Dawn of the Planet
of the Apes. Rated M (violence and infrequent coarse language). 130 minutes. Directed
by Matt Reeves. Screenplay by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.
Verdict: A
compelling return to the rebooted Planet of the Apes.
This sequel to
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) has its problems, but under Reeves’
(Cloverfield) inspired direction, it manages to mask almost all of them.
Human survivors of
the ALZ-113 plague are holed-up in what is left of San Francisco. In the
mountains, the apes have established a civilised, self-sufficient community
lead by Caesar (Andy Serkis). But when the two communities collide, a battle
for supremacy erupts.
While the early
sequences involving the apes, horses, a bear and a herd of wilder-beast are
clunky, the motion capture technology comes into its own once the script begins
to focus on character. Serkis, who is the technology’s human heart and soul (he
played Gollum, King Kong and Caesar in Rise …), delivers another superb
performance as Caesar. He is beautifully supported by Nick Thurston as his son,
Blue Eyes. Our eyes are the windows to our soul, and these two bring great
depth to the story with only their eyes.
Australian-born
Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) is great as Malcolm, one of the leaders of the
human community, and his complex struggle with the ethics of sacrificing peace
for the sake of having access to electricity, is one of the scripts many
involving storylines.
While the
human-hating Koba (Toby Kebbell) feels too much like The Lion King’s Scar, the
complexity of the different relationships that feed the story are entirely
absorbing. As Reeves moves in for a spectacular close-up on Caesar’s eyes at
the end of the film, it might be impossible to know who you will care about
most in the impending battle that is to come.
This review was
commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
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