Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) by Jyeager11 — 11 Jul 2014

Saw it last night...

I loved 'Rise' but despite its great reviews, I left 'Dawn' feeling a little hollow.

While this movie is set in the same world as 'Rise', I personally did not see much of that movie in this one. So I looked up theSaw it last night...

I loved 'Rise' but despite its great reviews, I left 'Dawn' feeling a little hollow.

While this movie is set in the same world as 'Rise', I personally did not see much of that movie in this one. So I looked up the credits, and to my surprise, noticed the writing and production are being handled by the same people in both movies... with the exception of Mark Bomback, who has been added as both writer and producer.

The most prestigious names in Mark Bomback's writing resume are Live Free Or Die Hard (2007), and the Total Recall (2012) reboot. As for his producing resume, I'll spare you (it's worse).

6 different production companies were involved with 'Rise'. Only one – Chernin Entertainment – is listed for 'Dawn'. While one would expect the latter to tell a more focused and enjoyable film, it's actually 'Rise' that felt more fleshed-out and cohesive. That first movie was an unexpected hit. It pleasantly surprised everyone by being a cut above the generic fare that Hollywood has been giving us since the 90's ended. The writing, the directing, the photography... it felt like a lot of very talented people got together and really, really tried for that one. I did not get the same sense here.

Could the addition of writer and Executive Producer Mark Bomback have negatively impacted the end product that much? I'm not sure. I wasn't there. And it's not like 'Dawn' is a *bad* movie. There's a lot about it I enjoyed (beginning with Caesar's facial expressions) but as with movies like Maleficent, Oblivion, Noah, Immortals, 300 Rise of an Empire, etc. there's nothing technically wrong with this movie. I enjoyed them all on different levels. But there's nothing there I'm likely to purchase a physical copy of anytime soon.

It seems Hollywood never intended to launch a new Apes trilogy. They had a wonderful idea to create a prequel, and it worked. We could have very easily transitioned from 'Rise' to either of Heston's or Wahlberg's Planet Of The Apes movies. But it became a commercial hit, so we have to squeeze 2 new chapters in there before the Apes truly take over.

That's how this felt. Milk this cow dry for another 2 chapters, and then what? We'll have caught up to the timeline where the Apes rule the world. Will they leave well enough alone? Of course not. They'll probably film an entirely new trilogy set in that world, effectively rebooting the entire thing.

Though I wouldn't call 'Dawn' a bad movie, I fear we are currently witnessing the Transformers-ification of the Planet Of The Apes franchise. So enjoy this one while you can, because something tells me these will become increasingly soulless with every chapter.

Just like a certain other franchise.