OTF's Blue Publication August 2014
I saw Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes a couple weeks ago, and it was a worthy sequel and new addition to the Apes franchise. There were some interesting parallels between this new movie and Battle Of The Planet Of The Apes from the 70s. They both (logically) involved a conflict between apes and humans, but they were also both set in the still future year of 2018. And as you might suspect, the 2014 depiction of 2018 is closer to that of the depiction presented in the original movies.
“Dawn Of” was a direct continuation of “Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes”, the world having dealt with a man-made virus that reduced the human population. The stars of the movie were Andy Serkis as Caesar, the leader of the simians, Keri Russell, and Gary Oldman, in a lesser role as the leader of the remaining human colonists of San Francisco, where the wildlife has taken back the once-proud city.
Keri Russell and a small group of humans venture into ape territory to locate a dam to power the city. This leads to a confrontation with the apes. The apes follow the humans back to the city, and declare that they don’t want war, but that they’ll fight humans if necessary. Caesar and his “right hand man” a bonobo named Koba allow the humans to work on the dam, until a gun is found. The apes and humans struggle against each other, as Caesar and Koba fight for dominance.
I found the beginning of the movie slow and confusing, but once the action heated up, it was a thrillride. I would definitely recommend seeing this movie, especially if you’re familiar with the franchise.