Review: Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

I have been a big fan of the original Planet Of The Apes since seeing it for the first time when I was a kid. But it has only been in the last few years that I have only found out about the various sequels and generally found them to be interesting. But the poor budget made it look sub-standard and at times pretty shocking.

After the failure of Tim Burton's version in 2001, we had the great reboot in 2011 with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.

We now have a sequel that takes place ten years after the events of Caesar and his band of jailed monkeys taking over the Golden Gate Bridge and making a living in the woods.

First at foremost, this is a very entertaining story with a great plot and these reboots are rightfully redeeming those forgettable sequels from the 1970's.
From the start, you can see what director Matt Reeves wants from this. The apes are given so much time in this film and you can see the performances in them. With Andy Serkis leading the way, his legacy has branched some memorable performances elsewhere.
As the film romps along, we get some interesting set pieces that really builds up to a big climax that kept the story serious rather then just losing its way.

There are lots of positives to talk about. I have to mention the characters first, and I'm not talking about the humans. The ape characters were incredible and unlike most CGI characters, you really care for them more than the humans. The motion-capture performances of Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell were the massive stand-outs and certainly deserve some sort of recognition. I really do hope this is when Serkis gets noticed in the major awards for all his contributions to the birth and progress of motion-capturing technology.
As for the humans, Jason Clarke was a good lead role. The only film I have seen him in was The Great Gatsby in a very minor role. After seeing him in this, I can see him being in a lot more projects. Keri Russell was perfectly fine and I will still never forget her in 'Honey! I Blew Up The Kid' as people around the same age as me would have had a crush on her after seeing that movie as a kid.
As for Gary Oldman's performance, I am a bit torn with this one. It looked like he was supposed to be a villain, but there were some humanizing moments that made you feel for this character. I also felt he was underused. For such a big name to be in this film, I was just surprised to not see enough of him. But at least it was replaced with a lot of top-notch ape action.
The CGI and action sequences were great. The detail in the apes were just unbelievable and there were at times where it genuinely looked like live action. So props to the entire visual effects team and Serkis once again for developing this technology. As for the fight scenes, it is easy to just roll your eyes at CGI characters fighting. But with these having interesting personalities, they make those scenes ever more important.

The only negative for me was the final few scenes. I will not spoil it, but I just felt a bit underwhelmed. But I think I will defend it by having to remind myself that it is only building-up to something else.

Overall, this was a very entertaining summer blockbuster. It is easily as enjoyable as its predecessor, and I think a lot of others will probably go the extra step and say this was better.
The character development was the best part, the choice of story was well created. The pacing and tone was perfect for this environment. But the main discussion topic everyone will be talking about is the hope of Serkis' achievements being recognised due to the fact that the ape characters stole the show.
This is further confirmation that the summer of 2014 could be one of the best for films in a long long time.

Rating: 8/10