Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russell, and Gary Oldman.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief strong language.
Audiences often complain that there are too many sequels, and that Hollywood no longer has any more original ideas. The history of film has gone through its share of trends, and sequels are a strong trend with today's releases. Sure, there are many follow-up installments that are poorly produced just to cash in on audiences' expectations, but when a sequel comes along that is this fantastic, it's easy to understand why there are so many.
2011's surprise hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes told the story of a remarkable ape named Caesar (Andy Serkis) who led other imprisoned and mistreated apes to freedom in the forest sanctuaries north of San Francisco. Ten years have now passed with a deadly virus (used in the first film as an attempted cure for Alzheimer's and tested on the apes) wiping out the majority of the human population. The ever-evolving apes, led by Caesar, are living peacefully in the woods when a band of surviving humans comes across their home. Now, the humans and apes must try to coexist peacefully with both sides wary of one another.
The easy route would have been for the filmmakers to primarily focus on the surviving humans while painting the apes as the villains. Another simple way would have been to paint humans as the bad guys and turn the movie into a purely animal rights film. Instead, director Matt Reeves goes down the more complicated and more rewarding path of making Caesar the lead of the film, showing that both humans and apes have the potential for good and evil. Make no mistake, this is Caesar's movie and this is now his franchise. We get to see how strong of a leader he is, how his sympathy towards humans is both a strength and weakness, and we see just how much like humans these apes really are. What Dawn has done here is nothing short of spectacular: it has given us rich, emotionally complex, and riveting characters that are not even human. Many films fail to do that with nothing but humans!
The first half of the film is methodical and emotional. The tension is always near the surface and you feel it simmering the entire time. When it finally boils over at about the halfway mark, things quickly get intense, tragic, and engrossing. This is not just a great summer blockbuster; this is a powerful film that has just as much depth as the best dramas. Of course there is action, but it actually means something and has consequences. It isn't just thrown on screen because the audience expects it or because there hasn't been any action in twenty minutes.
Casual film-goers may still be unaware of how this movie was made. The apes are all CGI creatures, BUT their facial and physical performances are not just created on a computer. These are real actors in motion-capture suits performing these roles. Andy Serkis has been doing this for over a decade starting with his portrayal as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The technology is more advanced than ever allowing Serkis to act back and forth with the other actors on set. Every expression you see on screen comes from Serkis. It is one of the best performances of the year and should be considered for any acting award.
This is not only a rousing summer blockbuster, but one of the year's best films. I would not hesitate in suggesting that Dawn is deserving of numerous Oscar nominations: Best Visual Effects, Best Actor (Andy Serkis), Best Director (Matt Reeves), and Best Picture of the Year. We'll see how it holds up once the year is finished, but at this point, it deserves all the success in the world. And this is coming from someone who was never a Planet of the Apes fan.
RATING: A
No comments:
Post a Comment