Reviews»Movies»Dawn of the Planet…
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Kareem Ali 4

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

 

  • The good

    CGI was virtually flawless with top-notch acting. Action sequences were very intense. Great character development

  • The bad

    Didn't have the revolutionary feel I expected when certain events were set in motion. Some character back stories didn't resonate as much as they could have.

  • The ugly

    • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a sci-fi film taking place 10 years after the events in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The world has changed drastically as a virus, ALZ-113, almost completely wiped out human civilization as those who’ve been able to survive due to a genetic immunity have formed self-sufficient settlements. However this virus has left the apes with Caesar completely untouched as they’ve been able to thrive in the woods right outside of San Francisco. It’s been a peaceful existence for them, and they’ve been able to raise their young without any interference from the outside world, and they haven’t sought to make contact with humans either. Things change when a group of humans come trekking through the woods and run into a few apes. The humans are unsure how to respond since they’re viewed erroneously as responsible for the plague, and when one panics and shoots one of the apes, all hell is about to break loose until Caesar arrives. He lets the humans go without any further incident and tells them to never return. They leave the woods shocked at the fact that he was able to talk, and they return to their settlement with news of this development. The problem they face is their electrical power is almost gone and the only hope they have to survive is if they’re able to reach the dam and get an old hydroelectric plant up and running. But with Caesar and his apes marching on the settlement just as a show of force to let them know not to enter the woods again or cause harm to any of them, is war inevitable?

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    I really enjoyed the first movie and its refreshing take on a classic story. There were so many pivotal moments in it but one that always sticks out to me is the moment when Caesar first spoke and shocked everyone. Of course Caesar’s life growing up and experiences with his family was key but that was the defining moment because that was the moment when he stood up for all of that as well as himself. So I was pretty excited coming into this movie, especially considering the trailers, and yes, I know movies can’t be judged by trailers alone, so my point is I felt this movie would build on that. And it started off very well with the quick summary of the virus spreading across the globe and the impact on the human population as it set the tone for understanding the desperate situation faced for the survivors. And the apes thriving served as a stark contrast to that, and when you add the anger some could have towards the apes there was the potential for a very volatile combination. Even if you never saw the first one it was easy to follow the initial events when the first ape was shot, and feel engrossed during the response. These were powerful scenes that set the stage perfectly, and even the reason for the humans to still make an effort to get through the woods was an excellent one. And I even liked how the decision was made to appeal to Caesar by explaining the situation and the need to get the power station up and running because it reflected the complexity of the character, which was played excellently by Andy Serkis. As Benjamin Franklin once said, there are 3 things certain in life: Death, taxes and an excellent CGI performance by Andy Serkis. Well, maybe he didn’t say that but you get the point.

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    This dynamic was great as it would allow other characters to be developed as they were placed in situations where their personalities and stances would show. So Caesar was no longer just the one who led the apes to freedom in the woods but now the leader of a thriving community with his own family. He was the dominate male so all the apes followed his lead. Koba, the ape who was tortured and experimented on by humans took issue with Caesar trusting the humans to just make the power station operational, and even if that was their true intention, he didn’t trust helping the humans be in a better situation than they were already in. The humans varied in their opinions about the apes a little more but they were all in line to getting the power station up and running so there were no objections to the arrangements. However Shane, I mean Carver, played by Kirk Acevedo had his own issues with the apes that could put the entire arrangement into jeopardy as well. And the movie spent a good amount of time developing the characters and even examining some backstories, and even though I really appreciated this it didn’t resonate with me as much as I thought it should. And it wasn’t due to the acting but the method in which it was handled at times when adhering to “show me, don’t just tell me” would’ve been more effective. So the respective motivations for the apes were handled better, and it wasn’t until a later point in the movie when what the power station meant for the humans was truly shown. And by that time other machinations were set in motion that would permanently change the state of affairs for both humans and apes.

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    And this brings me back to my original point about defining moments from the last movie because there was no moment(s) that stood out on that level as equal or greater. That’s not to say the events that unfolded were weak or ineffective, however to remain spoiler-free I’ll just say that things weren’t as revolutionary as they were promoted to be and as a result the catalyst for conflict felt slightly underwhelming because of how it limited every character in the movie from that point on in terms of conviction. The action was spectacular and the excellently disturbing portrayal of one in the midst of this mayhem was jaw-dropping. The pace would definitely pick up at this point without losing the original understanding of the importance of home and the desire to protect home and family. It was engrossing and there were moments to cheer. However I couldn’t completely shake the feeling that this was all just a segway for a sequel but the good thing is it was thoroughly enjoyable, and enough to make me want to look forward to it.

     

    SUMMARY

    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is an engrossing and enjoyable movie filled with some jaw-dropping action at certain moments. The CGI has come such a long way and with the amazing acting you’ll completely forget how much is actually CGI. The characters are well-developed, the apes more than the humans, and so you will feel what occurs to them as events unfold with the story not being so black and white. I did feel the catalyst could’ve been handled better so the resulting actions could’ve had more conviction from either side. However it definitely moves the story forward in the series so there’s no turning back, and I’m truly looking forward to that.

  • Rating ( 8.25 )
  • Total score 8.3

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