Cast: Humans: Jason Clarke (Malcolm), Gary Oldman (Dreyfus), Keri
Russell (Ellie), Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee (Alexander), Jocko Sims
(Werner), Kirk Acevedo (Carver), Enrique Murciano (Kempt), Kevin Rankin
(McVeigh), Keir O’Donnell (Finney), James Franco (Dr. Will Rodman, cameo)
Evolved Apes: Andy Serkis
(Caesar), Toby Kebbell (Koba), Judy Greer (Cornelia, Caesar’s wife), Terry
Notary (Rocket), Karin Konoval (Maurice), Nick Thurston (Blue Eyes), Doc Shaw
(Ash)
Genre: Science Fiction
Direction: Matt Reeves
Production: Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver (Chernin
Entertainment and Dune Entertainment)
Written By: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Based on: Characters created
by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Premise suggested by Planet of the Apes by Pierre
Boulle
Cinematographer: Michael Seresin
Editor: William Hoy, Stan Salfas
Music: Michael Giacchino
Distributed
by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: 11th July,
2014 (India)
Language: English
Duration: 2 hours 11 minutes
Dawn of the
Planet of the Apes, a film by Matt
Reeves, is extremely high on emotional side. It is great to see the emotional
connect between humans and the apes. This movie really explores what happened
after ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’. If ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ was
spectacular, this is super-spectacular. The presentation of the movie is so
natural and simple that one gets to relate with almost all the characters.
Everyone has the right to live on this earth, be it animals or humans, one
cannot afford to become the threat for the other. The evolved apes are trying
to live their own lives and humans are in the struggle to survive. Each
character, whether humans or apes, has been so well crafted and detailed. We
get to feel their loss, fear, insecurity, efforts for survival etc. It is great
to see the sentient apes, talking, expressing emotions like humans. Apes are
shown to be quite rational and forgiving in comparison to humans. In spite of
them having experienced human cruelty and imprisonment, now they want peace and
just want to be free in their own world away from humans. This movie tells
the story of how the declining humans and the ascendant apes come to be at war.
The movie begins from where the ‘Rise of the Planet of the
Apes’ finished. In the first
film, humans gave the apes their intelligence with an experimental drug. Ten
years later, humans have largely been wiped out by contagious and deadly side
effects of the same experiment. A quick montage gives us an idea of all
these happenings since Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It narrates the wake of
a flu epidemic, followed by violence and chaos. As a result, Dr. Willman (James
Franco) and other millions of people are dead. Human civilization has
become almost extinct. The survivors have cobbled together a society in the
ruins of San Francisco, with Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) as their leader.
On the other side, apes are in the initial stage of their
civilization. Initial frames of the movie shows Ceaser (Andy Serkis – what an
amazing performance), leader of the apes, with his family and fellow apes in a
forest. Outstanding scenes with the apes swinging off
the trees, jumping off the walls. Blue eyes
(Nick Thurston), teenage son of Caesar and Cornelia (Judy Greer) is shown to be
impulsive and short-tempered. Koba (Tony Kebbell), Caesar’s adviser feels that
Caesar is too affectionate towards humans. Koba has lot of angst towards human
beings since he was a test subject for them all his life before he was freed by
Caesar. Caesar’s second-in-command cum great friend is Rocket (Terry Notary),
who is also the honorary uncle of Caesar’s children.
Humans and apes are almost oblivious to the
existence of each other, but the situation changes when humans come face to
face with Blue Eyes and Ash (Doc Shaw), Rocket’s teenage son. Humans had come
there hoping to tap an energy source, basically to gain access to a
hydroelectric dam (in apes’ territory) which could provide
long-term power to the city. Ash is shot at by one of the human Carver (Kirk
Acevedo). While Carver
calls for rest of his fellow armed survivors, Blue Eyes calls for the other
apes. Caesar orders the
humans to leave. Prompted by Koba, Caesar brings the apes to the city where he
orders the humans to never enter ape territory again.
Dreyfus believes that humans can survive only
when the last ape is killed. According to him, after all, apes are just
animals. Whereas, Malcolm (Jason Clarke), Ellie (Keri Russell, Malcolm’s second
wife) and Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee, Malcolm’s son) feel otherwise. Malcolm convinces Dreyfus to give him three days to reconcile with the
apes to gain access to the hydroelectric dam in their territory, which Dreyfus,
distrustful of the apes, arms survivors using an abandoned armory. Caesar
allows Malcolm to work on the dam's generator, provided they surrender their
guns. Humans stand in stark
contrast to the mostly peaceful apes, who are willing to accommodate the humans
if that’s what it takes to avoid a war. As
Malcolm, his partner Ellie, and son Alexander work, they bond with the apes.
Things are smooth when someone does a foul-play and humans and
apes clash. Who plays the villain? Who emerges as the planet’s dominant
species? Does the movie answer as to who is truly at fault for the ultimate
destruction of humanity. Watch the movie.
The
motion capture technology used here is also so perfect, which translates
minutest details into animation. Andy Serkis as Caesar tops the list of
performers in this movie. Caesar’s emotions, rage, sympathy, concern everything
is so beautifully captured.
Dawn
of the Planet of the Apes is a Visual Extravaganza and has the right mix of
emotions, actions, performances and technology.
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