Movie Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (3D) (English)
A sequels by itself isn't a sign of creative bankruptcy, as long as it has its own story to tell and gets right down to it, and expands on the ideas from the first film, but in a way that tells a thematically satisfying and complete story. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to the 2011 surprise hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes, not only gets its world-building right, but also narrates a gripping allegorical tale about man's penchant for war and his struggle for peaceful co-existence.
The Rise... was about the rise of Caeser (Andy Serkis), a chimp raised by humans who is bestowed with advanced intelligence after a pharmacological experiment for a cure to Alzheimer's goes horribly wrong, almost driving out the entire populace to the edge of extinction. Dawn... begins a decade later in San Francisco with Caeser as the leader of a huge community of genetically evolved apes, gorillas, and fellow chimps who have now colonised the land previously occupied by men.
Devoid of any contact with their naturally intelligent evolutionary successors, Caeser wonders if there are any left on the planet. Of course, they do. A quarantined band of humans, having survived the simian flu pandemic ALZ-113, reside not afar and have Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) to lead them. But things aren't smooth sailing, for they are running out of power and the only option is to restart the functioning of a dormant hydroelectric plant nearby, which unfortunately happens to be located in the heartland of Caeser's kingdom. This inevitable face-off between humans and apes reignites their warring instincts and sets the plot in motion.
The Rise..., in addition to tracing the journey of a victim who rebels against his oppressive human captors, also shed light on the ethics of animal testing. The overarching theme of Dawn... however goes beyond the discord between mankind and apes. The point of tension here is between Caeser and his trusted bonobo adviser Koba (Toby Kebbell). As a former vivisection subject who had endured humans' inflictions of torture in the name of scientific research, Koba can only think of them as a hurtful species, whereas Caeser, having been raised with affection by "a good man" (James Franco, in a cameo), has seen their other side.
Hence when Caeser accedes to the humans' plea, Koba tries to reason with him in vain and decides to take matters into his own hands, seeking retribution to avenge the wrongs done to him. Ruthless and vengeful, Koba thus vents his righteous fury on the trigger-happy humans. "I always think ape better than human," Caeser sadly reflects at one point, adding "I see now how like them we are." Who then exactly is a human? Can a person who revels in killing others be called a human? And how is he any different from a beast? It's this intricate morality angle that makes Dawn... a riveting watch. Malcolm (Jason Clarke) and Dreyfus similarly exist as Caeser and Koba's respective human counterparts.
Needless to say, the simian characters are wonderfully fleshed-out and the winning histrionics of Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell deserve a special mention. The sheer technical wizardry aside, Serkis gives an astounding performance as the tormented leader with a human-sympathetic side. All said and done, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, despite its not so happy ending, is a consistently engaging 'philosophical' thriller that subtly invokes ideas of territorial conflict and mutual aggression while playing out as a battle between two intelligent mammal species fighting for global dominance where apes behave like men, and men, like apes. Be prepared for the ultimate war.
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| Dawn of the Planet of the Apes |
Devoid of any contact with their naturally intelligent evolutionary successors, Caeser wonders if there are any left on the planet. Of course, they do. A quarantined band of humans, having survived the simian flu pandemic ALZ-113, reside not afar and have Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) to lead them. But things aren't smooth sailing, for they are running out of power and the only option is to restart the functioning of a dormant hydroelectric plant nearby, which unfortunately happens to be located in the heartland of Caeser's kingdom. This inevitable face-off between humans and apes reignites their warring instincts and sets the plot in motion.
The Rise..., in addition to tracing the journey of a victim who rebels against his oppressive human captors, also shed light on the ethics of animal testing. The overarching theme of Dawn... however goes beyond the discord between mankind and apes. The point of tension here is between Caeser and his trusted bonobo adviser Koba (Toby Kebbell). As a former vivisection subject who had endured humans' inflictions of torture in the name of scientific research, Koba can only think of them as a hurtful species, whereas Caeser, having been raised with affection by "a good man" (James Franco, in a cameo), has seen their other side.
Hence when Caeser accedes to the humans' plea, Koba tries to reason with him in vain and decides to take matters into his own hands, seeking retribution to avenge the wrongs done to him. Ruthless and vengeful, Koba thus vents his righteous fury on the trigger-happy humans. "I always think ape better than human," Caeser sadly reflects at one point, adding "I see now how like them we are." Who then exactly is a human? Can a person who revels in killing others be called a human? And how is he any different from a beast? It's this intricate morality angle that makes Dawn... a riveting watch. Malcolm (Jason Clarke) and Dreyfus similarly exist as Caeser and Koba's respective human counterparts.
Needless to say, the simian characters are wonderfully fleshed-out and the winning histrionics of Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell deserve a special mention. The sheer technical wizardry aside, Serkis gives an astounding performance as the tormented leader with a human-sympathetic side. All said and done, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, despite its not so happy ending, is a consistently engaging 'philosophical' thriller that subtly invokes ideas of territorial conflict and mutual aggression while playing out as a battle between two intelligent mammal species fighting for global dominance where apes behave like men, and men, like apes. Be prepared for the ultimate war.
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