Spoilers for both Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the
Planet of the Apes are included in this review.
Reboots are now
often met with dismissive comments and decidedly low expectations, the amount
decreasing and increasing depending on the property or films it is kicking to the
curb, or slate it is wiping clean. Not many franchises have been rebooted twice
though, only the Batman film series springs to mind immediately when
considering the big properties. But now, the Planet of the Apes series has
joined that pantheon of beloved series that people just want to keep on having
a crack at.
The original
Charlton Heston starring series, which began with the classic Planet of the
Apes and then spawned 4 films and I think a TV series, was then rebooted by Tim
Burton and giving us a version of the story that certainly divided opinion and
delivered one of the most bizarre endings in a main stream film. Then in 2011,
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a film that nobody really wanted, proved to be
a runaway success, putting the focus as much as on the people as on the apes,
Caesar in particular and giving us a scenario that fits with how we could
probably see our world turning into a ravaged mess, ruled by apes.
The basic plot
for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (I'll refer to it just as Dawn from here on
in), is one of two mirroring communities, the apes who are going from strength
to strength, presided over by Caesar and the humans, a rapidly weakening
outpost in San Francisco, which desperately need to find a new power source as
the run down the last of the resources.
Carrying on from Rise, the central protagonist of Dawn is Caesar,
an ape who was experimented on and as a result his mental capacity was
increased exponentially. Portrayed through motion capture by Andy Serkis and a
team of effects artists, we get an even more nuanced and weighty performance.
The emotions are real, we see the fatigue and cost of his position at the top
of the ape society. He understands that he can't afford to look weak, but also
has to risk his status by making difficult decisions that the other apes may
not understand.
His past is unique amongst the apes, he doesn't see the humans as
being inherently evil, no doubt due to his largely positive experiences during
Rise. This comes up against the viciously treated Koba, who is quick to judge
the humans and considering his past, it is entirely understandable.
While my knowledge of Shakespeare is by no means vast, the few I
have read, came across here as a clear influence. Koba, played superbly by Toby
Kebbel, feels like a character worthy of sharing company with Iago or Claudius.
The story, specifically the apes, has a grand feel to it, a story of tragedy.
We all know something is going to go bad, it's just a case of watching it
unfold in devastating beauty.
One thing that may catch out some people is that the human
stories and characters take a back seat to the ape storyline and characters.
Considering the quality of the actors involved it does come as a bit of shame
that someone like Gary Oldman is only given a small supporting role, especially
given his prominence within the community, so much that his part in the climax
feels a little underdeveloped considering the magnitude of what he is trying to
do.
But by no means are they two dimensional characters, Jason
Clarke's Malcolm, whose family and storyline mirrors Caesar's own. Malcolm's
struggle is to try and ensure his family's survival by convincing the apes to
let them work in their territory and control the rampant hatred for apes
amongst his team. His relationship is one of the high points of the high film
and is hopefully something that will build into the rest of the franchise.
The best franchises all feature an element of natural escalation,
something goes wrong, it gets worse and that it gets even worse and then just
maybe you get a glimmer of hope at the end. Dawn does this really well and it
hints at what is to come next is brilliant. So much so that all the characters
don't even seem to try and fight the inevitable outcome. War.
One of the great triumphs of modern blockbuster filmmaking and
undoubtedly the highlight of this year's summer movie schedule.
Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Mark Bomback and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Pierre Boule (novel).
