Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
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The good
CGI was virtually flawless with top-notch acting. Action sequences were very intense. Great character development
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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.
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The ugly
- Total score
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?
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.
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