Flash Movie Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Before there were any scheduled play dates, before any friendships were formed and before there was the recognition of family members, there was a special steadfast presence in my young life. His name was Zippy and he was my toy stuffed chimpanzee. Waking up from a nap, my emerging gaze always fell upon the wide awake Zippy watching over me, his head lying close to mine. Dressed in red overalls he would always sit on my lap for a family portrait. He was my best friend, my protector, my guardian; he was always by my side. A few years had gone by before I found out how Zippy lost some of his fingers from his rubber hands. He was caught in the middle of a fight between siblings and had suffered a casualty. I found out he had been part of the family before I was born and had been handed down to me upon my birth. CAESAR in this action film reminded me of Zippy in some ways. Andy Serkis (The Prestige, The Lord of the Rings franchise) was unbelievable portraying the genetically altered chimpanzee Caesar in this science fiction sequel. Set 10 years in the future from the previous movie, mankind had been nearly obliterated by a deadly virus. Having seen no sign of a human for years, Caesar had become the leader to a colony of advanced apes who all lived peacefully together. Their world was about to change with the sudden encounter of Malcolm and Ellie, played by Jason Clarke (The Great Gatsby, Public Enemies) and Keri Russell (Austenland, August Rush). This intelligent exciting film got high marks for several reasons. The believable story made sense to me as it started out with a quick review of the previous movie before setting the stage to show-off its well thought out script. I especially enjoyed the acting from Jason and Gary Oldman (Paranoia, Lawless) as Dreyfus. What made this picture so special was the special effects. I sat watching this film amazed at how good everything looked. I could not tell if the apes were all CGI enhanced, done with makeup or if some actors were wearing costumes; it really was terrific. Besides Andy Serkis’ unbelievable performance I thought Toby Kebbell (War Horse, RocknRolla) was just as good as fellow ape Koba. There were only a couple of spots where I felt the story became sluggish; but they were so minor, it did not take away from the entertainment value. This was a case where the sequel was better than the original. There was scenes that made me nervously tense, excited, sad and happy; I only wished Zippy had been with me to see this great film.
3 1/2 stars
Posted on July 14, 2014, in Fantasy/Sci-Fi and tagged 3 1/2 stars, action, andy serkis, apes, drama, gary oldman, jason clarke, keri russell, science fiction, toby kebbell. Bookmark the permalink. 18 Comments.
I had read and heard good things about this movie. Your review further confirms it. But I’m curious about your rating (I assume it’s on a 5-point scale). A 3.5 doesn’t seem to match the very positive tone of what you’ve written. So what docked the points?
My rating scale goes from 1 to 4. Hopefully that puts it into a better perspective for you. I hope you get to see this film soon. Thanks for your comments.
Ah! That explains it. Thanks.
Excellent review! I didn’t get to go over the weekend as I had hoped, but I will be there this weekend I hope. I have been pretty excited for this one, and your review is just another positive one!
I really enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes with James Franco and I am looking forward to this film but in all honesty, I wish the tiles had been reversed as Dawn should come before the Rise.
After you see this film, revisit your comments and let me know your thoughts. Enjoy yourself.
Reblogged this on MonkeySideBars™ and commented:
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is due to be released and who would’ve thought it would be right at the time nearing our 100th round AND our one year anniversary of Monkey Side Bars. There’s nothing like a good Sci-fi thriller and we’ve heard, whilst hanging on the vines… that this follow-up is tension filled and visually dazzling 😀 Go see it!
Enjoyed the review. I wasn’t sure about this one and I haven’t seen Rise of the Planet of the Apes so I wasn’t judging based on that, but have seen all the rest. I think I will go see this one. Thanks for a great review.
Go ahead and have a fun time seeing this film. Let me know how it goes for you; I would enjoy hearing your take. Thanks for the comments.
Can’t wait. Liked the first one, and will add this to my collection.
I am so glad this movie turned out well. I have been looking forward to seeing it. Thank you for the great review.
It is my pleasure. Enjoy the experience.
Oh my goodness, I had that same stuffed monkey his name was zip on his red shirt, he had on black overall bib pants and his one hand would make a monkey sound if you squeezed it, he wore attached white ankle rubber shoes. He was my best freind and I carried him everywhere and slept with him.. I still have him today. . Ive loved monkeys ever since
OMG, my Zippy has a living cousin?!?!? That is beyond awesome; thank you so much for coming by to tell me. I cannot wait to tell my family about this.
Good writing, I will move on to read more. How many stars did “As Good As It Gets receive here? The Hours? Fargo? Wild at Heart? Mullholland Drive? I’m a curious fan of Kim Ki Duk having moved ot Korea. How does Korea rank as a movie Making country in your book? I’ve got Korea as #2, since Ballywood is simply too much of the same thing were only occasionaly “movies.”
Hi, it is a pleasure to meet you. I have not reviewed yet the films you mentioned in your comments, though from your list I immediately know you have a good eye for films. As for ranking countries it is something I have never considered. The reason being has to do with the way I look at things. I believe there is always something that is the best and the worst in a group, so I treat countries on equal footing. The only difference would be on their output of films. I hope this made sense. If you check out the films listed under the foreign category you will see a variety of films from different countries. Thank you so much for coming by to leave you comments, i appreciate it.
My goodness! Your comments about Zippy brought forth an old childhood memory! I had a toy chimp named Tommy.
Liked the movie a great deal when I saw it last week. Good review.
How fun to meet another movie goer who had a toy chimp; it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Thank you for coming by and leaving your comments.