"Planet of the Apes" is one of the
most recognizable and culturally significant series to come out of America in
cinema history. With a total of eight movies dating back all the way to 1968,
few movie franchises have a legacy like this one; but it hasn't been all
sunshine and roses. While the series is incredibly well known, I would call
only two of the films good. For the longest time only the original was the only
good one, but in 2011 we were greeted with a surprisingly great remake.
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" acted as a reboot for the series,
and takes place long before the events of the original movie. It takes place
just as the apes are starting to become more advance. One of the surprise hits
of 2011, the movie was a critical and financial success and had fans begging
for a sequel. After three the next installment has arrived, and it will most
likely be remembered as one of the greatest sequels of all time.
Ten years after the events of
the previous film, the human population has been decimated. The drug used on
the apes turned out to be lethal to humans; it caused a virus that spread
throughout the planet. While humans have suffered, the apes that escaped from
captivity and their children have thrived. Gaining even more intelligence,
Caesar and his legion have set up a fully functioning society in the forests
outside of San Francisco. To them, all seems right in the world; Caesar has a
family and has led his people to success. One day some apes out hunting come
upon some humans, the first they had seen in years. One of the humans ends up
shooting an ape, which sparks the first conflict between humans and apes in a
long time. It turns out the humans had been traveling to a dam near the forest
that they hope can generate power for a small colony in the city. Most of the
apes aren't trusting of the humans, and vice versa; but the humans need the
dam, and are willing to go to war for it. So Caesar needs to make a decision,
trust the humans enough to let them work on the dam or risk a war that could
claim lives on both sides.
Putting it simply,
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" surpassed my expectations and my
high hopes. Its 2011 predecessor was a surprise, and managed to reboot a series
that had been dead for years. So all I wanted from the film was to be as good
as the last one, but it managed to be better. The aspect of this film that is
most evident would probably the great CGI and amazing motion capture. The CGI
is Oscar worthy, and the motion capture is some of the best I've ever seen
(matched only by a handful of films). It also helps that the movie is just
beautifully shot with all around great cinematography. Throughout the film the
acting is really good, everyone manages to hold their own and do justice to
their characters; but the stand out star is easily Andy Sircus. Doing the
motion capture for Caesar, he is incredible. Known for being one of the guys to
pioneer motion capture by playing Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings"
movies, he's able to put more emotion into an ape than most actors could ever
hope to show. He's truly incredible, and if there was ever a case when someone
doing motion capture could win an Oscar it would be him. Being a summer blockbuster,
the movie's main purpose is to entertain; and fortunately it does just that.
The movie is just plain exciting, I was never bored and it always managed to
keep my attention. I had never had to pee so badly while sitting through a
movie until this one, but I refused to get up because I didn't want to miss a
thing. Filled with raw emotion and complimented by some intense action
sequences, you'll never want to take your eyes off the screen. One of the
biggest surprises was just how complex the movie was, it was so much deeper and
had more interesting themes than the last movie; and that's exactly what a
sequel needs to do in order to improve upon its predecessor, take a solid base
and just make it more. "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" is to
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" as "The Dark Knight" is to
"Batman Begins." I only had one real problem with the movie, the
humans. They're just not that interesting, especially compared to the apes.
Whenever humans are on screen, you just want them to go back to the apes.
They're not bad characters; some just come off as bland. "Dawn of the
Planet of the Apes" is fantastic; it's as simple as that. The 2011 film
managed to bring a dead series back, and they seem to just be improving on it.
There has already been a confirmation that a third film is in the works and
should be released in the next couple years. It has a lot to live up to but I
think the people behind it can do it. 2014 has been a pretty great year for
summer blockbusters, and "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" might be
the best one yet.
Pros: Great CGI, amazing motion capture, good
acting from the entire cast, beautiful cinematography, more complex than
expected, amazing performance from Andy Serkis, intense action sequences, gets
pretty emotional at times, always keeps you interested, all around exciting,
one of the best sequels ever.
Cons: Human characters aren't as interesting as
their ape counterparts.
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