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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
| Released |
17 July 2014 |
| Director |
Matt Reeves |
Starring
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Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirk Acevedo, Nick Thurston, Judy Greer |
Writer(s)
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Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Mark Bomback |
Producer(s)
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Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
130 minutes |
| Genre |
Action, drama, sci-fi |
| Rating |
12A |
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Hail Caesar!
The infinite monkey theorem suggests that given an infinite amount of time, a monkey randomly hitting the keys of a typewriter will eventually reproduce the complete works of Shakespeare. For me, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes represents concrete proof that the theory holds water. Mark Bomback and Rick Jaffa may claim to be the ones who penned the script but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a few simian helpers. This follow up to the hugely entertaining Rise of the Planet of the Apes plays like a monkey Shakespearean tragedy, as new director Matt Reeves (Let Me In) darkens the tone to bring us a story of death and betrayal, fathers and sons.
We begin ten years after the last film, during which time simian flu has completely ravaged the human population of earth. A small stronghold of the uninfected is now eking out an existence in the ruins of San Francisco led by ex-Army man Dreyfus (Gary Oldman). With their power sources nearly tapped out, the settlement send a team (including Jason Clarke and Keri Russell) out of the city to investigate a nearby dam. Unfortunately for them, the dam is part of the territory now called home by the fiercely intelligent ape community, led by Caesar (Andy Serkis). Caesar wishes to avoid conflict at all costs and strikes up a tentative trust with the humans but the hot-blooded Koba (Toby Kebbell) does not share this optimism and begins to contrive conflict between humans and apes.
Whereas Rise focused on the attempts of James Franco’s scientist to integrate Caesar into human society, this time around the humans are almost incidental to the story. Clarke and Russell are more than competent as the human leads but really, they are only catalysts for the events that will tear the ape community apart. A relatively muted, character-driven first half cleverly builds our relationships with the apes, so that when the maelstrom of betrayal and violence begins, it really hits home emotionally. For this we can thank Serkis and Kebbel who give moving, subtle performances as the rival ape leaders. The depth of expression conjured up through the combined efforts of these actors and the digital effects crew are truly remarkable.
In the tradition of great sequels, Dawn builds on the promise of the first film, not only delivering on spectacle with its beautifully rendered characters and exciting action set pieces but also delivering an emotional hit.
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Linda O’Brien |
