Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) by Daniel W — 28 May 2017

'DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES' was directed by Matt Reeves and stars Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke and Toby Kebbell. Over a decade after the simian flu wiped out most of the worlds humans, Caesar(Andy Serkis) and his band of apes have grown immensely and become much more intelligent. Meanwhile, Malcom(Jason Clarke) and a band of human survivors ask Caesar for help to help humans survive. This creates a rift between both the apes, the humans and the relationships between both.

? Very few sequels improve upon the stepping stones left behind by their predecessor. Only rare occasions like with 'The Dark Knight', 'Terminator 2' and 'Fast Five' do we get sequels that are infinitely better than their already brilliant originals. 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' is one of these uncommon occasions. Sure it has its flaws(some of which do carry over from 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes') but it also fixes many and doubles the amount of drama and action that was there before. Pretty much everything is either improved or stays the same when compared to its predecessor. Nothing retraces its steps quality wise and that is very pleasing in today's movie climate.

For example, the story in the original was very well written and I congratulated the writers for that. Building of the success of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', they could have just slapped a story together to string the events along but they don't and I genuinely admire that. They still put effort into the story and give it meaning and impact. The themes of betrayal and being a father carry over to here which was nice but I would have liked to see something new and different. The ending here, which I won't spoil, is also really good and perfectly sets up 'War For the Planet of the Apes'. Overall, they could have just made a weak story and ending just to hurry up the action but they don't and they genuinely try to deliver a pleasing narrative.

Next, there is the acting. I've said it once, I'll say it again, Andy Serkis deserved some love from the Oscars for his mesmerising portrayal as Caesar and I honestly feel its disrespectful they haven't given him one yet. Toby Kebbell was also great as Koba and he has a clear arc from point A - B. All the non-human characters in the film were excellently acted and wrote and were the standouts of the film. That said, most of the human characters were very weak and their acting wasn't too special either. Jason Clarke, for starters, was very weak as Malcolm and showed no joy, sadness or anger at any point in the film. I feel like Gary Oldman at least tried as Dreyfus but that was no match for how poorly written the humans were. I will say that's the main flaw of most of the humans. Most of them were competently acted and whatnot but none of them had any interesting motives or personalities and were all forgettable. None of them were particularly likable and they were all replaceable, both as characters and actors. That said, both the villains were alright and, although one of them had a pretty weak arc for me, both of them were pretty threatening.

Technically, this movie is flawless. The cinematography is gorgeous, the visual effects and mind blowing and even the costume/set design was brilliant. Matt Reeves is proving he's a world class director on a technical level and I am always amazed with the visually stunning work he pushes out.

Now for the action... It's absolutely awesome! I thought it would be pretty hard to top the action in its predecessor but I was very wrong. I won't go into detail, because you really should see it for yourself, but I must describe ONE tiny segment of action that will have to make you see it. An ape... riding a horse... carrying an assault rifle... while jumping through flames. If that doesn't get you interested in this movie then I don't know what will. Aside from the action, this movie is also pretty damn spectacular on an emotional and dramatic level. This movie pulled at my heartstrings multiple times and must be commended for that. Colour me impressed. One thing I will say was pretty flawed about the movie was some of the dialogue which was unbelievably cliché and could be predicted from a mile away. I must of said what a character was gonna say before they said it like 20 or 30 times in the movie because it was pretty damn cliché.

In Conclusion, this movie is dramatic, emotion, action packed, a visual treat and is well worth your time and money.

8/10.