I'm looking at you, Tim Burton.
I'm looking at you, GODZILLA.
I liked this new movie for those very reasons, with only a few nuanced reasons I didn't like. Read on for my review, and get your stinking paws off me!
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes place ten years after 'Rise' from 2011. Apes have built a thriving community in the woods of Muir forest in the San Fransisco area, and it's obvious they are better off that way. This film takes the idea of apes becoming sentient and exacerbates it, or speeds it up, showing how things have changed since the first ape became self aware by coming in contact with the monolith.
What I like about this is that while they are still very primitive, they do have a kind of intelligent culture developing. It's not like what is shown in the 60's film, but you can see how things are heading in that direction.
For example, they use a mixture of sign language and grunts as you'd expect, but also some actual words to communicate, which makes sense because of how their leader, Caesar, was brought up by the humans. Their language shows how intelligent they have become, but having the apes talk isn't used as a gimmick or trick like in other versions.
Still looking at you, Tim.
Tensions rise after a human runs into a couple of apes, gets scared, and shoots one dead. This leads Caesar to let the humans know just how things will proceed by telling them to stay away from their territory. The only problem is that mankind isn't as self sustaining as the apes.
Unlike the apes, the humans need power, as their fuels are running dangerously low. Their only hope is a dam that lays within the apes territory. The whole situation is a powder keg, and as you can guess, things don't go well - for either party.
All good stories have similar characters. Think about it this way: Batman and Joker are essentially the same character, only with different motivations and goals. And it doesn't have to be heroes/villains either, like in the case of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. They are the exact same character story wise, just with different backgrounds, but with the same kind of "hero journey."
Caesar and the main human character, Malcolm, have the same goals in the movie. They both want to keep the peace between apes and humans, all while keeping their family and people safe. They both are leaders, but find it increasingly difficult to maintain control or influence. It's this familiarity that makes the two unlikely friends.
But JUST friends. There's no ape/human kissing like in the 60's movie.
There are a few really scary moments, and I don't mean scary as in like "BOO!" or jump moments. Just look at this picture and you'll see:
Basically this movie is well done, and is left open for another sequel that I'm sure will blow the peals off bananas. Which, oddly enough is my only complaint, the lack of more banana jokes. Or bananas IN the movie for that matter. Oh well.
All-in-all, I give this movie five Charlton Heston's screaming on a beach out of five.
That's it for now. I'll go back to playing Ingress. What? You've never heard of Ingress? Hm. Well....
www.Ingress.com
Thanks again. Here's a glimpse at my next post: