Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I love the stories around "Planet of Apes" in their different adaptations. but "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" is more than a good film from the serie. it has a powerfull, convincing, dramatic story. it has CGI as basic tool and that is fantastic for the art to use it not as jewel but as the right tool. it has the perfect cast. and it is a smart mix of parable, warning, feelings and picture of human virtues and sins. it has all the chances to be one of films proposing the new perspective about the near reality. that does it special. and more than a cityplex movie. but a good opportunity to reflect, in not conventional way, about the future of mankind. and that does it a real remarkable film.

A really great follow up that builds on what the first film set up, and still features fantastic effects, performances and action, even if they still haven't fixed some of the problems with the original. The big issue across these two films is that the human characters are very one-note and bland. Gary Oldman is the only complex human character in it - the rest just have one personality trait that is well explored, if that, and a lot of them make very stupid decisions. But on the flip side, Caesar is a fantastic character, and I really like how the apes' opinions on humans are affected directly by their experiences of them - it makes their characters a lot better. Andy Serkis is still fantastic, and the effects have aged very, very well. The action is really well shot, and has a really nice gritty feel, particularly in the second half. I will say that the first half was a tad slow for me, but I did appreciate how the film spent time building up the characters in order to go all out for the finale. The cinematography is strong and the story is well developed - those opening few minutes really pack a punch now. Overall, I wouldn't call this one of the best sequels of all time, but it is a genuinely great and recommendable film.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is at the same time a great Planet of the Apes movie and a terrific science fiction movie. The way speech is brought upon in the movie is amazing and really brings a lot of reality to something so out of the box. The tension is palpable through the whole movie and there's never a dull moment.

Humans generally have a superiority complex that makes them often consider all other forms of life as inadequate. Civilization has exemplified the mass exploitation and selfishness humans are capable of in the past, and present, on numerous occasions. The Planet of the Apes series delves on this complex. It displays the vulnerabilities of the human race and how nothing is to be underestimated.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will surely entertain. As the sequel to the last instalment, we follow Caesar in his new habitat following the human pandemic instigated by the Simian influenza. In a world where the human population is depleted and infrastructure collapsed, society is broken apart and in a fragile state. With stubborn and selfish humans, the fate of humanity does not rest in good hands.

Watching this film, I cannot say there ever was a moment of dullness nor boredom. Though, for me, there was nothing exceptional about it. The plot is one that we have come to expect and the CGI was certainly state of the art. Putting this aside, it is the story of Caesar and the strive for freedom of all that captures this movie's true essence. Empathizing with these intelligent beings no longer being the tools of humans is one to both support and fear. It is this unique mixture of elements that make Dawn of the Planet of the Apes so touching yet stimulating.

This is a movie I'd recommend all to see since it offers a perspective many contemporary films fail to produce.

Among Hollywood's recent output of mediocre (and in some cases: downright abysmal) remakes of Sci-Fi classics, 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' was the rare movie which stood out, for it had as much of a brain as it had a heart – plus an original approach to the well-known material and great visuals. Having said that, 'Rise' practically pales in comparison to Matt Reeves' sequel: the upcoming 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' is as close to a Science-Fiction masterpiece as a 170 million PG-13 Hollywood summer blockbuster can possibly get.

The storyline picks up ten years after we saw Ceasar and his fellow simian escapees seek refuge in the woods near San Francisco, and although the film's trailers already gave away pretty much everything that happened during that time (and alas, way too much of what will happen), I'm not going to spoil anything for those who carefully avoided watching said trailers. As with all my reviews, instead of giving away any details about the story, I'll elaborate on all other aspects of the movie.

What needs to be mentioned first is what an astonishing achievement 'Dawn' is when it comes to the use of CGI. I'm normally very critical towards the (over-)use of CGI – but the level of craftsmanship displayed here simply has to be admired. It only took me seconds to forget I was watching digital characters (brought to life through the outstanding motion-capture performances by Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell and Judy Grier – to name but a few), and I can't begin to imagine what a task it must have been for the artists and wizards in the animation department to work on every background and every tiny little detail of every character until this level of seamlessness and reality could be achieved.

But nearly every other aspect of the movie has been realized equally well: Michael Giacchino's haunting musical score fits and reflects the drama on screen perfectly, while the – often terrifying – beauty of the images on screen had me immediately wondering who the DoP was (now I know: Michael Seresin, the genius veteran DoP of such classics as 'Midnight Express' and 'Angel Heart'). When it comes to the action; well, 'Dawn' is not your usual summer blockbuster. This is no light-hearted, comic-book-style fantasy film with fun, over-the-top action scenes. What we have here is a gritty, realistic portrayal of a slowly escalating conflict, and when we do get to the battle scenes in the third act, those scenes are a spectacular, mesmerizing visual feast (and ultimately heart breaking).

But the core of this film – and also the reason why the action scenes in the third act really do have an impact and all the mayhem really gets to you – is the intelligent, skilfully told story with its well-drawn, believable characters (portrayed by equally believable actors). The tragic simian/human conflict mirrors our real – and very human – past and present day wars and social frictions in a very credible way and thus makes this film resonate far beyond what any mere Sci-Fi premise would let you expect.

So my verdict: With its beautiful imagery, highly relevant story and breath-taking effects, 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' is as close to a Science-Fiction masterpiece as its mass-audience orientated constrictions allowed it to be (which – in this case – is very close); an astonishing achievement and highly recommended. 9 stars out of 10.

Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/