Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) by Felipe F — 20 Oct 2017

I like "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" very much and while I still like 'Rise' a little more, this is a fantastic sequel and an impressive sci-fi film that takes the franchise to a higher level.

It is visually spectacular (the apes look even more realistic here than they did in 'Rise'), highly ambitious in terms of narrative, and enthralling all the way through. The film is confident in its pacing and willing to spend a lot of time on developing characters, expanding this world, and deepening the relationship between the apes and humans.

The action is exciting and spectacular, and Matt Reeves and his stunt team stage and present action set-pieces beautifully without losing the track of their characters. The film has some issues. It is meandering, the story is very much male-centered, and what Gary Oldman's character does toward the end of the film doesn't make any sense.

But everything around it is so meticulously crafted and the story is so beautifully told that I can easily look past these flaws. This is first-class mainstream entertainment.