In 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes appeared as a huge surprise — a reboot of a film franchise that didn’t seem to need an update. However, it managed to tell a compelling story, no doubt due to the tremendous work by motion-capture master Andy Serkis, whose portrayal of Caesar, the franchise’s main ape, was masterful.
As it turns out, this sympathetic look at a sci-fi concept has extended to its sequel. The film takes place about 10 years after the original, and a series of news segments show that the Earth has been devastated by the virus which came to form after failed attempts at an Alzheimer’s cure. We learn that this virus has wiped out most of humanity.
The first part of the movie is surprisingly silent — we are introduced first not to a surviving band of humans, but to the largely-expanded colony of apes, still led by Caesar, noticeably older and stronger. Caesar is now both a leader and a family man — his son Blue Eyes is introduced early on, and Caesar’s mate gives birth to another son shortly after. The colony’s collective intelligence is large — the apes communicate via sign language but can also speak English when need be. They also created a sophisticated shelter among the jungles dense foliage.
This peace is shattered when a group of human survivors encounters a group of apes, and wouldn’t you know it, one of the humans shoots one of the apes. It leads to a largely tense first half or so as the humans and apes deal with mistrust among their ranks. Malcolm (Jason Clarke), one of the human leaders, makes an attempt to bring much-needed electricity to his group, and that requires him making a pact with the distrustful apes.
Each side has its problems — for the humans, it’s Carver, a man who blames the apes for everything that went wrong with the world. There’s also Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) who cares solely about keeping the human race alive. For the apes, it’s Koba (Toby Kebbell), who is still resentful for the years of human captivity. One of the two eventually ignites a full-out war between the two sides.
It’s inevitable that there will be a number of explosions as the war begins, though the battle scenes aren’t nearly as compelling as the ape-human drama that permeates the film. The battle scenes attempt to create a few iconic stills, though also has some great technical work, particularly of a scene where Koba takes over a tank, and the audience is presented with a POV shot from the top of the vehicle.
The motion-capture technology is the real star of this film, with the apes looking just as expressive as the humans, particularly in one scene where Koba and Caesar get into a physical battle over the right way to deal with humans. The 3D is the weak link — watch this in 2D if you can, as the 3D really doesn’t offer anything spectacular.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes works well as a stand-alone sequel, though knowledge of Rise will help in a particularly touching scene where Caesar sees a video from his former life. The film also leaves plenty of room for another sequel, though it’s hard to say if it can continue to balance its sympathetic look at highly-advanced creatures.
Either way, Dawn makes a potentially farcical sequel into a film rife with fully-believable drama and action.
