Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Director: Matt Reeves
By Alex Watson
Planet of the Apes was considered long dead ever since Tim Burton’s disastrous (albeit wonderfully designed) attempt back in 2000. By after Rupert Wyatt’s well received re-boot effort ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ back in 2011, it appears that this franchise has a new lease of life! This week our ape friends come hurtling back onto our screens again and they are gearing close to world domination in Cloverfield director, Matt Reeves’ film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Set 10 years after the ALZ-113 virus has all but wiped out the worlds human population, Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his other ape companions live a contented existence in the forest of San Francisco, where they hope to be alone. But any hopes for peace between the two races are quickly shattered by mistrust and violence. Family man Malcolm (Jason Clarke) works in vain to prevent an onslaught, but his boss Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) has other ideas.
After Rupert Wyatt’s unfortunate departure, Reeves skillfully picks up the torch and delivers a great sequel and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is both thrilling and very emotionally real. The world we see if a very different one and San Francisco has been ravaged by war and humanity is barely holding on. The tone of this movie is somewhat more serious than previously and human/ape relations are continually on a knife edge due the previous violent and this provides the movie with a tense atmosphere.
Family is a major theme of this movie and Malcolm and Caesar are both equals. They are both family men striving for peace and to keep their families safe, but are continually thwarted by the people around them. Their bonding is the heart of the movie and an uneasy friendship is gradually born amongst all hell breaking hell loose. Caesar is the predominate feature of Reeves movie as he is a jaded warrior who although is willing to fight to protect his people, also wants the blood shed to cease which has caused friction among the ranks.
The main problems comes from human hating ape Koba (Toby Kebbell) whose slowly disintegrating respect for his leader takes his people into dangerous and more violent new territory. Dreyfus on the other hand is emotionally scarred man who wants rebuild the old world and sets about rallying the remaining survivors by telling war is necessary, despite Malcolm’s plea that the apes should be left alone, he disregards this advice with devastating results.
Matt Reeves shows great adaptability as a director and he easily slips into the role of blockbuster maker and brings us a visual stunning world. His greatest triumph on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes comes in a thrilling show down as the apes storm the human compound. One stunning revolving shot shows Koba capturing a tank and through the 360 degree chaos shown- humanities hopes hang by a thread as he nears their door! But its the end sequence that will have the most impact as we feel a new world looming, but may not be one of unity.
Andy Serkis is a long last beginning to get the credit he deserves for his motion capture work and as Caesar he gives a performances that is phenomenal! His is given a troubled persona as a conflicted leader, but Serkis succeeds in bringing this out on screen and his perfomance is incredibly moving and he shows a depth of emotion rarely seen in an animated character.
The always consistent Jason Clarke is a great choice as lead human Malcolm, after years of succeeding films such as Zero Dark Thirty, Lawless and TV’s Brotherhood, Clarke finally gets to show his leading credentials and he passes with flying colours. Malcolm isn’t the most interesting character that the series will show, but Clarke gives him a likeability that makes us want him to get through to Caesar and avoid the potential war.
Although some may view this merely as a filler before the next installment, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is by far this years best sequel and gives more light to the fact that this series is back- and it sure means business! Caesar you’re welcome back any time!
Closer to the Edge 