Movie Review: ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Review
Caesar (Andy Serkis) is the leader of the ape nation in DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. (Photo credit: WETA TM and © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)

“Apes do not want war!” yells Caesar (Andy Serkis) to a large group of human survivors led by Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) and Malcolm (Jason Clarke). Malcolm accidentally stumbled onto the apes’ home in search of the main dam north of what used to be San Francisco and has riled up the ape population, setting up the conflict to come in the second installment of the reboot of the Apes saga, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

It’s been 10 years since the attack of the apes on the Golden Gate Bridge and the accidental release of the devastating simian virus that almost wiped out the human race. Caesar still leads his genetically enhanced apes in the forest and lives peacefully, hunting wildlife for food and teaching his comrades how to reason and speak. When a small scouting party of humans comes across two apes and one human panics and shoots an ape, it immediately leads to high tension between the two opposing sides.

Not wanting to see any apes die in a war, Caesar and his ape comrades journey to the humans’ home back in what now remains of San Francisco to warn them to stay away from the apes’ home. Needing the dam fixed to get power back on and hopefully contact other survivors, Dreyfus is ready to attack, but Malcolm believes he can reason with Caesar and convince him to let them go into the apes’ territory and fix the dam.

Again striving to keep the peace between his family and the humans, Caesar agrees to let Malcolm and his few comrades work on the dam and camp just outside his home. With tensions rising between Caesar and his best warrior, Koba (Toby Kebbell) – an angry ape who yearns for war to make the humans pay for all the years of pain and torture he suffered at their hands – the fragile peace is doomed to fail, and all-out war is imminent.

Visually stunning with fantastic sets, wonderful cinematography, and the best use of visual effects and CGI we’ve seen on the big screen in years, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes IS the summer blockbuster to beat. Bigger and with more character development among the apes, Dawn far surpasses its predecessor and becomes the second-best Apes film in the entire franchise, losing the number one spot to the original 1968 classic starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall.

Andy Serkis gives a phenomenal performance as Caesar, the leader of the apes who desperately wants a peaceful life with all of his ape family and bends over backward trying to avoid a war with the humans. The emotions he’s able to convey through the performance capture CG work are amazing; from rage to concern to love to remorse, Serkis brings to life the very soul of Caesar. Toby Kebbell also gives a powerful performance through the ape effects as Koba, Caesar’s trusted friend and warrior who hates the humans, begins to doubt Caesar’s judgment and desires war. He is, without a doubt, the most fearsome ape of the lot.

The look of the film is outstanding, with the deep green forest, the apocalyptic San Francisco, and the ape village seeming so real and authentic. All the apes’ effects are truly marvelous, bringing these creatures to life on the big screen. The battle scenes are thrilling, and the action is riveting.

There are, however, two big problems with the film. First, the character development with the human characters Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, and Jason Clarke portray is one-dimensional and, unfortunately, unoriginal. There’s Dreyfus, the inspirational leader willing to kill every ape for the survival of mankind. The nice, understanding, and well-meaning Malcolm who befriends and trusts Caesar, trying his best to help man and ape co-exist, and Ellie, the supportive girlfriend and doctor who worries a lot. To his credit, Gary Oldman makes the most of his part but, and this is the second problem with the film, he’s in less than half of it. In fact, he’s only in about six scenes in a two-hour and 10-minute movie! What a waste of a great actor.

Fortunately, even with its few faults Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a gripping, visually striking film that has enough action, suspense and emotion for any moviegoer to enjoy. Don’t miss seeing it up on the big screen.

GRADE: B-

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was directed by and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action and brief strong language.