Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) by Kevin P — 13 Dec 2018

Strengths: This is basically just what I wanted from this installment. The first movie did well to set everything us and make us connect with Caesar (Andy Serkis). This one expanded on it without giving us a full on war yet. The suspense is well handled by Matt Reeves throughout. There are plenty of scenes where things have potential to escalate and the atmosphere is tremendous. Serkis is once again fantastic. We feel even more for Caesar this go around as he now has a family and gets turned on by a friend. Itï¿ 1/2(TM)s heart breaking. The movie builds and build to some special moments that are worth it at the end. Judy Greer (Cornelia) was also one of the stronger acted apes. Jason Clarke (Malcolm) and Keri Russell (Ellie) both gave very good performances as the compassionate and understanding humans. The world feels realistic and I love the various takes on fatherhood, similar to the first one.

Weaknesses: Gary Oldman (Dreyfus) felt super underutilized. Heï¿ 1/2(TM)s a great actor who couldï¿ 1/2(TM)ve been a strong addition to this franchise. Especially when we got shots of the characterï¿ 1/2(TM)s kids being gone. But he doesnï¿ 1/2(TM)t really do anything. Kirk Acevedo (Carver) was also way too generic. He played the typical jerk who ruins everything by being a dick and it never clicked. It felt like he was trying too hard.

Overall: An improvement on the first film. They take what made that work and expand on it, while giving us a lot of suspense, plot twists, and emotions.