Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

    Here it is, APES ON HORSES!!!!!!!!!!! Could it get any cooler? Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes place roughly ten years after the events of the first "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". By now the Simian Flu has spread throughout the world and wiped out most of Humanity. This is the same virus that caused the apes to grow intelligently. We see the apes have made their home in a forest near San Francisco. Their culture is somewhat primitive but also slightly advanced and rich as it contains schools, a code of conduct, communication through minimal English signing, body language, and an environment of loving-family dynamics. The child apes attend school taught by Maurice who is brought back from "Rise". Caesar is more authoritative and cool as ever as the leader of the apes.
   Props to the genius Andy Serkis, who masterfully plays Caesar, and the technology that lets him brilliantly act through motion capture. We see that Caesar has so much command over the tribe that he can silence every single one of them with just a hand gesture!
   Watching the apes communicate with each other was very fun to watch. Director Matt Reeves' use of captions made it exciting to watch the apes go back and forth between English and sig
ning. Under Caesars command the apes are living peacefully with one another and it's almost heaven........until humans arrive for the first time in a very long time and ruin it all.
   There is instant tension as Malcolm, played by Jason Clarke and Ellie, played by Kerri Russell, lead their team into the apes territory. The dynamic between Caesar and Malcolm (Clarke) is incredibly strong. They are similar in that they both are trying to protect their families, communities, and their destinies. Their relationship in this movie is something special. I love it when the set pieces and different action scenes actually make sense in the movie and aren't merely there for spectacle like any recent Michael Bay film. So you can understand my joy when I saw not only were Dawn's set pieces and action scenes beautiful but they totally made sense in the pacing and flow of this story!
   While watching this movie in theaters, there were a few moments that were predictable but the overall plot was entirely unpredictable, highly entertaining, deep and intelligent.
   In this movie Koba is brought back and more trouble than ever. His emotional scars have only gone deeper and his resentment towards humans is intense. His character in this movie is one of the most memorable and scene stealing characters in the whole series.
   This movie has me on the edge of my seat wanting peace between the humans and the apes but knowing the whole time that something was about to go down! The tension is alive! The movie also looks amazing. The CGI used for the apes is unnoticeable because they look so real and life-like. When it showed a close up of an apes face I was sure it was a real ape brought on set. There is a TON of apes in Caesars tribe and weather they are interacting with each other, riding horses, or even shooting guns, I questioned whether some scenes did have real life apes in them.......but there was not a single real ape in the whole movie! The technology is merely marvelous and the cool action scenes are totally breathtaking!
   To sum up, Dawn is intense, exciting, smart,and from the CGI to the set pieces; this movie looks and is incredible.
   I would like the thank Grace for letting me nerd out on the blog a bit. As always, Stay Spicy!

~Alex