Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of The Planet of the Apes is the first movie I watched in 2014 that worth 5 stars!

I don’t know where to begin because there are so much I want to write but I have to control myself not to spoil it. For me, Dawn of The Planet of the Apes is perfect in so many ways.

Early 2014, I have seen/read the movies that are going to be released in 2014 and the ONLY one that I am dying to see is this movie…unlike most people who have so many anticipated movies, I only have this one and I am soooo happy that my anticipation paid off.

First, let’s see trailer (if you haven’t already). I like the trailer because you can’t see the plot through the trailer (unlike so many Hollywood trailer lately)

The first time I saw that trailer, it gave me chills and made me anxious to see it.

I am not a fan of Planet of the Apes, maybe because I had seen it ages ago but I fell deeply in love with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The plot touched me deeply. When they announced about making the sequel, I was half worried that they are going to make it TOO over the top like most sequel in Hollywood lately where the sequel is more loud, more visual effect, more action and more of everything except for the story. To my delight Dawn is nothing like that! Just like Rise, Dawn relies on the strength of its plot, the visual and the action are just part that accompanied an already amazing story.

In short, the story takes place 10 years after the Simian virus wiped out human civilization. Meanwhile, the apes led by Caesar continues to built better civilization in the Muir Wood. Their main rule is that apes do not kill apes. However, the virus doesn’t kill all humans because few of them are immune to the virus. The conflict between humans and apes starts when the humans, unaware of the existence of the apes, trespass the apes’ territory.

I don’t want to say anything more than that because it’s better to see it without knowing much of the plot. I am not going to say that’s it’s an  unpredictable plot, it is predictable in some ways but it’s wrapped in a natural way that easily makes you eager to know what will happen next.

What I like most about Dawn is the way the characters evolve. Each main ape has strong character, one does not overshadowed the other. You can see clearly how they feel through their gesture. The emotional depth is truly transparent, I am not ashamed to say that I shed tears in some parts of the movie. The other thing that I love about this movie is how realistic it feels, they don’t try to make one species as the saint, both humans and apes are equal…some are good and some are bad.

As for the visual, it’s a wonderful treat. The motion capture is stunning. The actors who played the apes had done amazing work, they embodied the apes so naturally. And I love the scenery…so green, so beautiful.

I keep writing about the apes, what about the humans? The actors who play the humans are okay but they certainly aren’t the ones keeping everyone glued to the movie, the apes are.

To make the movie even better, it has great scoring. I never paid attention to Michael Giacchino before (tho I have seen Super 8 and Star Trek Into The Darkness) because the scoring of the previous two movies didn’t capture my attention. Giachiano did awesome job for Dawn.

Flawless plot, great cast, stunning visual and perfect scoring…what else could you ask for?

I can wait to see it again (I’m planning to do that this week when school’s holiday starts) and certainly can’t wait to see the next movie. I have high hope that this can be listed as my favorite trilogy…but we still have to wait for that to happen. I am glad that my friend, Ruth has the same opinion as me 🙂 (you can read her review @ Flixchatter)

Movie Details:

Director: Matt Reeves
Staring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nick Thurston, Karin Konoval, Doc Shaw, Judy Greer, Terry Notary.
Producer: Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Scriptwriter:  Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver
Released date: June 11, 2014
Rating: