Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Oof. You guys, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is so good it hurts.

A great follow up and escalation from the previous film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn digs deep into its science fiction roots and gives examinations on war and violence while also delivering a thrilling and surprisingly emotional movie going experience.

Like the good little movie fan that I am, I revisited Rise earlier this week in preparation (something I strongly advise to help you keep up with the ape characters), and I'm still amazed at how good that movie turned out. Right out of the gate the film ensures that you are on the apes side, opening with an intense sequence showing a family of apes being illegally captured in the wild and sold into experimentation. It's quite a contrast from the original series, which starts with the audience rooting for Charlton Heston to get the hell outta Dodge. Of course, the original franchise ends up pretty much in the same spot where these new films begin, with our sympathy geared toward the apes.

Anyway, Dawn's opening also ensures that the audience is on the apes side, albeit this time with a much more subtle touch. Instead of seeing an ape community being broken apart by man, we see one thriving in the absence of them. 10 years have past since the end of Rise, and Caesar leads hundreds of his fellow apes, all of whom are speaking via sign language and even a few with the capability of speech like Caesar.

In fact, the first 15 minutes or so of the movie are silent, as director Matt Reeves relies on subtitles for the sign language. It seems obvious I know, but for a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster to force its audience to read (READ!) the characters dialogue is a pretty bold move.

I love it though, because when Caesar's son and his friend run into the first humans they've seen in two years, Caesar utters some of the first words in the movie and it sent chills down my spine.Thanks to the insane effects work by WETA, it's jarring every time we hear and see an ape talk. It's something that you just can't get used to in the best way possible.

Alright, I guess it's time for the inevitable "Andy Serkis is a vessel of God" bit that has been in almost every piece written about this flick. So here it goes, Andy Serkis is a vessel of God! Just kidding, God's not real. But Andy Serkis is and I really do believe it's time this guy gets the recognition he deserves because his portrayal of Caesar in Dawn is already one of the very best performances of the year. Caesar's ability to talk is still somewhat limited, so Serkis relies on just about everything else to convey any sort of emotion, and he does so beautifully, making Caesar one of the most complicated and compelling characters in science fiction right now.

Right behind Serkis though, is Toby Kebbell, who plays Caesars' right hand ape, Koba. In the first film, Koba was the seasoned lab ape, covered in scars from years of experiments. In Dawn, Koba's trust of man is next to nothing thanks to his years in confinement, and when he see's Caesar starting to work with them, a slow and steady rift begins to form between the two apes.

I've apparently seen Kebbell in films like Prince of Persia and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, but I have absolutely no recollection of him in those movies probably because I have no recollection of those movies as a whole. Anyway, it doesn't really matter because his work in Dawn is just as remarkable as Serkis'. In one of the best sequences in the film, Koba puts on an act for two armed humans in an attempt to get their weapons. He goes from circus monkey to killer in the blink of an eye, and it's absolutely terrifying.


It should be noted that even though Koba is the closest thing the movie has to a villain, he still isn't a villain in the traditional sense. In fact, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes doesn't have a true villain at all. Koba does what he does because he truly believes it will help his community survive.

Even on the humans side, you might think that Gary Oldman is positioned to be the one guy just jonesing for a chance at a war with the apes. But in fact it's quite the opposite. He doesn't trust them of course, but the last thing he wants is war, and he gives Malcom, played by Jason Clarke, a chance to reason with Caesar.

Obviously, things don't go as planned, but credit must be given to director Reeves and the screenwriters for refusing to paint anyone as the bad guy. The movie has multiple scenes with apes and humans as they discuss the pros and cons of going to war with one another, and both sides are actually coming from a similar place. They just want what's best for their community. I suppose it's a tried and true method of examining war, but still, for a movie that cost $170 million and filled with talking apes to do it so well is pretty insane.

Back to the human cast for a second, I just have to mention my love for Jason Clarke. He's been bad ass in films like Zero Dark Thirty, Lawless, White House Down and Public Enemies, and in Dawn he does solid work as the one person who convinces Caesar there is still some good left in humans. I have to admit that none of the human cast really gets a chance to shine like Serkis and Kebbell do, but I'm just excited to see Clarke get this kind of exposure, as he pretty much rules overall. The same could be said for Keri Russell. She doesn't have much to do in Dawn, but I may or may not have a crush on her, and she's great in the television show The Americans, so again, exposure is her win here.


One final and unexpected thing the filmmakers also did with Dawn was keep the scale of the film fairly small. It takes place primarily in two locations. The human colony in San Francisco, and the ape colony on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. I've actually read online that some people are disappointed in this aspect, as they wanted a more epic feeling from the film. I think it's better for it though, as it helps keep the film focused. As each moment passes you can feel the tension grow and the stakes getting higher, and if the film had to maneuver between more characters and locations than it already had then it would have lost a lot of that momentum, resulting in a much more muted experience.

Luckily that isn't the case though, as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is an incredible entry in the Apes franchise. Thanks to the amazing effects work and even better performances, I found myself completely invested in these characters and I cringed anytime one of them got hurt or killed. I honestly can't tell you the last time that happened with any film that focused on puny humans.


Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is great. So duh, go see it.