Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Part 1

[titansupes]

I'm seeing it in 6 hours.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Dawn of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes would have been the only acceptable title for this film imo.

 

[Gold Samurai]

Burton's film is an extremely flawed movie with extremely great elements within it. Seriously that makeup work is insane.

Legendary makeup artist Rick Baker

[YT]x5SwlS-qbns[/YT]

 

[kevin2323]

Just came back from the screening.


It was quite good. Dare I say...epic?

 

[Kane52630]

http://francavillarts.tumblr.com/post/91209667781/in-3-days-art-by-francesco-francavilla

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Just came back from the screening.


It was quite good. Dare I say...epic?

What do you give it?

8/10?

9/10?

 

[kevin2323]

What do you give it?

8/10?

9/10?

9/10 it's the TDK / EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of this franchise.

Worth going for the cgi alone.

It had people clapping laughing and crying

 

[jmc]

Holy effing crap!!!!! What a film, full review when I get home!!!!

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

9/10 it's the TDK / EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of this franchise.

Worth going for the cgi alone.

It had people clapping laughing and crying

Music to my ears. t:

I can't wait for opening day.

 

[kedrell]

9/10 it's the TDK / EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of this franchise.

Worth going for the cgi alone.

It had people clapping laughing and crying

Well, I'll take the 2nd comparison as a good sign at least.

 

[jmc]

Well I'm back and holy moly was it a ride. The previous movie had all the hallmarks of a flop until it proved itself to be a very solid piece surprising everyone with it's solid showing. Dawn takes things up about 10 notches delivery a spectacular epic with amazing performances, first class action, emotional story, social commentary, and a level of technical CGI wizardry that will go unmatched for the rest of the year. This is without doubt the best film of the year.

Hats off to WETA Digital, you once again have pushed the boundaries of what is possible on film, to have so many CGI characters, and have them all feel totally believable is an accomplishment that will remembered long after. The characters feel organic and 100% part of the environment they inhabit, with only an occasional shot here and there looking a little unpolished, but for the most part they've helped bring to life these characters to the point where you can help but assume some shots must have contained real apes.

Of course the apes are nothing without the actors portraying them. Andy Serkis shows once again why he's the undisputed king of CG acting. Caesar has grown to become the leader of the apes who has tried to forget his life from the last film, bringing unity to the ape community, but when a band of humans turns up to his home looking for help cracks begin to form and his memory of his past life begin to filter through and dictate his choices. His adviser Koba, an early contender for villain of the year, opposes helping the humans due to being experimented on 10 years earlier, an opposition that leads to an ideological battle between the two and a disastrous chain of events between the two species.

For the humans, Jason Clarke's character Malcolm is the one that is the main focus. He and Caesar develop an understanding of one and other throughout the film and want to avoid war at all costs. Gary Oldman is used briefly in the movie, his actions are that of desperation than of malice, he doesn't hate the apes as such, but is willing to take them out in order for survival. The rest of the humans really only play bit parts in the film serving to enhance rather than share the spotlight of the film.

Ultimately the film is really about the lead up to war, an underlying tension exists throughout the movie but as things begin to disintegrate the tension goes up a level. The third act climax is without doubt an epic and rewarding finale to the film, all the emotional beats come to the surface and the set pieces are amazingly shot.

By the film's end I was completely exhausted and blown away, it was one of those cinema experience I won't forget anytime soon. The performances, the scale, the journey, the story, the characters, the set pieces, it's top shelf movie making. It's the Planet of the Apes answer to The Dark Knight, better than the previous film in every way, and one that will last a long time in people's memories. Where things go from here is anyones guess, for now just savour the moment.

9/10

 

[addison81]

Great write up. Any moments that match the "No!" moment from RISE?

 

[jmc]

There's a lot of great moments in the film.

 

[Broseph44]

How was the inevitable stinger or did you not see it

 

[Liam_H]

Just got back from the movie and I quite enjoyed it. Caesar once again steals the show and it is his movie through and through. Human characters are mostly there to support. That being said I wish Keri Russell had a bit more to do but that can't be helped.

There is no stinger or after credits scene, at least I didn't get one.

 

[smallville fan]

Just got back from the movie and wow. Everything I need to say has already been said above. I loved the last shot of the movie, very ominous. Any ideas for what the sequel would bring? Would they use the space voyage Easter Egg from Rise of the Planet of the Apes?

 

[Aesop Rocks]

I just knew Reeves was the perfect guy for this movie.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

This movie already feels like it's going to be one of those movies that burns itself into my memory, that it sticks with me forever. I'll remember it the way I do Alien and Jurassic Park.

 

[kedrell]

Just went up to 96% on RT, though the avg. went down from an 8.7 to an 8.5/10. 25 positive and still only 1 negative. If it holds that average then it may end up with less than 10 negatives in total.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

Oh Man, not for a other week or so over here

 

[kevin2323]

Well, I'll take the 2nd comparison as a good sign at least.

haha to each his own.

my point was it is better than the original and the original was great.

 

[titansupes]

Just got back. Usually I like to live with a movie for a while, let it settle in. But, for now...

It is indeed The Dark Knight and The Empire Strikes Back of the series. Much better than Rise (though honestly, I don't consider that too be all that difficult). Now, I'm not as gaga over it as the user above, but that was pretty great. Far and away the best Apes movie. The Apes... Caesar, in particular... wow. What a great character. Koba's no slouch, either. There's a bunch of "Holy ****" moments and gut-wrenching moments. Really solidly put together. "Dat" ending.

Negatives:
A little slow in parts. Most human characters are 'just' there for support, though I don't necessarily consider that too negative, if that makes sense. That's about it.

I guess (and how hate rating things like this, particularly so soon) 7-8/10. Somewhere in there, I think.

As for the after credits scene... there is sort of one, but it's really not worth waiting for.

Spoiler

At the very end of the credits, you can hear an Ape gasping for air, rubble shifting around him. The implication being, IMO (and this is a BIG SPOILER SO DON'T READ UNTIL YOU SEE THE MOVIE) that Koba survived his fall and will return in some capacity. I thought it strange in his "death scene" they orchestrated the fall the way they did.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

I'm not usually one to nitpick reviews, but I'm totally waiting for a place to like Slate ans Slant to put up their obligatory negative.

 

[kedrell]

97% on RT now. 29+ and 1-. Still 8.5/10

 

[Golgo-13]

So for those that have seen it; does it indeed feel as though the titles of the two movies should be switched around - where this should have been called Rise and the previous movie Dawn…?