Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) by Benskylerhill — 08 Jun 2018

Serving as a sequel that improves upon its predecessor, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes adds resonant depth to the complex political tragedy to the narrative of a long-living franchise. It's a gorgeous-looking movie and nearly everything about it works.

It takes a while for the story to really get going, just as it was with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the previous film. But once the action starts, the cinematography really starts to shine. The action sequences are some of the best I've seen in a long time. The vibrant colors bring out incredible detail and the camera follows everything perfectly. Once again, Andy Serkis is magnificent as Caesar. Really, all of the motion capture imagery is just beyond stunning. There's so much behind the facial expressions and mannerisms of the apes: brotherhood, pain, etc. It's incredible how much emotion is evoked in the actors' performances when they hardly even speak!

The script does a wonderful job at developing the apes as characters, but Dawn suffers from the same problem that Rise had: clichéd and underdeveloped human characters. Gary Oldman makes the most of his smaller supporting role, but the rest of the human characters behave in ways that are quite illogical that make it difficult to really care about them or understand them. Some of the human characters don't even do enough to justify their large presence in the film.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes mostly overcomes what flaws it has with an intelligent story, engaging political drama, and beautiful, smooth direction. It improves upon its predecessor in every way and enriches the drama of an enduring saga.

Story: 8.

Acting: 8.5.

Script: 7.5.

Visuals/Sound: 10.

Entertainment Value: 8.5.

OVERALL SCORE: 8.