Rise of the Planet of the Apes

[Metahive]

It was old when every other monster movie in the 50s had this theme. "We shouldn't dabble in god's/the god's domain!" was probably uttered the same day some caveman tried to make fire. Hell, Star Trek, for all its supposed optimism frequently featured such plots where a new technology is introduced that immediately proves itself to be evil/dangerous.

[Sam Or I]

It was old after Frankenstein.

[Metahive]

Frankenstein, the original novel that is, did not have this message. Its message was "people must take responsibility for what they do". The "science is meddling in God's domain" message is a Hollywood addition.

[TithonusSyndrome]

snip

Jesus fuck, I only just got into the habit of training myself to avoid Terminator threads for risk of seeing this kind of shit. Now I have to do the same for the PotA franchise?

Now there's a crossover with some Shroom appeal...

Not gonna lie.

This universe has no appeal for me whatsoever. The first movie was a perfectly fine sort of long Twilight Zone episode. The Burton remake was that + action + better makeup + general mediocrity. I've read plot synopses of all the other entries in the series and they have no appeal to me. nor does this one. Setting it in the modern day just draws attention to the basic silliness of the concept.

I have a little weak spot for David Brin-style shit, and WETA always kills it. Just my own personal preference, but a Dances with Wolves retelling is less of a guilty pleasure for me than a David Brin story as far as having a forum to see WETA exhibit their craft in. All that aside though, you've pretty much nailed it.