“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is a very good sequel and one of the best action movies of the summer. It is also a big step for director Matt Reeves, whose found-footage monster movie “Cloverfield” was undervalued, as was his beautifully made-yet-needless remake of “Let the Right One In.”
It is arguable that this reboot of the Apes franchise is also needless – a part of a new movement in mainstream cinema to only make sequels, remakes or anything with a trusted brand name attached. The over-reliance on CGI spectacle is also an ongoing issue in movies today. One may criticize all of these things, but I absolutely refuse to use this film’s functionality as a place to do so.
2011′s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” won me over before it was even released. As soon as I found out that the reboot was completely avoiding the lost astronaut story of the original 1968 film and was to take place in a modern-day setting with an ape named Caesar as its lead, I had total admiration for where the film’s makers were getting their inspiration. In the original five-part movie series, Caesar was not introduced until the very end of the third film and became the main character of the last two. All the sequels in the original run of films were interesting, yet cheap. I strongly believe that remakes are most valuable when they are derived from films of flawed execution, yet great ideas.
The opening pre-title sequence is a haunting montage calling back to the last film’s end credits, which showed a man-made deadly virus spreading all over the globe. This is a good way of providing exposition to those who are new to the franchise while informing everyone that after 10 years of this plague, human civilization is in dead-quiet blackout.
Following the film’s title is a beautiful close-up shot of Caesar’s eyes. As the camera slowly pulls back, we see he is wearing war paint and surrounded by dozens of other apes in Redwood trees. What follows is a great elk hunt, which disappointingly, contains the film’s least-convincing CGI. This possible homage to the “Last of the Mohicans” opening has the right energy, but critics of CGI indulgence will have to wait for the next scene, when the hunting party returns to the ape village where their new culture is thriving as they communicate via sign language. The hard work that went into this aspect of the film is a testament to movies as magic shows where meticulous coordination of technological artistry can create the most astounding illusions.
“Dawn” is loosely based on “Battle for the Planet of the Apes” in the same way “Rise” was loosely based on “Conquest.” The deadly virus has killed most humans and dramatically enhanced ape intelligence. A group of human survivors, looking to reactivate San Francisco’s power from a dam in the woods, encounter the apes, and both groups are disturbed by the other’s existence.
Some people ignorantly blame the apes for the spread of the virus which killed their loved ones. They are also terrified by the apes’ limited yet unbelievable ability to speak. All apes, with exception of their leader, Caesar (Andy Serkis), have no fond memories of humans. However, the fear of war drives Malcolm (Jason Clarke), one of the human leaders, to begin a diplomatic strategy with the apes to gain their trust and earn permission to access to the dam. Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), the main leader of the human colony, lacks faith that this will work, but gives Malcolm’s plan a few days – while readying his large artillery supply in case it doesn’t.
Meanwhile, the hopeful Caesar and the former lab ape, Koba (Toby Kebbell), whose hatred of humanity knows no bounds, butt heads over the controversial cooperation with humans. The story slowly develops into a bittersweet tale of trust and friendship built between two separate leaders whose good intentions cannot control the inevitability of dire conflict between their peoples.
Like the last movie, the plot holds a lot of the film’s strength, but every other aspect of the screenplay by Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa and Mark Bomback is simply acceptable. Reeves, like his former collaborator, J.J. Abrams, knows how to elevate simple material to grand heights through rich atmosphere and excellent pacing. The gloomy overcast look of the movie is matched by the dread you feel for its characters, who have too much tragedy in their past to afford any more. The score by Michael Giacchino is also a very emotional contribution.
It may be a drawback for some that this is another dark and serious summer movie following the endless string of “Dark Knight” –inspired movies of humorless realism applied to fantasy concepts. As an “Apes” movie, I would not ask it to be anything else. Cynicism is welcome here.
Bennett Duckworth is a film fanatic who lives in Louisville and goes to see a movie in the theater at least once a week. He has kept a movie review blog since September 2011 with the mission of writing about every new release he sees, as well as new trends in filmmaking and classic films he loves. You can read more of his reviews at www.bennettduckworth.blogspot.com.