Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was one of the 2014 films that I was really looking forward to, after being a bigger fan of Rise of the Planet of the Apes then I was expecting. The movie has made it in at number eight on our search for the Best Movies of 2014.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes came three years after the success of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and was set years after events of the first film. It was all change in the director's chair as Matt Reeves took over from Rupert Wyatt, to take the franchise into darker territory.
It was also all change on the cast list Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, and Kodi Smit-McPhee all starred. However, Andy Serkis was back as Caesar as he took motion capture performances to even greater heights with this role and movie.
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.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes really was one of the movies that did not disappoint this year and was one of the best blockbusters that I had the joy of seeing this year. It is always fantastic when you watch a movie that lives up to everything to that you thought it would be - it is so rare to see a blockbuster film truly achieve that.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is bleaker and darker than the first film, and see the humans race on the brink of extinction, while the apes population and multiplied and thrived - of course this will only result in resentment, a standoff, and ultimately war as the two species battle for dominance rather than living peacefully together.
From start to finish, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a smart and exciting movie with a story that is totally engrossing - I don't know about you, but it is a story that left me feeling nothing but sympathy towards the apes that are pulled into contact with humans that they never really wanted.
While the script is strong and there are some terrific performances from Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman in particular, it is the motion capture work and special effects that really make this film the great movie that it is. Andy Serkis really is the master of this type of filmmaking and it is always great to see him return to this kind of role.
I am sure that Serkis would love to do more live action performing but he has proved such a master at motion capture and really has taken this form of acting to a completely new level. He and he alone has put really put motion capture performances on the map and he deserves far more recognition for his wonderful work than he actually gets.
And it is one the shoulders of Caesar that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes rests, as Caesar is a character who wants the safety and prosperity of the apes, but is still attached to the human race because of where he came from - the moments when he returns to the house where he grew up in and sees pictures of Will (originally played by James Franco) are some of the most touching as it shows that he still has a lot of love for the family that raised him.
It would have been so easy for director Reeves to get caught up in the special effects and let them take centre stage so Dawn of the Planet of the Apes became another run of the mill sequel that was nowhere near as good as the first. Thankfully, that has not been allowed to happen!!!
Reeves and co have nodded back to events and characters from the first film and are very aware that this is the second movie in what is set to be a trilogy of films. This has allowed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes rise above all of the pitfalls that so often come with sequels and instead be an intelligent blockbuster that has you on the edge of your seat and rooting for the central characters.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes really is one of the best blockbusters of the year and I really can't see where the third instalment takes us… it looks like we are going to get a real war between the humans and the apes.
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