This movie was, in a word, awesome. Having watched and liked the previous film, we went to the theater with great expectations; and it did not disappoint. This movie has so many good things about it that I'm not sure where to begin. It's got good characters, good graphics, good pacing, and at the heart of it, a great plot.
For starters, I really like that the story didn't take place immediately where the first one left off, but it also wasn't in the distant future. If it had followed directly from the first film, it would feel more like the second half of a two-parter than a proper sequel. If, however, it was too far into the future, then the original protagonist would either be in his old age or dead; thus removing the movie too far from its predecessor. Instead, it struck a balance between the two and took place around 10 years after the events of the first film. Caesar (from Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is still around, but much has changed since we last saw him and his apes disappear into the forest.
Now let's talk characters. There were plenty of interesting and multi-layered characters (both apes and humans) throughout the film. Chiefly among these, of course, is Caesar himself. Now that he has become a leader for some time, his demeanor has become quite different from his younger, less experienced self. However, even though he has taken on a more menacing or hardened appearance, we also get to see his gentler side coming up once in a while throughout the movie. As for antagonists, there were not one, but two troublemakers that caused much of the conflict in the movie. What I really liked about it is that one was human while the other was ape, which was a clear message from the film makers that not all humans or all apes were the bad guys here; the apes were as morally diverse as their human counterparts. One thing I didn't like about the human baddie was that he felt like a one-note character, and that note was "I hate apes". It would have been better if that note had actually made sense, but it doesn't even do that. His hatred for apes was illogical and unwarranted. If he had, say, a tragic backstory which involved apes doing some personal wrong to him, that might work, but the character as he was presented really had nothing going for him motivation wise. Conversely, the ape antagonist was mistreated by humans in the past, so him hating on humans makes perfect sense to the audience, even if they can't condone his actions.
Besides having great characters, this movie also delivered when it came to the plot. It's a rather simple one, really, and one that's probably been done more than a few times, but the pacing of it was done just right so that you didn't feel like you've seen it all before or that the movie was dragging on for too long. Jeffrey and I both thought that they did an especially good job in building up tension, in individual scenes as well as generally throughout the movie. The apes and humans were striving to maintain a fragile peace, and any misunderstanding or hostility could very well break it. As the audience, you knew that it was coming, you just didn't know when, and the film did great work in making you stay on the edge of your seat and wonder: Is this it? Would this time do it?
All in all, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was a delightful movie to watch, from beginning to end. There were no stall moments, but there were plenty of interesting characters plus an engaging storyline. We highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes movies.
For starters, I really like that the story didn't take place immediately where the first one left off, but it also wasn't in the distant future. If it had followed directly from the first film, it would feel more like the second half of a two-parter than a proper sequel. If, however, it was too far into the future, then the original protagonist would either be in his old age or dead; thus removing the movie too far from its predecessor. Instead, it struck a balance between the two and took place around 10 years after the events of the first film. Caesar (from Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is still around, but much has changed since we last saw him and his apes disappear into the forest.
Now let's talk characters. There were plenty of interesting and multi-layered characters (both apes and humans) throughout the film. Chiefly among these, of course, is Caesar himself. Now that he has become a leader for some time, his demeanor has become quite different from his younger, less experienced self. However, even though he has taken on a more menacing or hardened appearance, we also get to see his gentler side coming up once in a while throughout the movie. As for antagonists, there were not one, but two troublemakers that caused much of the conflict in the movie. What I really liked about it is that one was human while the other was ape, which was a clear message from the film makers that not all humans or all apes were the bad guys here; the apes were as morally diverse as their human counterparts. One thing I didn't like about the human baddie was that he felt like a one-note character, and that note was "I hate apes". It would have been better if that note had actually made sense, but it doesn't even do that. His hatred for apes was illogical and unwarranted. If he had, say, a tragic backstory which involved apes doing some personal wrong to him, that might work, but the character as he was presented really had nothing going for him motivation wise. Conversely, the ape antagonist was mistreated by humans in the past, so him hating on humans makes perfect sense to the audience, even if they can't condone his actions.
Besides having great characters, this movie also delivered when it came to the plot. It's a rather simple one, really, and one that's probably been done more than a few times, but the pacing of it was done just right so that you didn't feel like you've seen it all before or that the movie was dragging on for too long. Jeffrey and I both thought that they did an especially good job in building up tension, in individual scenes as well as generally throughout the movie. The apes and humans were striving to maintain a fragile peace, and any misunderstanding or hostility could very well break it. As the audience, you knew that it was coming, you just didn't know when, and the film did great work in making you stay on the edge of your seat and wonder: Is this it? Would this time do it?
All in all, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was a delightful movie to watch, from beginning to end. There were no stall moments, but there were plenty of interesting characters plus an engaging storyline. We highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes movies.
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