Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Movie Review

Malcolm:"Who was that in the video?"
Caesar:"A good man...like you."

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was easily one of my most anticipated and one of my favorite films of 2014. I enjoyed the start of this reboot with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and from all the trailers I had seen, I knew I was going to love this sequel even more. I saw the premier of the film back in July and I saw it again last night on Blu-ray and it was stunning. The film was directed by Matt Reeves and stars once again Andy Serkis, the king of motion capture, as Caesar. 

This sequel picks up about ten years after the first film where most of the human population has been wiped out by the Simian flu. Caesar and the rest of the intelligent apes that escaped from San Francisco have now created their own civilization on the outskirts of the city. It was amazing to see what they had created for themselves in light of the events that occurred in the rest of the world. Caesar who was raised by humans is the only ape who really had a foot in each lifestyle, but it is clear that he has now moved on and is completely focused on the future of his species. They have done well in secluding themselves from the outside world even having their own schooling system, lead by Maurice the main Orangutan from the first film. Caesar has an adolescent son and a newborn baby to look after along with the civilization of apes at his back.

We are also introduced to the human faction of the film who are taking shelter somewhere near San Francisco. They are running low on fuel and are scared of slipping back into darkness, not being able to communicate with the outside world. Malcolm is our level-headed protagonist played by Jason Clarke, his son Alex played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Ellie his new partner in this post-apocalyptic world played by Keri Russell. One day as they're traveling through the forest with a couple of the other members from the group they come across two apes and one ends up getting shot and killed. Caesar shows up to the scene with his army of apes behind him and warns the humans to never return. A few apes follow them back to their base and Caesar in a demonstration of strength shows up with hundreds of apes on horseback at the humans doorstep. He assures them that he does not want war and as long as the humans stay out of their home, there will be peace. Dreyfus played by Gary Oldman is the charismatic leader that the humans look to for direction and he is certain that the apes are just ruthless animals who will attack them at a moments notice.

One of the strengths of the film for me are definitely the visuals. The motion capture technology they use for the apes is simply amazing. I look at Caesar or Koba or Blue Eyes and I see both human and ape in their faces, it just looks so great.Their movements and their interaction and emotional responses seem so human that often times you forgot that they're actually apes in this film. In my opinion, this type of acting with motion capture deserves as much respect as the conventional type. There's a great deal of skill and hard work that goes into bringing these characters to life. I also loved how there was a divide between good and bad on both the human side and the ape side. Dreyfus and Craver on the human side and Koba and his followers on the ape side were both equally responsible for the violence and war that breaks out at the climax of the movie. The battle scenes were intense and emotional and at times you're not completely sure who to be rooting for. I also really enjoyed the small nod to the first film that really brought the film full circle.

As great as the CGI and action was, at the core this film is really about Caesar. We see him as a baby ape in the first film and have seen his development up until now as a strong intelligent leader. He makes mistakes like any good person would and learns hard lessons about trust and love along the way. The relationship between Malcolm and Caesars is developed beautifully over the course of the film as well as Caesar's relationship with his son Blue Eyes. As in the first movie though, the humans come and go but the constant is Caesar. This series is his story and I truly cannot wait for his next chapter, that was unfortunately recently pushed to 2017. That being said if you haven't seen this film I implore you to do so, you won't regret it. I give Dawn of the Planet of the Apes a 9 out 10.