Man learns a harsh lesson about meddling with Mother Nature in Rupert Wyatt’s splendid new chapter in the Planet of the Apes saga, based loosely on the novel by Pierre Boulle.

Drawing elements from different films made famous by Roddy McDowall and Charlton Heston, Rise of the Planet of the Apes takes advantage of technological wizardry to deliver a thrilling action adventure that doesn’t skimp on heartbreaking emotion.

Wyatt orchestrates some breathtaking set pieces, including a climactic scene of apes on the rampage in San Francisco that unfolds at dizzying speed, seamlessly melding digital and live action elements. But beneath all the pyrotechnics, there beats a human heart, not least in the character of Caesar the ape, brought majestically to life by actor Andy Serkis and the motion capture technology used for Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.

Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) is determined to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, the disease which has slowly consumed his father Charles (John Lithgow). Will feels certain he is close to a breakthrough and tests his latest serum on chimpanzees, noticing dramatic increases in intelligence and brain activity in the primate subjects.

But a high-profile showcase with shareholders goes spectacularly wrong and Will’s profit-driven boss, Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo), demands the project is shut down and the test animals slaughtered. Will smuggles a baby chimp called Caesar out of the lab and raises the infant with his father.

As the years pass and Caesar blossoms, Will falls in love with veterinarian Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto), who is stunned by Will’s ability to communicate with the chimpanzee. She warns Will meddling with nature has repercussions.

The film marries present and past, gifting the most iconic line (“Get your filthy paws off me you damn dirty ape!”) to Tom Felton, playing a sadistic keeper at the ape sanctuary where Caesar spearheads the uprising. Scenes between Franco and Lithgow are beautifully judged and the interaction between the two men and the digitally rendered Caesar is surprisingly moving. Pinto’s underwritten role acts as the voice of reason throughout, though her warnings are never heeded. A coda involving Will’s next door neighbour succinctly lays the groundwork for subsequent films.

Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper) is the spitting image of Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday (also Cooper) in The Devil’s Double. Uday, who believes that he can do and say what he wants by virtue of being the eldest child of Saddam Hussein (Philip Quast), makes Latif an offer he cannot refuse: pose as a decoy or sign the death warrants of his entire family. Forced to imitate Uday’s oafish behaviour and mannerisms in public, Latif is drawn into the inner circle of the Iraqi president and his advisers where he falls under the spell of Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), Uday’s mistress.

The Devil’s Double is a fascinating chapter in one man’s personal history that asks us to consider what we might have done in a similar position. Cooper is mesmerising as the flamboyant Uday, staunchly refusing to allow Latif to leave his side.

At times Uday comes across as a bit of a buffoon but we are constantly reminded of hiss capacity for sickening violence. A scene in which Uday drunkenly fights with one of his father’s generals and wins the argument by slitting open the military man is particularly shocking. It is little wonder that Uday needed a doppelganger, to deflect bullets from his own subjects let alone the Americans. The film’s 18 certificate provides a necessary warning to audiences.