Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Movie Review)

In my book, On a Sphere’s Edge, there is this line, “We are us, and they are them, and it is always us against them.” It is sad to think that, no matter what we might do, no matter how far we might progress, peace may always be outside of our reach. There will always be some individual or group that will risk limb and life in order to oppress or ostracize some other group or individuals.

The Apes may not be any different.

I will forego my usual order of dissection of this movie.

The visual effects are stunning. At times everything on the screen is artificial, and yet appears perfectly real. There are a very few points where the 3D layering appeared a bit off to me, but they were quick and something very few people would even be aware of.

The music, sound effects, and sound editing is amazing. 8-channel, Surround Sound is rarely used as effectively. The set design work is fascinating. I am sure that many scenes were back lot sets, and many were computer generated, while others were British Columbia wilderness, nonetheless I must give the set crews, location manager, as well as the cinematographer a thumbs up. It was all visually captivating.

The direction is marvelous. From the clever use of signature frames at the opening and close of the film, to the control of the actors and cameras, the job is very well done. The actors, all, do excellent work. Not one single weak performance in my book.

The plot? What can I say about the plot? This is a remake, so the basic plot is known. But only in its most fundamental skeleton. As with many things, often the second time around is better, and this is way better. There is great depth here.

Well worth the ticket and the glasses.