Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell

Directed by Matt Reeves

Synopsis:
Ten years after a deadly plague wiped out most of humanity, apes are now the dominant species.  Led by Caesar (Andy Serkis), they live together in harmony, vowing to never take the life of another ape, and communicating through sign language taught by Caesar.

One day two apes discover a band of humans in search of a dam that will produce electricity for their small village.  Tensions rise between the humans and apes, but under the leadership of Malcolm (Jason Clarke), they create a truce and the apes allow the humans to re-start the dam.

However, fear on both sides lead to purposeful deception and eventually an all out war that neither Malcolm nor Caesar can stop.  Led by Caesar's human-hating companion Koba (Toby Kebbell) and the leader of the human village Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), a war takes place that takes strong casualties on both sides, and it's up to Malcolm and Caesar to somehow bring peace once again.

Review:
The prequels to the original "Planet of the Apes" have been huge successes, primarily due to the advancement in CGI technology that makes the apes more human-like and real, as opposed to humans in ape suits.  The realism and detail of the apes show careful consideration to not make them look phony or fake, but the real stars of the film.

Led by Andy Serkis, who is most well known for producing the motion capture of Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings," he once again lends his body as Caesar, the compassionate and thoughtful leader of the apes.  He rules with gentility and justice, and leads his family the same way.  For years they built their own home, without sight of any humans.

When humans do arrive, some are welcoming of the apes, while others show intense fear.  And vice versa.  A great theme of this film is how irrational fear causes harm, as neither human nor ape wanted war, and worked hard to co-exist.  However, it only takes a few frightened people (and apes) to build up a full fledged war that was completely unnecessary, and led to great loss on both sides.

Sometimes war is inevitable, but other times it is clearly unnecessary.  "Dawn" shows that sometimes war isn't the answer, and the only way to truly live together is in peace.

As far as the acting goes, the humans take second fiddle to the apes.  The humans are clearly one dimensional, as you know their story, their plight, and their fear early on.  This is - in essence - an origin story of the apes, not the humans.  The apes show brilliance, intelligence and the ability to be human - both in good ways and bad.  They lead the film, and give commanding performances.  Truly another amazing addition to the "Apes" series.

Summary:
A great film with an amazing message, tremendous effects and spectacular fighting.

My Rating: A