Dawn of The Planet of The Apes Review

I Hate Every Ape I See, From Chimpan-A, To Chimpan-Z

There will come a day, when the courage of apes fail...
but it is not thsi day!

When Rise of The Planet of The Apes came out in 2011 and became a financial and critical success, there was one thing everything was eager for; a sequel. After all, this prequel to a certain beloved 1968 film (yep, you guessed right; all these movies are prequels to Bullitt) leads to a very definitive conclusion that could still have many great stories to tell leading up that ending. With a new director (Matt Reeves), a new cast of humans and a greatly expanded budget at their disposal, the movie utilizes all of its resources to create a fantastic movie, one that's got thrills and thoughtfulness to spare.

I think the majority of the films success though is in the smart way they handle Caesar. They don't try to turn him into the primate equivalent of Jason Statham. As we saw in the previous film, where he didn't kill any humans (sans one major antagonist, which he allowed Koba to kill, which has its own psychological implications here), Caesar is a man looking for freedom, not fighting. Andy Serkis, handling all of Caesars motion-capture and vocal duties, does a superb job of making Caesars movements simultaneously ape-like, while demonstrating his greater mental capacity.

The little ape society, where a good chunk of the movie takes place, especially the beginning, is extraordinary. I love how they know just where to toe the line at showing the smartness of these monkeys, as they obviously don't have automobiles, phones or things of that nature. But they've made a little structure for them to call home, and many of them, including Caesar, have families. It's terrific that such thoughtfulness to this setting in the movie isn't just extraneous set dressing, but crucial stuff within the plot of the movie. I really felt like they had built something truly special out there, a little home that takes some smart cues from George Orwells Animal Farm (specifically, the rules that the Apes live by like Ape Not Kill Ape)

Now, Caesars a peaceful dude, loving his son, his pals like orangutan Maurice (my personal favorite of the monkeys that aren't Caesar), but whenever he has to lay down the law, it becomes truly terrifying. Is this truly the same ape that used to play chess with James Franco? Actually, yeah, as subtle signs of compassion show that, even in his most aggressive moments, there's still plenty of evidence that this is the same monkey we all know and love. That compassion though could be viewed as a weakness by humans that the apes encounter.

Matt Reeves keeps the film mainly focused on Caesar and his society of chimps plight, but the human characters still have more than enough depth attached to them. Jason Clarke (who, hey, finally got his monkeys back!) is the one who gets the most screentime, who shares several traits with Caesar, including being a father and a desire for peace. Clarke's a good choice to lead the human cast here, as he's amiable enough to like and get nervous for during the films action scenes. Now, I haven't brought up the action sequences yet, but let me tell ya, they're works of beauty. Just like this summers other great blockbuster Godzilla, Dawn of The Planet of The Apes creates a ton of tension during its action scenes. This isn't a consequence free war by any stretch of the imagination; lives are lost, and thanks to how well developed both the humans and apes are, every punch just became so much more powerful.

It helps that Reeves avoids stunts like shaky-cam, instead settling for just letting us absorb all the insane carnage the film tosses at the audience. I won't spoil specifics of the action (the marketing has done an excellent job of not letting you in on what exactly transpires in the movie), but there is this great moment where, during a particularly intense battle between apes and humans, one of the monkeys overtakes one of the humans tanks. The rest of the sequence is shown from the viewpoint of the machine gun turret on top of that tank, which give the movie the ability to depict a completely unbroken shot of pure terrifying violence. The fear, the characterization and the exhilarating filmmaking all merge here to create one of the films numerous high points.

There's so much action, and all of it glorious to see, but the best part about Dawn of The Planet of The Apes is how it handles more emotional scenarios. They don't feel gratuitous at all, and there's one in particular that intertwines with the previous movie that almost had me choking up (I am also the guy who cries every time at the ending of Armageddon, so your mileage may vary). Don't worry, for those who really need a fix of action, Dawn of The Planet of The Apes delivers, oh man, does it deliver. But I think the best part about it is the way it just advances the characters in unexpected directions that truly make one think. There's so much thoughtfulness given into the film, especially in one particularly brilliantly handled scene where an ape named Koba first meets two humans on his own, it really is quite stunning. I urge you to see Dawn of The Planet of The Apes, please don't rob yourself of the chance to see one of my favorites movies of the year so far.

Oh, and one last thing! I couldn't find a place within the proper review to note it, but part of the films success lies in its score, delivered by the incomparable composer Michael Giacchino. I love all the instruments he uses (including a xylophone), along with several pieces he use in the movies numerous outstanding emotional moments.