When 'The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' was released in 2011 it coincided with rioting on the streets of London and Manchester. It couldn't have been any more prescient. Here we are in 2014 and 'The Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' is released into a world where an undisciplined militia with casual access to high tech weaponry can shoot a passenger plane out of the sky, and a world in which two mutually antagonistic tribes living uncomfortably side by side escalate their violence to each other. All I'm saying is that if the next film involves nuclear weapons, then I'm building a bunker.
'Rise' was an intelligent blockbuster that was respectful to the franchise and erased all memory of the Tim Burton debacle. It was surely too much to hope that the sequel could improve on it but it has, and then some. The socio-political themes aren't subtext, they're pushed up front but the film never becomes weighty, preachy or boring. It's smart and confident enough to not rely on big explosive set pieces every 10 minutes. It's thoughtful, but not talky, and the quiet spells really ratchet up the tension for when the action kicks in. I can honestly say that this was one of the few times I genuinely felt afraid for the consequences every time a character (human or ape) picked up a gun. The film may present us with the fan boy wet dream of having apes running around on horseback with machines guns but the anti-gun agenda is palpable at all times.
The human and ape societies are neatly paralleled. It's the human need for power, both literal (in the sense of needing to restore a hydroelectric dam) and metaphorical (as in being the dominant species) that causes this clash. A lesser film would have just run with humans attacking apes for fear of dying out from Simian flu. This presents a more complex scenario as a fragile peace slowly unravels. There are rogue warmongering assholes on both sides but they have valid points of view that support their actions. It is the larger communities motivated by fear, prejudice and hysteria that cause the real damage. The film does make you think about violence. Is it a necessary mechanic for evolution? Are Caesar's actions at the end of the film a necessary evil; is it a new hope or is it a fall? Are the apes in danger of sliding to become more like 'humanity'? Will our worst instincts always win out. It's heady stuff.
Of course none of it would work convincingly if the SFX weren't up to scratch and they are. The motion capture technology is now at the point where you just accept the apes as actors. So much in this film is communicated just through the subtlest of eye movements and body language. If Andy Serkis fails to get an Oscar nomination for his work here, then there is no movie justice. The rest of the cast are great too. Jason Clarke was an interesting choice for the human lead and he gives an excellent subdued performance as a quietly brave man. I expected Gary Oldman would ham it up or phone it in but I thought he was excellent here; the best thing he's done in ages. Director Matt Reeves doesn't have much more than 'Cloverfield' on his CV but he handles this film assuredly.
If I had to find fault at all, it would be with the lack of strong female characters but I hope this is something any future films might try to take on board. We really deserve to see a female character as strong as Zara from the original series.
Overall 'Dawn Of The Apes' is everything I hoped it would be: thrilling, layered with allegory, emotionally charged and thought provoking. It's effectively the 'Battle For The Planet Apes' (1973) that we should have had all along and one of the very best Apes films ever. I can't imagine where the franchise is heading next but I hope it will be as exhilarating as this.
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