Dawn of The Planet of The Apes, Hollywood English Film Movie Review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * * * 1/2

#DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes, Hollywood English Film movie review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * * * 1/2 

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#DawnOfthePlanetOfTheApes (English/3D) Rating: *  *  * ½ This Superbly rendered, vicariously structured, engaging sequel spiel about a face-off between humans and Gorillas makes for beguiling action powered entertainment. #AndySerkis #JasonClark #MattReeves #GaryOldman #KeriRussell #MarkBomback #RickJaffa #AmandaSilver #MichaelSeresin

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English film review

Johnson Thomas

Perfectly Realised actioner

Film: Dawn of The Planet of the Apes

Cast: Andy Serkis (Caesar), Jason Clarke (Malcolm), Gary Oldman (Dreyfus), Keri Russell (Ellie), Karin Konoval (Maurice), Nick Thurston (Blue Eyes), Judy Greer (Cornelia), Toby Kebbell (Koba) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Alexander).

Director: Matt Reeves

Rating: *  *  * ½

 

Synopsis: Three years of real time and a decade in screen time , has passed since the last ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ and the surviving genetically advanced primates and their human counterparts are both now fighting to hold on to their territory after a viral outbreak has reduced both populations to a few thousands..or that’s what we are given to understand!

 

Review:

Slowly and steadily the series storyline is veering towards the complete takeover of the Earth by the genetically engineered primates/ This sequel is just a step closer to that end. A quicj-fire montage reflects on the dire disease driven apocalypse that has enveloped the world.  The human survivors have cobbled together a reasonably stable society in the ruins of San Francisco, with Dreyfuss( Gary Oldman) in charge. They are fast running out of power and must soon find an energy source before the society begins to crumble under the weight of it’s own survivalist expectations. A team led by Malcolm(Clarke)sets out in search of a dam that once supplied hydro-power to the city. And while on that track they come across a band of apes. A volatile member from the team shoots at it which in turn causes the huge outcry among the apes and the team is dragged to the leader of the apes for a pronouncement. Caesar, the leader is a peace loving, human loving primate and prefers to learn the reasons foe what happened before passing judgement. He learns of the humans’ desperation and allows them to seek out the dam under primate supervision.

Across the battered Golden Gate Bridge, in Marin County, the primates have built their own civilization. In contrast to the bedraggled human colony, the ape encampment is a thriving, sprawling encampment which appears far more civilized and humanistic. It has distinctive wooden architecture, domesticated horses, a sophisticated (mostly signed) language and an educational system overseen by Maurice, the gentle, copper-furred orangutan- who we saw in the first movie of the series.

The scarred and scared humans on receiving the news of the primates existence decide to prepare for war. They have a goldmine of ammunition to support their cause. On the primates side, there is a power hungry betrayer seeking to usurp Caesar. So a misunderstanding sets in motion a face-off between man and primate that could end in annihilation of either. Standing in between the two antagonistic sides are the more stable liberals on either side. The war begins and a spectacular mind-blowing action sequence ensues. There is loss  of course-on both sides of the divide. And the war continues. To know more on that future we obviously have to look forward to the next in the series.

This film is technically impressive and viscerally exciting and the conflicts at it’s core are thought-provoking- echoing the man versus nature conflicts of today. The performances, if one can call it that, are mind-blowing. The merge between computer technology generated Simian expressivenes  and human facial evocation is so perfect that it’s difficult to separate the two. Weta Digital has digitally aided that brillaiantly too. Andy Serkis is perfect as Caesar, and so are the other ape performers- Karin Konoval (Maurice); Nick Thurston (Caesar’s son Blue Eyes); Judy Greer (Caesar’s wife, Cornelia); and especially Toby Kebbell as Koba, Caesar’s lieutenant and eventual nemesis. The human performances though competent don’t stand out as much. And that’s  a good thing. After all this film does seem to favor the apes over humans.   

The sylvan, simian city is majestic. The rest of the visual effects are also seamlessly crafted into the narrative. The script by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Mark Bomback, is structured to draw out your pleasure till the very end. The tone is darker than the earlier edition, and is broodingly beautiful in it’s envelopment.  That experience is intensified by Michael Giacchino’s background score and verdant depth of Michael Seresin’s cinematography. Matt Reeves fine sense of visual detail adds more weight to the enticement.

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