


Three chimpanzees are captured in an African jungle from their troop by poachers and are shipped to San Francisco. Will Rodman (James Franco) is a scientist at biotechnology company Gen-Sys who has been trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease by testing a new gene therapy drug on 13 chimps. The 'drug', a modified virus, mutates the chimpanzees, granting them hyperintelligence. The most successful subject is a female chimp named Bright Eyes (Terry Notary), who goes on a rampage because she believes her baby, to whom she secretly gave birth, is threatened; she is killed while disrupting the board meeting where Will is presenting the cure. Will's boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) orders chimp handler Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine) to put all the test chimpanzees down. Franklin cannot bring himself to kill the baby chimp and instead gives him to Will.