Andy: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

MOVIE: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

WHERE: Saw it at home (beer and nuts are free.)

GRADE: B+

What I liked - What I didn't:
First off - this movie is not currently in theaters. Once I realized I had to be at home putting the kiddos to bed as the wife was out birthday bashing it up, I put this movie on the list. Elliot and I hadn't seen it (turns out halfway through the viewing Elliot exlaims "Yeah, I've seen this.") and so next Tuesday, we'll be watching it's sequel, War...Apes in the theater. 

What I Liked	What I Didn’t
Apes	Intro
Story is not expected	Human bad guy(s)
Underlying Philosophy	"You must go... war coming"

What I Liked

Apes: Monkeys, chimps, gorillas - they are just fun to watch. And this movie does a great job of mimicking the actual animals. I always have felt a little weird laughing at how apes move and act, but darn, it is funny and perpetually visually stimulating.

Story is not expected: There are a lot of "Planet Ape" movies out there. I felt like I knew where the story was going the whole time, and honestly, I didn't. Not that there is a big twist or anything - the film just kept throwing stuff in that I didn't expect. It stayed fresh, especially the last 3/4. It was a slow burn at first but it really does, about a quarter way through, when Ceaser starts to feel the mutiny growing, it gets you engaged.

Underlying philosophy: "Ape not kill ape" was the rule for the apes. By movie's end, Ceaser realizes he is being racist. There are good and bad apes and there are good and bad humans. Apes aren't good just because they are ape. This is well executed and resonated well without being super preachy and didn't break 4th walls.

What I Didn’t

Intro: This is minor, but I have a beef with film cliches. I.E. The gun being cocked. Well, this movie opens with the whole "different sizzle reels of news channels and chaos in the steet" to show us the world has gone to pot. So many movies have done this and the news anchor telling us what is going on is just lazy and a boring mechanism by now.

“Human bad guy(s)” The bad human guy (named Kemp?) with the dam building project just defies all logic. He's either poorly acted or written off as so dumb, i.e. "Now I'm the asshole" that it does start getting annoying when he is on screen. The fact that they just sit him in the car for breaking a major rule the apes and humans agreed to was unbelievable as well. I'd imagine in a true post apocalyptic world, the consequences would be a bit more steep.

And, ugh, Gary Oldman's character! I love Oldman. He is an amazing actor - and he has a crying scene that is so believable. What is hard to believe is him going all detno happy and blowing up the building at the end of the movie. As he gets crazier and crazier he gets more unbelievable as well.

You Must Go... War Coming: Ceaser sending off his only human friend at the end of the movie was weird.

Bible Symbolism: Ceaser has this epiphany where there is more to life than just being an ape. It breaks down the "Ape not kill ape" mantra. This harks to Jesus, when his family showed up to one of his teachings to talk to him, he didn't stop what he was doing and instead said "Who is my family? Those who hear and do the will of God." Similarly, Koba not ape. 

Final Thoughts

This movie surprised me. The ape movies never really get me excited. They ain't no Star Wars. But, this movie works. It is a fine way to blow off 2 hours if you're going to watch a film. The CGI for the apes is great (the deer and particularly the bear left a little to be desired). And, I haven't mentioned Koba - the main antagonist of the film - is great.