The Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge is the climatic fight in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. After the apes break out of the San Bruno Primate Shelter, Gen-Sys Laboratories, and San Francisco Zoo, Caesar leads his fellow brethren on a full scale assault on the Golden Gate Bridge which sees hundreds of humans killed or injured, and hundreds of apes killed or injured. The battle marks the first battle of the Human-Ape War that Caesar leads as a leader, and shows how the apes' strategy out matches the humans' superior weapons.
Prelude
The events that led to this fight and the Ape Rebellion as a whole began thirteen and a half years before. When Gen-Sys Laboratories scientist, Will Rodman started developing a retrovirus to cure Alzheimer's Disease under the supervision of his employer, Steven Jacobs. Five and a half years later, Will started giving the retrovirus, ALZ-112, to chimpanzee test subjects. Including a pregnant female nicknamed Bright Eyes. Convinced that Bright Eyes' improved cognitive abilities made the ALZ-112 safe for Human trials, Will and Steven called a Board meeting to decide the next step. However, when Bright Eyes' chimpanzee handlers tried to bring her to the Board and unknowingly separate her from her newly born son, her maternal instincts urged her to attack. Eventually she was shot to death in front of the Board members and the project was shut down. After the other apes were euthanized, Will and handler Robert Franklin discovered the infant chimpanzee with the latter convincing the former to smuggle him out. Discovering the effects of 112 on the young ape's brain cells, Will and his father named the increasingly intelligent ape Caesar and raised him in their family which was later joined by veterinarian Caroline Aranha three years later. At eight years of age, Caesar started questioning in sign his role in life compared to humans and other animals. Prompting Will to tell him the truth which made Caesar conflicted. Later, in a demented state, Charles got into an argument with their volatile neighbor which caused Caesar to attack the latter in his adoptive human grandfather's defense. Biting off his finger in front of many people. The court then sent Caesar to the San Bruno Primate Shelter where he was harassed by the alpha chimpanzee Rocket and the guard Dodge Landon as well as growing embittered that his parental figures couldn't take him home. As time passed, Caesar stole a knife from one of Dodge's friends and used it to break out of his cell before doing the same to the cell of the lonely gorilla Buck. Soon after, the two new friends outsmarted and intimidated Rocket to make Caesar the new alpha. Forging a strong sense of loyalty to his fellow apes, Caesar first shared cookies between the other apes as an act of morale boosting. Then, after a discussion on the intelligence and strength of apes with his orangutan friend Maurice, Caesar escaped the Shelter to steal the new and improved ALZ-113 from his former home and allow his fellow inmates to inhale it's gaseous effects. The next day, Caesar inspected the apes. Seeing how green their eyes had become and more organized in their behavior, Caesar stayed behind in the play area while the others moved into their cages for the night. When Dodge confronted him, Caesar outmanoeuvred him and evolved to the point where he actually spoke in defiance to Dodge. Freeing his fellow apes, locking up the more kinder guard Rodney, and accidentally electrocuting Dodge, Caesar led his newly formed army to escape the Shelter. By dawn, they arrived at the outskirts of San Francisco. Dividing his troops to different destinations, Caesar, Rocket, Maurice, and their troops led an attack to free the apes at Gen-Sys while Buck and his troops did the same at the San Francisco Zoo. After a series of near abductions and fights between the apes and human law enforcement, Caesar leads his fellow apes to the Golden Gate Bridge where they could escape to the redwoods forest of the Muir Woods Park.
Battle
After terrorizing their way through the streets the apes had managed to make it to the Golden Gate Bridge, and upon reaching their destination scared the people there, this forced the police to have all of them evacuate in order for them to battle the apes. The police had their officers ride horses in attempt to push the apes to the center of the bridge, Will Rodman with the help of his girlfriend Caroline was able to elude the police in order to reach their adoptive son Caesar. The police force had formed a blockade to hold off the apes but this had been anticipated by Caesar who ordered his ape army to halt and this is where he showed his prowess as a powerful leader as he used military tactics to combat the humans. Having Maurice lead the orangutans and some chimpanzees to attack from below the bridge and having Koba lead the chimpanzees to attack the humans from above them using the fog in the air to their advantage. While this had occurred Caesar witnessed his brethren being attacked by humans on horseback and with the help of his friend Buck they took down a few police officers. Buck was close to killing one, but was stopped by Caesar. Flying over the bridge in a police helicopter, Steven Jacobs had saw the apes climbing the bridge high wires and urged the officers to shoot down the apes before they were lost in the fog and in the process a chimpanzee named Wolfie was shot much to Maurice's anger, who began climbing more faster to the center.
