DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Given the first attempt at revamping the Plant of the Apes franchise it’s really remarkable we’ve come to this point at all. A sequel to the successful 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes that looks set to surpass its predecessor. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes take the world Rise created and expands and, if you will forgive the pun, evolves it. The writing draws us into this world so successfully that you quickly forget you are watching motion capture creations, letting you accept the simians as much a natural part of the world as their human counterparts. Of course it would be wrong to ignore the impressive special effects that help translate the actor’s performances into reality. This would not be enough however without the quality of said performances; Serkis (who has made a career out of motion capture roles) gives an excellent performance as Caesar. His fellow apes also give emotional performances especially Caesar’s son Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston ) and rival Koba (Toby Kebbell ) On the human side of things Jason Clark provides the audience with eyes into the human world and does not feel like a useless observer whilst doing so. Gary Oldman also delivers a nuanced performance as warmonger Dreyfus, a part that could easily have been stale and clichéd. There are some missteps in the look of the film, having the ape’s ride horses might be a nice nod to the original but it looks silly in the world the filmmakers have created. Some of the battle scenes use of slow motion dips into silly territory in an (unnecessary) attempt to create emotion. Overall however this is a successful continuation of the story and leaves the possibility open for a third addition to the franchise. FINAL VERDICT 8/10 a very well put together film that mixes spectacle and emotion well.