Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Down and Dirty: Thrilling action movie that asks the right questions. A worthy sequel.

Director: Matt Reeves  (Cloverfield)

Big Names: Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis

Imagine this film: A prisoner of war has been released upon the dissipation of conflict. His anger and resentment towards his captors remains. He allows it to infect his thoughts and fuel his actions. His extremist views put him at odds with his fellow nationalists. How far is he willing to go to exact revenge on his nemesis?

An interesting plotline. Now imagine that this is just one of several sinuous, intriguing stories happening in the film. All of them relate to the main course of what nationalism looks like for individuals on opposing sides of a conflict, or even the same side. Pepper in some leadership models, emotional connections, and violent conflict for taste. Bake at four hundred degrees for two hours. You should see the story rise and expand through the screen over the course of the movie. Once it’s golden brown, remove from the oven and frost with beautiful cinematography.

Wait I’m forgetting something.

Ah, that’s right.

Don’t overlook the talking monkeys. That’s the most critical ingredient here…or is it?

In my opinion, the film could be just as entertaining with an entire cast of human characters (perhaps even more character depth?). But the primates’ inhuman identity brings subtlety to the question of where the viewer’s sympathies are drawn. Now that’s an effective use of an unrealistic plot device.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the sequel to last year’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It is undeniably superior to that James Franco infused treat. Rise was entertaining and it hinted at the important question of the morality of genetic testing on animals; but Dawn actually has some kick to it. Unlike the huge scope of the issue of genetic testing, here Director Matt Reeves opts to pose several smaller questions surrounding leadership, loyalty, and nationalism all of which feel relevant and palatable in the two hour run time. The best part though? The talking monkeys are a bonus, the cherry on top of the sundae. The entire plot of this film would still be interesting and viable if it were tweaked to be solely about humans from different countries. That means you can enjoy the science fiction without being caught up in the world of science fiction. Movies like Looper drag you into the weirdness of the alternate reality because of the glaring difference between their world and ours (in Looper’s case, time travel). Here, the idea of genetically enhanced hyper-intelligent primates becomes a subtle acceptable truth because they are analogous to humans in ways that make them very relatable. The story is good enough that you are along for the ride without feeling lost in the whacky environment bombarding your senses.

Everything feels familiar about this post-apocalyptic San Francisco. You’ve seen this before. The human race battling for survival against a futuristic foreign power isn’t a new concept. That’s not what makes this original. The originality stems from Reeves and how he manages to weave several characters’ stories together with simple common factors in a thrilling way with the ultimate common factor being peace. He demonstrates how each character views and searches for the common good. What might be mundane in other films feels critical here – meaning that other films skimp on the dialogue and skip straight to the conflict; this one takes you through how the characters strive for peace. You’re invested in how the diplomacy plays out. These issues feel relatable to our political atmosphere. When the tension builds to battle, you’re heart rate builds with it. Reeves creates this atmosphere with extraordinarily smooth cinematography, a truly tense score, and solid acting from Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, and Keri Russell. Andy Serkis’ (Smeagol aka Gollum from LOTR) motion capture acting as the leader of the primates, Caesar, is something to behold. You might think it easy to emulate the movements of a monkey, try doing it on horseback with an M-16 rifle. Which brings us to the CGI animation. The movie has its very own look and feel: overgrown, dark, and intense. It’s impossible to tell what is a Hollywood set and what is animated, which monkeys are real and which aren’t. Just kidding, but seriously the movie looks really good. I commend the filmmakers for keeping the action sequences enticing without being ridiculous. You will surely enjoy the action scenes of this film while you ponder the many moral questions thrown at you. What does it take to be a leader? Was Machiavelli right? What should we fight for? And just how much is peace worth?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a fun ride with some unexpected depth. If nothing else, go see it for the talking monkeys.