DVD: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (12)

"Are you sure you're not rushing?" James Franco's Will is reasonably asked.

Of course, he's rushing. He's a driven genetic engineer whose love for his old man, who has Alzheimer's, ends up imperilling the human race. Will has bred a super-smart ape, Caesar (Andy Serkis), whom he raises as a son. At first he's a cuddly chimp, until he asks where his mummy is. Then he bites some fingers of an obnoxious neighbour and is swiftly banged up in Brian Cox's sadistic ape prison. Caesar rises to the top of this institution. Your sympathy is, of course, for the avenging ape in this thrilling prequel.