But I was going to see apes ride horses in the theaters one way or another! It just took a lot longer than I wanted it to.
If you went back in time to 2011 and asked any movie reviewer what their top 10 most anticipated films of the summer were, I'd bet you that not many people would be really looking forward to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. But to everyone's surprise, it was actually a really awesome movie! The film received stellar reviews from critics and fans alike and went on to do well at the box office. And three years later we now have our highly anticipated sequel!
This time around the apes have taken over and the only humans left are those immune to the virus. Caesar and the rest of the apes have been in the wild for roughly ten years. They've been living peacefully until they encounter a group of humans for the first time in many years. The group, lead by Jason Clarke and Keri Russell, was trying to get to a hydroelectric power dam to bring the lights back to the rest of the survivors living in San Francisco. Which leads the humans and apes to work together and help each other out. But that's just the gist of it because the story is much more complex, compelling and emotional than that. And that is a very good thing.
If I had to pick out one or two flaws with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I would say that the human characters weren't very interesting. Probably because the apes are just far more interesting. I might like James Franco and John Lithgow as actors, but in that film I did not care about what there fate would be. In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes however, I genuinely cared for the human characters! Jason Clarke is a great actor (see Zero Dark Thirty for further evidence). His character might not be the most fleshed out, but he has a genuine likability about him that made me want to see him come out of this safely. The rest of the human cast, consisting of Keri Russel, Gary Oldman and Kodi-Smit Mcphee, give fine, if forgettable performances. There's nothing bad about them per say, but none of them really stood out as much as Jason Clarkes'. Speaking of stand-out performances, let's get to the real stars; the apes!!!
We've all heard of the phrase "Less is More" at least once or twice in our lives, right? That quote really comes into play during the first ten minutes of this film. There isn't a single audible line of dialogue during that period of time. It's just the apes communicating with one another using hand gestures and occasional grunts. Those ten minutes allow us, the audience, to become immersed in the environment and the atmosphere with the help of some steady handed cinematography and a terrific score by Michael Giacchino. In a summer blockbuster like this, long drawn out quiet moments aren't exactly what you would first expect, but that is what gives this film the extra mile and my respect.
And while there are quiet, intimate moments, there are more than enough action-packed, heart-pounding, apes riding horses while firing machine guns moments to be had! Particularly in the thrilling third act that both pumped my adrenaline and tugged at my heartstrings. The film cost $170,000,000 dollars to make and not a single dollar was spent unwisely. Weta Workshop, the visual effects company behind Avatar, King Kong and The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, has really outdone themselves with what might be their most impressive work yet. But motion capture work is only as good as the performances given by the actors being animated, and this film brilliantly showcases a scene-stealing Toby Kebbell and an Oscar-worthy Andy Serkis.
There are many terrific actors working today that desperately deserve recognition from the Academy and Andy Serkis, no questions asked, tops that list. He has wowed and amazed us for years with his legendary portrayal of Gollum that elevated the art of acting into a whole new galaxy of class. And his performance as Caesar is quite possibly his best work to date. He commands such an unparalleled presence on screen in this film. When he speaks, motions with his hand or just doesn't do anything at all, our eyes are focused on him, anticipating what he will do. He's also able to convey so much emotion just from a look in his eyes. That's why motion capture is a tool that should be used to animate creatures instead of people, because you can get human-like responses from animals with motion capture. When you try to use motion capture to animate humans, they end up appearing more like dead, soulless, stiff ghosts rather than people. Yes I'm looking at you Robert Zemeckis.
The only times Serkis is not the center of attention is when Toby Kebbell as Koba appears. Who is Toby Kebbel you may ask? He's an English actor not primarily known for motion capture acting like Andy Serkis. Why do I bring that up? Because he delivers the best, non-Andy Serkis motion capture performance I've ever seen. He plays the ape from the first film that was tortured and experimented on and he has a bit of a temper. Well when I say "a bit", I mean more like a seething hatred and prejudice of all humans. There was a particular scene, that I will not spoil, when he switches emotions from calm and collected to loathsome detestation in the blink of an eye. It's was incredibly shocking and actually quite terrifying. And I loved every minute he was on screen.
Final Report: With exciting action sequences, stunning effects, a great villain, a powerful performance by Andy Serkis and more apes on horses than you can shake a stick at, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes improves upon its 2011 predecessor in every possible aspect! Making this "The Empire Strikes Back" of the series.
Sorry for the long wait. I saw this film a week earlier than this but had a bad case of writers block every time I approached my keyboard. Better late than never I guess.
Expect a Guardians review very soon.
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