Dawn
Of The
Planet Of The Apes
Set
about 10 years after the last movie (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes),
humans are almost extinct (and we can’t blame zombies this
time!). Simian flu, started by James Franco’s character in the
last film, has killed off most of the population, but a small band of
survivors in San Francisco led by Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) and his right
hand man, Malcolm (Jason Clarke), forge on with hopes of contacting
others to rebuild civilization.
Out in the woods surrounding San Francisco, apes have continued their
evolution led by the one who started it all, Caesar (Andy Serkis). Many
remain loyal to him for freeing them from their human captors and the
cruel experiments that scarred them for life, but Caesar’s
leadership is about to be challenged.
Humans need to access a part of the woods in the heart of ape territory
to rehabilitate a crucial power plant, and many of the simians want to
destroy humans, while they have the chance.
Many humans feel the same way about the apes, but Malcolm and Caesar
try to forge peace and understanding, which is threatened by those who
want vengeance (these two are kind of like President Obama and John
Boehner).
Will the two sides be able to trust each other, or will we get a war?
Dude, it’s a summer movie with lots of special effects, so I
think you can bank on some war.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes picks up at the
same amazing level of execution and storytelling as Rise Of The
Planet Of The Apes, and you have to commend the three person
writing team for creating a plot full of complexity, layers of intrigue
and some good old fashioned popcorn chomping action, but they needed to
focus more on ending this story, instead of taking a little steam out
of it by focusing too much on setting us up for a third Apes movie.
Director Matt Reeves leads the first two thirds of Dawn Of The
Planet Of The Apes to be some of the best filmmaking of the summer.
The special effects are just as marvelous and awesome this second time
around as the apes now interact more with each other and humans than
they did in the first movie with stunning results.
The human actors and the computer wizards who bring these apes into
existence show mesmerizing physical ability and programming prowess to
give the characters personalities, tenderness, anger and amazing life.
You almost expect to go to the zoo someday and see one of these chimps
or gorillas start a conversation with you (or realize they are
communicating amongst themselves to make an escape!).
Plus, Reeves and the writing team do a wonderful job building up to an
explosive climax as we see different factions emerging, competing
arguments for war and peace being made and laying the groundwork for
the ultimate showdown full of crackling tension that leaps off the
screen.
Yet, that showdown feels like it occurred about 30 minutes too early.
Premature climaxing hurts the film as the movie’s huge highlight
is that massive battle between humans and apes, which you knew was
going to happen when you bought a ticket. This epic war in Dawn Of
The Planet Of The Apes has ferocity unlike almost any you have ever
seen on screen and delivers on every promise and hope fans have for the
sequel.
However, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes doesn’t end there
where it should (kind of like this review). Reeves and the team take it
a bit further with mixed results (kind of like this review).
Nothing after this true climax shocks and awes you as much. The action
feels a bit repetitive. The audience has to relive some events of the
last movie which don’t add to our enjoyment of this one. And, you
get the feeling this last act exists to set us up for a third movie as
Reeves and company spend a bit too much time hinting to the audience
about what we should be looking forward to in the next installment.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes still rocks
your world, but the next promised sequel already feels like we are
going to cover much of the same territory already covered here. I hope
I am wrong.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is rated PG-13
for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief strong
language.
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