Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | Movie Review

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the sequel to the reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes. This film takes place 8 years after the first film. There are very few humans left, the reason is explored but I won't give it away. A group of humans run into the apes, who are evolving and living in their own civilisation. This movie does not play out how expected and takes some turns in terms of characters and story.

This film is flat out a masterpiece. The first 20 minutes plays out very reminiscent to the first 20-25 minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It shows how the apes are living and how they interact and it is so brilliant. The acting from the humans (Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman) is so fantastic but doesn't hold a candle compared to the motion capture performances of the apes (Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell) they really make this film more awesome than it could ever be. The confrontation Caesar has with his son and allies (even his enemies) is just mind blowing.

I can say that I don't think this film is for everyone. People who don't like to read subtitles, may not like the fact that for the most part, the apes converse with sign language for the entirety of the film despite Caesar's english vocabulary increasing. Most of the apes use sign language with subtitles showing what the characters are saying to each other. Also, children under the age of 12 or 13 may or may not like it. They may love it, the special effects might engross them enough or they will just be confused as this is a bit of a thinker and I have compared this to Inception.

And yes, both films in this series have made me cry. I thought I was going to be fine (seeing how I didn't actually lose it at a particular scene) however the ending really got me. The apes really carry more emotion than the humans do. Also the villain in this film (who I will not spoil) is a character that I hated so much. Which I never consider it a flaw if I hate a villain in this way. There are two types of great villains. A character who is so good you can't help but love them (The Joker, Darth Vader etc) and then there are the villains that are so great you just hate them so much because they have done their job and in this film the performance is so good and the character is so unlikeable that it just makes the character so great in the most hated way possible.

I'm going to give Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

A

I'm Jonathan and this is Movies for the People

Everyone GO SEE APES ON HORSES!!! NOW!!!

Apes on Horses credit goes to Schmoes Know