Caesar then instructed Buck and the gorillas to use their strength to push a large bus in the range of police bullets, and when the police were out they saw a horse riding from the fog turning out to be Caesar who gave the order to attack. At that moment the apes descended into battle and overwhelmed the police officers with their strength and intelligence and the humans were no match for the apes especially when the rest of the apes joined in the battle. Despite this a majority of the officers survived as Caesar did not truly hate humans and only wished to lead his people to true freedom. The battle ended with Buck throwing an officer off the bridge which forced the remaining officers to retreat giving the apes their victory and as they were celebrating their leader's adoptive human father caught up with them and shouted for Caesar. Though shocked by his presence Caesar faced another problem the police helicopter had arrived and began shooting many of the apes. Jacobs identifying Caesar as the leader of the apes had the police shoot at him, Caesar quickly threw a chain from a police SWAT car at the shooter and Jacobs which knocked the two down however, the pilot took out his gun and shot at Caesar putting him in danger. Luckily, Buck, witnessing this, quickly pushed Caesar out of the way and leaped at the helicopter all the while taking countless bullets to the chest before making his way to the chopper and attacking everyone on board causing it to crash on the bridge. Caesar quickly ran to the helicopter where he pulled out a seriously wounded Buck out of the debris and having only a few moments the gorilla thanked Caesar for his friendship and passed on in the chimpanzee's arms.
Caesar closed his friend's eyes and mourned his death, as he did so a voice called out for help, it was Steven Jacobs who survived the crash and was now dangling over the helicopter edge. The wounded man begged Caesar to save him, as the chimpanzee began to reach out to help him, he reconsidered still hurt after his friend's demise and seeing Jacobs as a corrupt man allowed Koba to do as he pleased with him. Koba then approached the helicopter much to Jacobs' horror as he recognized the bonobo from the Gen Sys lab, and told the bonobo to go away, but as he did so the bonobo was using his foot to push the helicopter off the bridge. With his last breath Jacobs angrily called Koba a "Stupid monkey!", and was left to scream uncontrollably as he plummeted to his death in the water below.
Aftermath
After retreating from the bridge, the apes quickly make their way to the Redwoods. Will goes after them in a wrecked police car. Will arrived in the forest calling out for Caesar only for this to draw the attention of Koba who stops him in his track and goes to hurt him but Caesar arrives just in time to stop him from hurting his adoptive human father. Koba tries to go for Will again but Caesar backs him down and Koba angrily backs away into the forest as Caesar helps Will off the ground. Will attempts to reason with Caesar, telling him that he knows what humans are capable of and he wants to protect him from what's to come. Caesar looking upon his new followers and seeing that he's in the place that was always natural to him decides this is how he wants to live his life in the forest with real freedom. He declines his adoptive father's offer to leave with him by speaking his first full sentence; "Caesar is Home", into his ear. Will, amazed that Rodney had been right about Caesar talking, gives Caesar his blessing to live in the forest with his friends, and watches as the other apes rise on their back legs and acknowledge Caesar as their leader before taking to the trees, with Will watching below being proud of Caesar. The apes then look from the trees and stare upon the destruction they put on San Francisco.
Notes
- It would later be revealed that Cornelia was involved in the fight and wasn't injured. After the fight, she acted as a medic to those that were injured.
- The apes would later go on to create an Ape Village in the Muir Woods with a population of over 2000 evolved apes ten years after the ape rebellion.
Trivia
- The motion capture performer, Devyn Dalton was hired for the role of Cornelia due to the physical requirements, there were more then likely scenes shot but they, like the romantic bond between Cornelia and Caesar, didn't make it into the final film.
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