"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" Review

                                       

Dawn is as good an action sequel as you're likely to see in this day and age. It joins the ranks of The Dark Knight and The Empire Strikes Back as blockbuster part-twos that surpass their predecessors in almost every way.

It picks up nearly 10 years after the events of 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Mankind has been crippled by the Simian flu. Cities have been reduced to rubble and reclaimed by the flora & fauna. The few humans lucky enough to be genetically immune to the disease exist in small colonies around the globe. Our focus remains on what's left in San Francisco - ground zero for the flu outbreak. The last of the city's scientists, engineers, and doctors attempt to establish communication with the outside world as their power supply dwindles. A small contingency of San Francisco survivors (led by Jason Clarke & Keri Russell) makes contact with a group of apes led by Caesar (Andy Serkis) while looking for a dam that could re-juice the city's power.

Most of the apes have been conditioned to fear man after the events of Rise. But things take an interesting turn when the primates get ahold of a human weapons cache, and a power struggle ensues in the simian ranks. 

They quickly become some of the NRA's hairiest members.

The visual effects work from Weta Digital is astounding, as both the environments and the apes that inhabit them appear gloriously lifelike.  I'd swear Maurice was an actual trained orangutan. 

You can witness all the scars and emotions of these animals in graphic detail. The motion capture artists, led by the incomparable Serkis, do well to get the audience invested in their primate characters by showcasing very human emotions as we are placed alongside them in their desolate world. 

The human characters aren't quite as interesting. Performances from Clarke and Russell feel mostly hollow. Not even Gary Oldman can muster enough audience empathy to make us care about Dreyfus, the head of the San Francisco colony. 

With the seeds of war between the humans and apes planted, you can bet we're in for one helluva part three. 

A