Dawn of the Planet of the Apes gets all the exposition out in its opening minutes. This sequel to the very successful 2011 film doesn’t really need to provide a lot of answers. It instead zooms straight to the new status quo, and proceeds to tell a story of two communities testing the limits of their trust in each other. It also doesn’t matter that there are motion-captured, computer generated apes on screen, though it certainly does make it more interesting. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the age-old story of human conflict, of everything that is lost because of our inability to find peace.
Civilization has fallen apart in the ten years since the events of the last movie. Much of humanity has been wiped out by the outbreak of Simian flu. Meanwhile, Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his band of Apes have been living peacefully in the woods North of San Francisco. That peace is tested, however, when a band of human survivors show up in the woods. These survivors, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), seek to repair a hydroelectric plant and restore power to their community. Malcolm and Caesar form an uneasy peace as they agree to help each other out. But there are elements from both their camps holding on to their hatred of the other.
The movie is being sold as a big summer blockbuster, but it’s not quite that. There are indeed big action sequences that pit man against ape, but that makes up a really small percentage of what the movie. This is, instead, a story of a tenuous peace. The real tension in the story is built on the fragile truce between man and ape, the film presenting viewers with the myriad ways it could all go wrong. Since this is a prequel to very well known story, the outcome is never in doubt: there will be war, and the apes will somehow emerge the dominant species. But the film crafts great drama from the struggle between those who want peace, and those who only know hate.
What the film ends up delivering is a meditation on why peace is so difficult. Two factions might have well meaning leaders, but in any community there are members that are simply unable to give their trust to the others. And what makes the film remarkable is that its villains aren’t necessarily completely unreasonable. They are simply the product of their circumstances, their lives so beset by pain and tragedy that only hatred can result. It’s a surprisingly cogent and sophisticated reading of human nature, especially from such a big budget picture.
When the action does break out, it’s all done in fantastic style. A lot of it is done in these long fluid takes that really capture the scope of the mayhem. The apes take center stage in this movie, and the film continues to make them look great. And once again, Andy Serkis proves to be the world’s most adept physical performer. There was some outrage a few years back over Serkis not even being considered for the Academy Award for playing Caesar. It seems likely that there will be even more clamor for the honor in the upcoming awards season. Serkis’ performances bleeds through the visual effects, conveying a depth of feeling not available to even the actors playing the humans. Jason Clarke and Keri Russell do a fine enough job carrying out the other side of this deal, but it’s clearly Serkis and the other Ape actors that are carrying this show.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes exceeds all expectations. The way things end feels a little flimsy, but it doesn’t negate all the greatness that precedes it. Through its Ape milieu, the film eloquently sketches out the history of humanity’s dealings with the other. Unbound by the need for origins and scientific explanations, the movie simply goes on to tell a terrifically human story of prejudice, trust, betrayal, and peace devolving into the conflict. It is a story that’s been around since humans first ran into other humans. It makes sense that they’re using the Apes to tell it again.
My Rating:
