Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) by Dcedmonds — 13 Nov 2014

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" 10 Scale Rating: 8.5 (Fantastic) ...

The Good: While they are very different films, the sequel transitions flawlessly from the first and fits into the franchise perfectly. You get so used to the apes, that you forget that they are created with special effects. That is the mark of truly fantastic work and you can't help but be impressed. In films like this, it is easy for the human actors to fall to the wayside, but that does not happen here .. at least not with the leads. Jason Clarke's Malcolm believably connects with Caesar and forms a bond that I feared would not be achievable. It's a shame that Serkis won't get award consideration due to being a motion capture actor. He deserves it. The battles were intense and the film does a great job causing you to wonder if your favorite characters will live or die. Lastly, the film is very poignant and provides excellent social commentary without cramming it down your throat. A worthy successor, which is hard to come by these days.

The Bad: I gotta admit it ... scenes of monkeys, riding horses, wielding machine guns, and leaping through fire were among the more ridiculous scenes that I have ever seen. They were during some very serious moments, and I couldn't help but laugh at them. Some of the supporting cast was pretty cliche and forgettable. They also weren't well characterized and I didn't even see what happened to a few of them.