Sadler, who plays the sturdy-faced Dr. Carroll, undoubtedly depicts himself as the "bad guy" of the story, and does it well - even if in the movie's reality, he is a man who simply holds a difficult job... one which he intends to do well at all costs.
Of course the chimpanzees steal the spotlight of this movie, they are just amazing to watch, and their acting skills and behaviours are very believable all the way through. You almost forget that they are only acting in the same sense as their human co-stars.
The orchestral soundtrack by James Horner, to sum up in a single word, is beautiful. Viewers are taken on an emotional roller-coaster which effectively tugs at the heartstrings. I challenge anybody who cares about animals to sit through this entire movie without shedding a single tear! In fact it's one of the best movie soundtracks I have ever sat through, everything from harmonica to African wind pipes are utilised to put the finishing touches on all the scenes.
Some of these scenes in this movie can be disturbing, especially for a younger audience. Initially seeing this for the first time a a child, I found the two flight chamber 'radiation' scenes so powerful, I dare admit that they actually have haunted me in nightmares occasionally over the years. Today, I STILL find it difficult to sit through them, and prefer to reach for the fast forward button whenever they are fast approaching. The method in which these scenes are filmed - slow motion effect, eery sound effects over background silence, in-depth depictions of sadness/shock on the chimps faces, the look of horror on Broderick's face as he witnesses the fate of the chimps first hand - can come as a pure disturbance for any animal lover to watch... especially knowing that the movie is/was based on real life experiments.
Alas, that is the true nature of animal experimentation, and the movie does such a good job depicting it from an in-depth point of view - how the subjects of the fatal tests come to grasp with their impending doom, their 'fight to survive', and how that in turn effects their human trainers, who can't help but bond with them. And of course it has a climax happy ending that we're left hanging for.... the irony of the humans unknowingly training the chimps toward their freedom, as well as for the fateful project.
I love this movie and think its an absolute 80's classic, one of the best. Definitely a gem that has, in my opinion, been horribly underrated. They certainly don't make movies like these anymore, which is a shame.
The storyline is very touching, and delivers a powerful message about how humans have continued to exploit animals in the name of 'scientific research'. Viewers are taken on a moving journey from start to end, as the film visits scenes which are heartfelt, humorous and horrific. You can't help but get that fuzzy feeling inside as you are introduced to the chimps on a more personal basis (and each one has its own unique little personality - from the aggressive attitude of Goliath, to the raw cheekiness of Goofy) and then shed a tear or two when both you, and Jimmy Garrett - Matthew Broderick's leading character - realise what the true intent of all the flying training actually is.
All the actors do a great job in this movie, including Matthew Broderick who is just as entertaining to watch in a serious role as he is in a comedic one. A young Helen Hunt also does a fantastic job as Virgil's loving trainer. Even William Sadler, who plays the sturdy-faced Dr. Carroll, undoubtedly depicts himself as the "bad guy" of the story, and does it well - even if in the movie's reality, he is a man who simply holds a difficult job... one which he intends to do well at all costs.
Of course the chimpanzees steal the spotlight of this movie, they are just amazing to watch, and their acting skills and behaviours are very believable all the way through. You almost forget that they are only acting in the same sense as their human co-stars.
The orchestral soundtrack by James Horner, to sum up in a single word, is beautiful. Viewers are taken on an emotional roller-coaster which effectively tugs at the heartstrings. I challenge anybody who cares about animals to sit through this entire movie without shedding a single tear! In fact it's one of the best movie soundtracks I have ever sat through, everything from harmonica to African wind pipes are utilised to put the finishing touches on all the scenes.
Some of these scenes in this movie can be disturbing, especially for a younger audience. Initially seeing this for the first time a a child, I found the two flight chamber 'radiation' scenes so powerful, I dare admit that they actually have haunted me in nightmares occasionally over the years. Today, I STILL find it difficult to sit through them, and prefer to reach for the fast forward button whenever they are fast approaching. The method in which these scenes are filmed - slow motion effect, eery sound effects over background silence, in-depth depictions of sadness/shock on the chimps faces, the look of horror on Broderick's face as he witnesses the fate of the chimps first hand - can come as a pure disturbance for any animal lover to watch... especially knowing that the movie is/was based on real life experiments.
Alas, that is the true nature of animal experimentation, and the movie does such a good job depicting it from an in-depth point of view - how the subjects of the fatal tests come to grasp with their impending doom, their 'fight to survive', and how that in turn effects their human trainers, who can't help but bond with them. And of course it has a climax happy ending that we're left hanging for.... the irony of the humans unknowingly training the chimps toward their freedom, as well as for the fateful project.
I love this movie and think its an absolute 80's classic, one of the best. Definitely a gem that has, in my opinion, been horribly underrated. They certainly don't make movies like these anymore, which is a shame.