“Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” Movie Review

Year: 2014

Director: Matt Reeves

Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Mark Bomback

Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nick Thurston

The story of “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” picks up about decade after the events in “Rise Of The Planet Of TheApes”. At that time the virus unleashed in the first movie has wiped out most of humanity, while the apes are thriving and building their own community. This film has a new director - Matt Reeves who did “Cloverfield” in 2008. The old team of writers is joined by Mark Bomback and the result of their collective effort is a better and smarter script.

“Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes” was quite good. But this one is better in every aspect – the themes are more thoroughly explored, the dialogue is smarter and the plot is meticulously thought through. All characters in this film are well-rounded, this time both apes and humans. Needless to say, Serkis as Casear and Toby Kebbell as Koba both give strong compelling performances. And how could you forget the adorable Maurice (Karin Konoval)?! As to the human characters – the leader of the group – Malcolm, played by Jason Clarke is absolutely fascinating. Clarke puts so much emotion and intensity in his character without even speaking, so you could easily believe that he’s a real person dealing with his fears and desperation in a critical situation. Gary Oldman in the role of Dreyfus, although given less screen time also manages to create an intense and believable character. Sadly, the female heroes are not as strongly presented.

“Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” explores the main issues from the franchise more effectively, focusing on politics and diplomacy in time of crisis and war. It touches on our anthropocentric philosophy and self-entitlement as the better species. In a few scenes Koba takes advantage of this mindset to fool a few humans to think he’s just a stupid animal. And although kind of funny, these scenes are also very unsettling exactly for the same reasons. Simply, but effectively this concept is later reversed when Caesar says that he used to think that apes are better than humans.  

The movie does really good job at showing us the two sides of the conflict by focusing on two families from both species. We understand their fears and desires and by exploring the tension within both groups we see how thin the line between peace and war can be. On both sides we have the piece-makers and the assholes. But the film treats them equally, so we understand the motivations of the violent characters just as well.  

Strangely, the film has a little bit of “Jurassic Park” feel, at least for me. There are a few scenes with people nervously waiting in vehicles stopped in the middle of the rainy forest, a man dragged from under a car and the most obvious one – people hiding from a stampede of apes under a fallen tree. I don’t know if that’s on purpose, but as someone who grew up with “Jurassic Park” I absolutely loved it. Speaking of this, “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” builds tension very well. For a while it also turns into a war movie with well-directed action scenes and awesome dramatic shots. Of course, at the end there is a little bit of spectacle, not over the top, but suitable for a big blockbuster. Although well-done this act relies almost entirely on CGI that’s a bit noticeable.

The soundtrack by Michael Giacchino draws the attention with its more dominant use of percussions and a little bit old-school dramatic vibe that also reminds me of older movies like “Tarzan” or maybe the original “Planet Of The Apes”. I think it adds nicely to the great emotional pull and themes of the movie. And finally, I’d like to give this entertaining, endearing and smart cinematic adventure 5 Kubricks.

The movie has 8,0 on IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2103281/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

90% on RottenTomatoes -http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dawn_of_the_planet_of_the_apes/?search=dawn%20of%20th

8,2 from users and 79 from critics on MetaCritic - http://www.metacritic.com/movie/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes

Trailer:

Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" - Teaser Trailer Released

Just about 10 hours ago Marvel officially released the "Avengers: Age Of Ultron" teaser trailer. This is less than a day after it was leaked on YouTube, although it should have been officially released in a week. After the leak Marvel tweeted "Dammit, Hydra." and of course did the best thing possible - released it officially on their channel. It already has more than 6 million views.

It is absolutely epic and much darker than the "Avengers Assemble". The trailer finally gives us a promise of a really good villain (after Loki) in the face of Ultron, who, quite efficiently quotes Pinocchio, while stepping out (exactly like a puppet) to confront the Avengers. The song used in the trailer is also a version of the Pinocchio song and it sounds very creepy and ominous.

Tony Stark apparently will have central role in the movie, since he is the one that has the capacity to create the AI for Ultron, which will add up enormously to the drama and the development of his character. Also, we get to see Stark's Hulkbuster armor and apparently at some point Hulk will turn against the Avengers (or just Stark?). We also see an interesting gentle moment between the Hulk and Black Widow. So I really want to see where this will go, especially after "The Winter Soldier" where her character got much more development. Also, very importantly - Cap's broken shield! This thing is not easy to break, even Thor couldn't do it! We know that Steve Rogers won't be in many more movies, so this is very, very intriguing... And Andy Serkis is in the movie, too! So many great things, I think I could get over the fact that there will be no Loki!

And since this is my favorite part of the trailer, here's the original song:

“Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes” Review

Year: 2011

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver

Starring: Andy Serkis, James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton

“Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes” isn't a sequel or a prequel to the original movies, it’s not exactly the standard remake, too. It is closest to a re-imagining of “Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes” (1972) with different, more relatable for the 21st century, plot.

Having said that, the great achievement of the movie is to actually make the entire story of how the planet of the apes came to be rather plausible. You don’t watch this movie occasionally going “That’s absolutely ridiculous”. The story is pretty much straightforward, but the detail is what makes it an enthralling experience. The movie is a little less than 2 hours long and it feels like half an hour. I heard some complains about the pacing in the beginning of the film, but for me it was timed perfectly:  it gives you time to get to know the characters before the badassery of the apes ensues.

The movie has a surprising emotional pull and the brilliant Andy Serkis as Caesar just breaks your heart. He is indeed the lead in the movie and the most fleshed out character, not Will Rodman, the scientist who takes care of him (played by James Franco). He is more schematic and far less engaging, but sometimes reminds us of doctor Frankenstein. John Lithgow`s performance as Will’s father is also good and touching. But as a whole the humans are largely in the background of the story, the most intriguing characters all throughout the movie remain the apes. The best example is Freida Pinto’s role as Will’s girlfriend who, except for being very beautiful, doesn't really have anything to do on the screen.  But that’s not that unsettling, since the monkeys are genuinely fascinating and the movie deliberately focuses on them. You understand their motivations and even root for them by the end.

The cinematography is great, the movie is beautifully shot. The CGI is also excellent (all motion capture), for me it wasn't entirely convincing in the scenes with the younger Caesar, but it didn't really take me out of the story. I have another minuscule gripe – the presence of a little bit of voice-over, which probably the movie could go without.

The movie touches the well-known questions about intelligence, our treatment of animals (minorities if you wish), corporal greed, what can be justified in the name of science etc. These problems are presented, although not explored in huge dept. Still, “Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes” is a terrific movie, well above the average blockbuster – it is visually gripping, smart, well-balanced and moving. I give it 4 and a half Kubricks.

The movie has 7,6 on IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318514/?ref_=nv_sr_3

82% on RottenTomatoes - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rise_of_the_planet_of_the_apes/?search=rise%20of%20the%20plan

7,8 from users and 68 from critics on MetaCritic - http://www.metacritic.com/movie/rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes

Trailer (warning: as most Hollywood trailers, it shows too much):