At the movies, a monkey in a laboratory is never a good sign. That’s not to say the films themselves aren’t watchable, but the plots sure ain’t rosy.
You won’t find any “Scientists cure disease with the help of ape test subject” dramas. Usually, it’s more along the lines of “Formerly cute pet chimp destroys mankind.” Hollywood’s cataclysmic vision butts heads with our present reality, in which news stories about researchers at Oxford University expanding vaccine trials to primates elicit cheers and optimism.
In film, however, a gorilla and a beaker spell doom — and damn good fun. Most bonkers of all is the excellent “Planet of the Apes” reboot trilogy.