Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!

    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes review

    Buzz has been building for weeks about the sequel to 2012's excellent Rise of the Planet of the Apes, so I came into the screening with high expectations. Several of my critic friends were laughing at me saying I was "in the tank" for this flick before even seeing it. They said I was so excited, I could not possibly be objective about it. Maybe they were right but the bottom line is that Dawn of the Apes is a truly excellent piece of filmmaking and I think it may be the best film I have seen all year.

    I want to be clear about one thing, though this is certainly sci-fi stuff, it is not a typical action film like we often see from summer sci-fi. This pic is a drama about two groups of desperate and untrusting people (humans in San Fran and the Apes who live in the forest next to the city) trying to decide if they can co-exist. Sure, there are some big action scenes, but the majority of the flick is more cerebral than that. As a result, my wife (who is no action fan) said she really enjoyed this picture and she even thought her sci-fi hating mother (70+ years old) would like it.

    So, what is so great about the film? Let me start with the technical stuff. The apes are a wonder to behold. This is some of the finest CG work ever done on film. They are breathtakingly real and are fully formed characters that we care about and know, even though many of them do not speak a single word of dialogue (they do use sign language to communicate with each other and with the audience). We have seen enough of Andy Serkis' motion capture work (Gollum, King Kong, the previous Apes film) to know that he is amazing at bringing real emotion to CG characters. If he does not get serious consideration for an Oscar or Golden Globe for his portrayal of Caesar, the leader of the apes, then Hollywood is just never going to acknowledge the acting craft that goes into motion-capture performances. It is as simple as that.


    The story, as I indicated earlier, contains more drama and tension than action. The humans in the story are the survivors of a fatal disease dubbed the Simian Flu (like the bird flu or mad cow). The opening of the movie tells us that Simian Flu killed 500 people for every 1 person who survived it, so it came darn close to wiping out the planet's human population. It has been 15 years since the virus hit (you may recall that we saw the virus get out of the lab in the 2012 Apes film) and humanity spent most of those 15 years in violence and chaos, only recently having begun to try to restore some sense of a society. As the survivors who live in San Fran begin to branch out (looking to re-start a hydroelectric dam outside the city) they come across the apes. The story centers on the conflict between the people/apes who want to trust the other side and the ones who see the other group as a threat and want to wipe them out.

    Director Matt Reeves (who did Cloverfield and the vampire-drama Let Me In) lets the story unfold somewhat slowly, and I did catch myself hoping he would pick up the pace a little bit. Also, there are few surprises in the way the various characters act. The ones were expect to be unreasonable are and the ones we expect to be compassionate and kind stay that way. Still, I didn't check my watch a single time and was riveted to the story on the screen. Reeves does an amazing job of constructing the ape society as well as their home in the forest. There are all kinds of little details that show off how the apes have adapted the world around them to fit their needs. For example, all the trees in the forest have had their low-mid limbs trimmed of extraneous branches and cut to only the strongest part of the limb. As a result, the apes can move swiftly through the trees without fear of falling or running into anything. It is a little detail that is never discussed in the movie, but shows you how smart and resourceful the apes are. The "ape city" is a wonder to behold, a fabulous set that it expansive and yet realistic. Again, it is a sign of the tremendous technical care that went into this flick.

    I could go on and on... Dawn is a brilliant technical achievement surrounding a really compelling story. What more could you want from a film?!!? As I said, I loved it and my wife did too. I think this flick would appeal to people who ordinarily might say they do not like action/sci-fi films. There are a few references to things that happened in the first film, but the movie makes sure to explain them enough so that you need hot have seen Rise of the Apes to understand everything happening in Dawn of the Apes.



    When I walked out of the film, I wondered whether I thought it was better than Xmen or Edge of Tomorrow. I have thought about it a bit and I think Apes is just barely a better film than either of those. It was not a exhilarating or exciting, but there was something more pensive about this story. I loved it and think all of you reading this review would be wise to check it out.

    -Jason "Matt Reeves is already hard at work on a script for his next Apes film -- I bet the next one goes across the country to show us New York so it can include another iconic Statue of Liberty shot" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    There are a few references to things that happened in the first film, but the movie makes sure to explain them enough so that you need hot have seen Rise of the Apes to understand everything happening in Dawn of the Apes.
    Thanks for including this note (and the entire review). The wife and I have a 2 year-old and don't get to see many movies. My mother-in-law will be in town next weekend and we were thinking of going to a movie since we have a babysitter. This sounds right up our alley but I wasn't sure if seeing Rise first was crucial.
    Coach K on Kyle Singler - "What position does he play? ... He plays winner."

