Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

 

After successfully modernizing the tale of how apes would eventually take over the world, it was time for a sequel. This one upped the ante in every way. The first film was more of a heartfelt drama with a massive action scene at the end, this one further explores the relationships between humans and apes with not only more action thrown in but also now shifting the focus to the apes, who are in fact becoming more humanlike in every way.

It is also just a damn fine film.

It's been roughly ten years since the outbreak of the so-called 'Simian flu', the virus that was developed in order to cure Alzheimer's, but which turned out to be lethal to most humans. The apes meanwhile have thrived in the forests near San Francisco and Caesar leads them like a benevolent father. They've built a city and are truly feeling at home. 

Of course things change when they come across some humans yet again. Turns out there are a lot of people in San Francisco trying to rebuild some of what was lost and to do that, they need electricity which only a dam near Caesar's village can provide. Relations are uneasy, seeing as a lot of humans still fear the apes and want to see them destroyed, and several apes pretty much hate humans. Especially Caesar's second in command Koba, which is understandable, as the guy was being experimented upon for years and he has thus no faith in any noble intentions of the human race.

You can see where this is headed, right?

Caesar begins to trust some of the human team, as they do have good intentions, but when Koba plots and schemes, things quickly get out of hand. Koba even tries to kill Caesar, thus giving him the leverage to wage all out war against the humans. The conflict just keeps on growing, however Caesar fortunately survives and now has to try and stop Koba ànd keep the apes safe from the humans.

Talk about upping the ante.

This film plays out on a much grander scale and the stakes are raised. Whereas the first one was mainly concerned with Caesar's plight, now it's both all the apes and humans and we get a decent view from both sides. It's tough to see true villains here. You could argue that both Koba and Dreyfus (on the human side) are 'evil', but that's painting too black-and-white a picture. They are also just doing what they truly perceive as being the best for their side. Sure, they are blinded by prejudice and a feeling of hate and distrust, but it's hard to dislike them because their motivations make sense. Their actions might be a lot less sympathetic, but still. This is what works so well with this film: everything that happens, happens for a reason. That makes the story so compelling.

The performances are great yet again. Jason Clarke does a real good turn as the 'nice' human and he is our emotional anchor. But it is yet again the apes who shine. Andy Serkis is of course excellent as always, but Toby Kebbell as Koba is pretty spot on. Oh, and you'll love Karin Konoval as Maurice, the gentle orang-utan. Speaking of which: the motion capture to bring the apes to life is stunning and they are so realistic in every way, it's almost uncanny. You can tell a massive amount of effort went into the making of this film and it's not just for spectacle, even if there is some to be found (the charge of the apes on San Francisco is one of those). 

This is not just a good continuation of the story, this is also a good film on its own merits. You don't even have to have seen the first one, even if it does help just a bit. 

Recommended!