DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Director: Matt Reeves

Cast: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Terry Notary, Karin Konoval, Judy Greer, Larramie Doc Shaw, Jon Eyez, Kirk Acevedo, Nick Thurston

Rating: B

In 2011 director Rupert Wyatt gave us the film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a brave and successful attempt at rebooting the popular franchise that started with 1968’s Planet of the Apes. In 2014 we have director Matt Reeves at the helm to give us the sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, a film infused with racism messages, power struggles, and fast moving action. Filled with tension and a heavy foreboding feeling, will Dawn ultimately live up to expectations and be a beacon of light that will shine among other sci-fi classics?

The film picks up 10 years after the outbreak of the simian flu virus. The simian virus was created to enhance the brain power of apes, but the unexpected side effect is that the virus wiped out most of the human population. Alpha ape Caesar (a motion-captured Andy Serkis) is back and living in the hills outside San Francisco. The ape king takes comfort in the love of his wife Cornelia (a mo-capped Judy Greer), his rebellious son Blue Eyes (mo-capped Nick Thurston), and a new baby while he works on being the leader of his clan to create a utopia for the ape population.

Life is peaceful for Caesar and his tribe until one day a group of humans led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke) wanders into their territory. Turns out there are human survivors of the virus living among the ruins of San Francisco that are in desperate need of power. Malcolm’s team includes trigger happy Carver (Kirk Acevedo), love interest and medic Ellie (Keri Russell), the noble Foster (Jon Eyez) and his curious troubled son Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee). They are searching for a dam that if restored can generate power for people still living in the city by the bay. Caesar wants to drive the humans away but is touched by the kind and gentle Malcolm. The ape lord agrees to help restore the dam if the humans promise to leave his kind alone. Caesar and Malcolm form an agreement and a rather shaky peace treaty.

Meanwhile back in the city, Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) starts a mission to arm everyone living in the ruins in order to kill off all the apes. Dreyfus, standing in as the leader of the human survivors, does not see the apes as intelligent mammals but only as savage animals that should be wiped out. Trouble is also brewing among the ape clan when Koba (mo-cap Toby Kebbell), a fierce and bitter simian who hates humans for the torture they put him through, starts a rebellion against Caesar’s rule and convinces the ape masses that war against the humans must happen to achieve peace.

The CGI effects in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are greatly improved since its 2011 predecessor. The looks of the apes is so detailed and convincing. Who would have thought that seeing apes stampeding on the back of horses with rifles in their hands would look so impressive? The motion-capture technology makes us believe that what we are seeing is real. Andy Serkis once again rises to the occasion as a crème de la crème of an actor that continues to give soul to digital characters he is famous for playing. As a matter of fact, all the actors behind the computer generated faces are able to convince those watching that the primate characters are real living beings with emotions not that different from human beings.

Sadly, the human characters often fall flat and are not fully developed. A fine actor like Gary Oldman is just not given enough to do and we are never fully clear on what really motivates his character to hate the apes so much. This is a point that if explored and developed could have made the film so much stronger. Jason Clarke and Keri Russell are both very one dimensional as two people who are in awe of the wondrous talking apes and both actors often seem to be just lost in the background.

There are plenty of savvy fast paced action sequences to keep audiences engaged even when the last third of the film starts to lose its rhythm making the film feel a bit too long. Initially Caesar is the only talking ape and he uses sign language to communicate with his fellow tribesmen. So it starts to look rather silly when the apes start spouting off broken English. With lines like “ape no kill ape” thrown in it is hard to take to the movie seriously.

Despite a few week points, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a unique film that shows the ripple effects of fear, control, misunderstandings, and misuse of power. Set against the backdrop of great cinema technology, this film will draw moviegoers in and won’t ever feel like an overrated special effects blunder. The movie captures each and every emotion of its CGI characters that ultimately steal the show from their human counterparts. With heavy hints of another sequel in the making, let’s see if the next ape movie evolves into a sci-fi master piece.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES opens July 11, 2014

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