Dawn of the Planet of The Apes - Movie Review

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (should be Dawn of the Apes) feels like a natural evolution to the apes franchise, as well as a great stand alone blockbuster.

The films continues 10 or so years after Rise of the Planet of the Apes (should be Rise of the Apes) and opens with a tour of the civilization the apes have built for themselves. This opening segment sets an incredibly high bench in terms of stunning visual effects and cinematography, that the film just continues to reach throughout the entire movie. Then the apes encounter humans, which then sparks tensions in both groups as both leaders strive for peace.

This is My Movie

In terms of story the film travels some fairly used plot points, but approaches it in some intelligent and unique perspective that means the story always has a sense of tension and agency. 

The story also runs some great parallels between the apes and humans stories meaning that both sides are given the right amount of focus.

The tensions within both sides are also wonderfully shown, with each character always seeming fair and grounded in there fears and ideals, and never seeming detached. 

This is the films greatest strength, showing how the dynamics of leadership and beliefs, play out as they clash within the mind of the characters, especially Caesar's. There are some missed opportunities in terms of the story, that if expanded upon could have added even more emotion and intimacy to Ceasar's character, such as the relationship between is partner and his son, but what's there is enough.
Special Mention has to be given not just to Andy Serkis, but the rest of the cast of motion captured apes. Every scene they are in are mesmerizing and the simple act of watching them interact with each other is dazzling.

Then watching as their society breaks down due to the introduction humans is brilliant.and watching this story play out through the movie is the real treat.

Now we come to the not so good bits, as with 2014's Godzilla reboot, the humans are just lackluster overall and fail to leave any imprint in the long run. Although in terms of the war each site are well evened out, the problem is, one is far more interesting that the other. Which means the entire time their on screen your waiting for the apes to come back and to the films credit they aren't given a lot of screen time on their own. The main issue is that they are just uninteresting characters and what little personality they are given, just isn't enough.

Overall Dawn is a great movie that is only let down due to the humans, who need a better story and more interesting characters. Dawn's an intelligent Sci-Fi blockbuster treat, with a tremendous 3rd act that is visually stunning and gut wrenchingly awesome, and shouldn't be missed.

Rating: 8/10