Director Matt Reeves was not messing around when he made Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. He wipes out most of the human race before the title card, then unfurls a powerful story of two opposing societies destined for war despite having every possible opportunity at peace. It’s bleak. It’s bold. It’s bloody fantastic.
Next week, Fox will release Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a new film set in the legendary franchise that began in 1968 with Planet of the Apes. Kingdom is a sequel to a trilogy of films that began in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which we revisited last week. Next week, we’ll review the third film, War for the Planet of the Apes, as well as the new one. And now, we’ll continue our look back with Dawn.
Released three years after Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn takes the series to a whole new level thematically and dramatically. It’s more complex narratively, more interesting subtextually, and eerily poignant for a post-apocalyptic film. That’s all enhanced by stunning VFX work as well as a fantastic human cast too, with Gary Oldman and Keri Russell being two of the biggest names. It picks up the story during the credits of Rise, as we see how the deadly to humans, but helpful to apes substance ALZ-113 spread across the globe. News footage including that of former presidents reveals a shocking look at how humanity crumbled due to self-inflicted disease, killing the large majority of the population in the process.
Toby Kebbell as Koba. Image: Fox
Or,
at
least,
that’s
what
the
apes
think.
Ten
years
after
the
events
of
the
first
film,
Caesar
(Andy
Serkis)
and
his
ape
friends
have
created
an
entire
world
for
themselves
in
the
woods
outside
of
San
Francisco.
Caesar
has
a
wife,
a
son,
a
newborn
on
the
way,
and
we
learn
that
the
apes
haven’t
seen
or
heard
from
a
human
in
two
years.
What
we
learn
though
is
that
in
that
time,
immune
humans
in
the
area
have
all
congregated
together
in
the
city.
With
resources
drying
up,
they
formulate
a
plan
to
restore
power,
and
maybe
society,
by
tapping
into
an
abandoned
dam.
A
trip
to
the
dam
leads
to
a
chance
run-in
between
humans
and
the
ape
society,
an
event
that
starts
with
shock,
morphs
to
fear,
and
then
evolves
into
opportunity.
Jason Clarke plays Malcolm, a respected member of the human group who leads the investigation into restoring the dam. After meeting the apes, he’s one of the few who doesn’t immediately view them as enemies. Instead, he sees opportunity. Malcolm fights the leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) to be given a chance to broker peace with the apes which, eventually, loosely, works out.
Once humans learn the apes are thriving, and vice versa, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes gets drenched in a unique, uneasy tension. As the audience, we want everyone to work it all out. The problem is there’s so little trust between the species, and with both thinking almost solely of themselves, the bulk of the film is filled with painful frustration as we watch all the near misses for a peace that would’ve changed the course of history.
Jason Clarke as Malcolm. Image: Fox
Of
course,
we
also
know
that
eventually
Earth
becomes
Planet
of
the
Apes—so
this
was
never
going
to
work
out.
But
Reeves
tells
such
a
fantastic
parallel
story
that
he
proposes
maybe
that
wasn’t
always
inevitable.
Dawn
shows
how
the
choices
of
one
or
two
bad
apples
set
in
motion
a
domino
effect
leading
to
that
new
world.
It
truly
is
a
Dawn.
Tension and desire drive a movie that is relatively devoid of big action for large chunks of its run time. Things escalate by the end, and there are moments scattered throughout, but most of the movie is fueled by our fascination with how these two societies, so similar and yet so different, just can’t get along.
There’s so much to call out as incredible in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The performances of the actors playing the apes, for one. Toby Kebbell as the evil Koba is stunning. Nick Thurston as Caesar’s conflicted son Blue Eyes is remarkable. Judy Greer as Caesar’s wife Cornelia is heartbreaking. And them set against this great human cast, using the fantastic script, directed beautifully, is a sight to behold.
What could have been. Image: Fox
In
terms
of
a
rewatch,
our
biggest
takeaways
from
Dawn
of
the
Planet
of
the
Apes
were
that
it’s
somehow
even
more
magnificent
than
its
already
excellent
predecessor.
Mainly
though,
it’s
that
the
story
of
these
apes
is
so
captivating
on
its
own,
you
almost
forget
that
as
the
apes
were
living
their
lives,
humanity
was
also
trying
to
survive.
Humans
didn’t
know
super
smart
apes
were
thriving
just
outside
the
city.
All
they
knew
was
a
virus
dubbed
“the
Simian
Flu”
by
the
media
wiped
out
almost
everyone
on
Earth.
The
few
who
survived
struggled
mightily
to
restart
society
and,
in
this
film,
get
pretty
close
to
doing
so.
But
much
as
human
greed
facilitated
the
deadly
virus,
our
same
bad
characteristics
make
it
impossible
for
there
to
be
peace
on
both
sides.
As
a
result,
as
we’ll
see
in
the
next
few
films,
human
society
was
doomed
right
then
and
there,
thanks
to
the
events
here.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Next up: War for the Planet of the Apes.
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