(This review may contain spoilers).
When I first saw this movie advertised, I was immediately intrigued. The elements of science fiction were entertaining, but for me, the most engaging aspect of the movie was the relationship between Davis and George.
I really liked being able to learn more about the history and motivations of the characters, but this was a movie I felt would have benefitted more without forcing a romance. I liked Davis and Kate, but I didn’t really think they fit well together.
I did have some very mixed feelings about Harvey. At first, I really didn’t like him that much; but as the movie went on, he grew on me a whole lot more.
I liked the fact there were quite a few elements of foreshadowing. I was less than thrilled that the bad guys came across as fairly stereotypical evil scientists, though. I would have liked to see a bit more depth to them rather than just cowardice shown towards the end.
While the trailer did show a movie where suspension of disbelief would be difficult, the movie itself did do a good job of showing the biology and how the genetics worked in a way that actually seemed to make sense – though I’m not a scientist; and the scene with the wings did make me roll my eyes in the movie itself.
I really did like George’s character. While the other two animals didn’t seem to be negatively impacted in any way, I really liked that he was shown to be more emotional. Plus, the scene of him as a small gorilla was heartbreaking.
I did think that the trailer missed a trick in showing the identity of the third animal. That could have been played for tension so much better than it actually was.
I did like the action scenes in this movie and the characters were ones I really cared about. While I don’t think I’d gain anything from watching this movie again, I did enjoy it the first time through.
