A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier.
Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa.
Stars: Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis.
Storyline
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.
User Reviews
I hated RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES so much that I refused to even see DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES when it was in theaters. Last night I saw it on a rented library DVD and I was absolutely amazed!
Let me explain where I'm coming from. I saw the original PLANET OF THE APES on television as a 10 year old in 1973. I waited months to see each sequel as it came on TV. The apes and their world were the center of my childhood. I am an old school Apes purist and I loved the culture, philosophy and political commentary of the original films so much that I truly dreaded the new series.
But this time around, they got it right. From the first few minutes I was mesmerized by the intensity of the apes, the beauty of the scenery and set design, the power and simplicity of the dialogue, even when (especially when) it was mostly delivered in sign language.
From a purist's point of view, DAWN is not so much a sequel to RISE as a brilliant re-imagining of the fifth and final film in the original series, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. The plot is basically identical. Having won equality and a new start, Caesar attempts to create a simple, rural civilization where humans and apes can peacefully coexist. But when an evil ape consumed by race hatred (species hatred) decides to take the law into his own hands, both Caesar's life and his family's future is at stake.
The thing that impressed me so deeply is that the same plot was far more powerful and dramatic the second time around. The characters are more nuanced, and the performances more tragic. General Aldo, the gorilla bully in BATTLE, plays much the same role as Koba in DAWN. But the two characters are so different. Aldo was a big, dumb bruiser, and nothing more. He was a bully, and he saw himself as superior to humans. Basically he came across like the mean, redneck sheriff in a Burt Reynolds movie. Koba, with his scars, his blinded eye, and his horrible memories of life as a lab specimen, is a far more tragic figure. His sly, Machiavellian cunning and his utter lack of remorse remind me of Shakespeare's classic villains. Watch the scene where he infiltrates the human settlement and gets two redneck survivors to lower their weapons with fatal results. The ease with which the embittered, scarred ape becomes a clowning, playful monkey (just for as long as it takes to get his hands on a gun) literally sent shivers down my spine. This level of subtlety and the darkness it evokes is reminiscent of Herman Melville's work in stories like BENITO CERENO. Everyone remembers Andy Serkis as Caesar, but I think Toby Kebbell's performance as Koba was just as remarkable. And though many other reviewers have surely mentioned it, I was struck by the fact that the name Koba was used quite intentionally by the film makers. Koba was Joseph Stalin's first alias when he was a young revolutionary in Czarist Russia!
The first hour of the movie is absolutely riveting. Only the final half of the movie drags, a little bit, because the film makers couldn't resist the big battle scene with the machine guns and the explosions. Frankly, my impression was that Koba would have overcome the human colony without even needing a battle. He was that clever, and that chilling. But I want to say that as brilliant as the ape performances were, the humans, particularly Gary Oldman as the corrupt colony leader and Keri Russell as the caring human doctor, were solid and convincing as well.
This movie was a wonderful surprise. It has restored my faith in the Planet of the Apes as both a sub culture and a way of life.
