(Cover) - EN Movies - James Franco thinks audiences will react "emotionally" to Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

The 33-year-old actor stars in the upcoming sci-fi drama, which is a prequel to the hugely successful Planet of the Apes movie franchise.

James portrays Will Rodman in the picture, set in modern day San Francisco and documenting the results of a man's experiments in genetic engineering. James feels that the contemporary nature of the film will help moviegoers relate to it.

"I am a fan of some of the earlier Planet of the Apes films but they are a little bit more based in science fiction and they take more of a leap of the imagination. It takes more to buy into that," he told Australia's Kyle and Jackie O radio show.

"In this film it takes place in a version of Earth that we recognise and the apes' heightened intelligence is at least plausible.

"You can imagine some scientist will genetically alert apes and they'll get smarter. By making it more plausible I think an audience can engage with the story on a more emotional level."

James also took the time to praise director Rupert Wyatt's decision to use actors and not real apes. Although CGI is employed, James thinks the fundamental part comes from the film's actors such as Andy Serkis, who plays ape Caesar.

"When an audience goes to see this I'm sure the initial thing will be, Wow, the apes look so realistic.' But what is even more important is that underneath the performances, the CGI generator aides are these real performances by real actors like Andy Serkis," he enthused. (C) Cover Media