One of the more successful franchise reboots, 2012’s Rise
of the Planet of the Apes proved that there was a bit of life left in 40-plus
year-old series. 20th Century-Fox knows you can’t keep a profitable ape down and has made no small
plans where its simians are concerned, with a eighth film in the series set for
release in 2016. In the meantime, we
have Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, a thematically strong,
visually dynamic entry that’s a necessary chapter in the simian saga that
dazzles initially but ultimately becomes a bit long in the tooth.
Picking up ten years after Rise, the apes have built a
rapidly evolving community outside San Francisco. Led by Caesar (Andy Serkis), the various
primates who follow him have an innate trust in his intelligence and
leadership. However, their idyllic existence is disrupted when a small band of
humans stumble across their village on their way to a hydroelectric damn they
hope to repair in order to provide power to a desperate group of people living
in the city by the bay. Trust is hard to
come by between the two groups, but Caesar brokers a tenuous truce that
threatens to explode at a moment’s notice.
Of course, there wouldn’t be much of a movie if bloodshed didn’t occur
and before you know it, a misunderstanding occurs, a bloody coup takes place
that shifts power to the rebellious, bitter ape Koba (Toby Kebbell) and humans
finds themselves on the run.
As with Rise, this entry contains amazing visual
effects. There’s seldom a moment when we
don’t feel as though the human actors aren’t interacting with the apes. The crouched, gangling movements of Serkis,
Kobell and a variety of others lend a realism to these characters that’s
remarkable. However, the digital work
from Shaun Friedberg and his crew is a stunning achievement, as the attention
to detail in rendering the hair, eyes, limbs and expressions of these
characters produces lifelike simians that are just as engaging as their human
counterparts.
There’s more than enough time to take in these visual
delights, as Reeves’ film is too long by at least 20 minutes. Once the fighting begins at the one-hour
mark, a cycle begins that soon becomes repetitious and tedious. Prolonged battles, needless narrative
complications and action sequences that go far past their sell-by date make for
a tedious third act that ultimately wallows in excess to the detriment of the
entire film.
This is too bad as there’s a great deal of good work done in
the film by the cast while some of the more meaningful moments in the movie end
up being lost in the cacophony that results.
Jason Clarke as the understanding human Malcolm provides a calm center
to the tumult that rages around him while Keri Russell as a benevolent doctor
underplays to great effect as well. Gary
Oldman, handed the thankless role of Dreyfus, the reactionary leader of the
humans, manages to find some shades of gray in the role while youngster Kodi
Smit-McPhee as Malcolm’s confused teenage son makes his presence known and
anchors the film’s best scene as his character attempts to teach a curious
orangutan how to read.
Fans of the series will likely be pleased with this entry
and 20th Century-Fox is banking on it to the tune of $120 million.
They’ll likely recoup their costs here and much more with foreign markets as
these apes are beginning to resemble cats what with the many cinematic lives
they’re displaying. Here’s hoping the
next time out they don’t take after Dawn which ended up reminding me of
three-day old fish and guests.
This article appears in Jul 3-9, 2014.