    "Duke is never the underdog" - Quinn Cook

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by tbyers11 View Post
    Thanks for including this note (and the entire review). The wife and I have a 2 year-old and don't get to see many movies. My mother-in-law will be in town next weekend and we were thinking of going to a movie since we have a babysitter. This sounds right up our alley but I wasn't sure if seeing Rise first was crucial.
    It is not crucial, but Rise is a very, very good movie (not quite as good as Dawn) and well worth seeing anyway. The one thing not explained in Dawn is how the apes came to be smart and organized. It is not essential to the plot to know that stuff (you can just accept that they are smart apes with sign language and the such), but Rise explains how it happened.

    I just realized, Rise also somewhat explains why some of the apes feel differently about humans (time in captivity). Again, you need not know this to enjoy and understand Dawn, but it helps.

    So, my advice is to go out and rent Rise (or you can watch it on TV, it is on FX this weekend) to enhance your enjoyment of Dawn.

    -Jason "and if you don't want to see Dawn, I still say Edge of Tomorrow is a fabulous sci-fi flick!" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Deeetroit City
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    ... This pic is a drama about two groups of desperate and untrusting people (humans in San Fran and the Apes who live in the forest next to the city) trying to decide if they can co-exist. ...

    ... The story centers on the conflict between the people/apes who want to trust the other side and the ones who see the other group as a threat and want to wipe them out.

    Director Matt Reeves ... is already hard at work on a script for his next Apes film -- I bet the next one goes across the country to show us New York so it can include another iconic Statue of Liberty shot" ...
    So you're saying the humans don't wipe out the apes? Spoiler alert!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    It is not crucial, but Rise is a very, very good movie (not quite as good as Dawn) and well worth seeing anyway. The one thing not explained in Dawn is how the apes came to be smart and organized. It is not essential to the plot to know that stuff (you can just accept that they are smart apes with sign language and the such), but Rise explains how it happened.

    I just realized, Rise also somewhat explains why some of the apes feel differently about humans (time in captivity). Again, you need not know this to enjoy and understand Dawn, but it helps.

    So, my advice is to go out and rent Rise (or you can watch it on TV, it is on FX this weekend) to enhance your enjoyment of Dawn.

    -Jason "and if you don't want to see Dawn, I still say Edge of Tomorrow is a fabulous sci-fi flick!" Evans
    I will try and watch Rise but not sure it's going to happen. I do know the basics of the story. Thanks for the tip that it is on FX. I'll DVR it right now
    Coach K on Kyle Singler - "What position does he play? ... He plays winner."

    "Duke is never the underdog" - Quinn Cook

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston, MA
    JE - is it worth seeing in 3D, or no?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by Udaman View Post
    JE - is it worth seeing in 3D, or no?
    No no no no no! In fact, I think the 3D at my screening may have reduced some of the quality of the ape CG. IMAX or some other big screen format is certainly worth it, if only to marvel at the realistic look of the apes and their world, but 3D is certainly not worth it for this flick.

    -Jason "that said, there is a scene in a tank and the entire final battle which are both really cool in 3D. If you sorta ignore the 3D for the first 3/4 of the movie, it is cool at the end" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    I could write 5000 words about Dawn of the Apes and never quite capture the greatness of it as well as this article from Slashfilm does. The article is titled: The Moment When ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Transcended the Summer Blockbuster

    There’s a magic to these creatures. The CG and performance capture used to bring them to life is nothing short of extraordinary, but what’s more fascinating to me is the strange world they habit between man and beast. They’re powerful yet also easily swayed. They’re hyper-intelligent, yet prone to misunderstanding. They demonstrate their alpha nature with a lot of noise and bluster, but they also have the same hopes and dreams that humans do.

    They’re like an extreme version of humanity, a reflection of our potential for greatness and strength, but also for evil. And when the film plays with this tension, it becomes more than just a summer blockbuster: it becomes a tour de force.
    -Jason "so, umm, yeah, I think you should see this film " Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Saw this yesterday.

    Was a good film, but I liked Rise better. This one had some pacing issues, as Jason alluded to. And the characters were flat and did not grow, as Jason also mentioned.

    Parts of the movie did remind me of a "Lord of the Flies, but with apes." And that's a good thing...

Similar Threads

  1. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt 2 review
    By JasonEvans in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 11-19-2012, 09:48 PM
  2. What is your favorite planet?
    By EarlJam in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 35
    Last Post: 08-17-2008, 07:03 AM
  3. Blue Planet!
    By CameronCraziex3 in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 11-15-2007, 12:01 PM
  4. Rescue Dawn
    By Jim3k in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-29-2007, 05:53 PM
  5. Rescue Dawn
    By accfanfrom1970 in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-28-2007, 12:48 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •