"Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes" Review

  I would like to make a statement in that the lineup for this year's summer movies is kind of sucky. There doesn't seem to be that much that sticks out in terms of being unique or really all that interesting, and very few exceptions to this exist. One of these exceptions, however, was Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes. 

  Set in a world where the human race has now been dangerously reduced to small bands of survivors immune to a scientifically-engineered virus that decimated most of the Earth's population, the major governments no longer exist, and everyone is fighting to survive. Coming out on top, we have the newly intelligent apes, led by Caesar (Andy Serkis) who has since created an entire colony of the genetically modified primates, and has a family of his own. However, when he and the other apes encounter a group of humans living in an abandoned city nearby (populated by people like Kerri Russell, Gary Oldman, and Jason Clarke), they are initially fearful of war. As Malcolm (Clarke) begins to negotiate terms with Caesar, allowing the humans to use the dam in close proximity to help power their city and make contact with other survivors, the growing hostility of Koba, an ape with a grudge against humans since he was experimented on by them, leads to tension and eventually an all-out war. 

  Even though I saw the first movie, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, about two years ago, they made a smart decision in not relying too much on the first movie to the point where this film wasn't able to stand on its own. Yes, there are obvious hints to the first movie to make us previous moviegoers feel nostalgic and smug about knowing things the other people don't, but it is brief enough to not have the movie stop in its tracks to reiterate exposition you could have gained by simply watching the first film. In other words, the film tries hard to not treat you like a moron, and I appreciated that.
  This sequel actually takes place about ten years after the events of the first film, so the significant gap in time allows for more needed exposition, and it feels more fluid when they present you with information. Though I'll admit that sometimes it feels a bit clunky, such as when we are offered basically an entire backstory over the duration of a small conversation made by Kerri Russell and a few other human characters. Speaking of the characters, I liked how the apes were focused on much more than the humans, because even though we sympathize with the humans, this franchise is really about the apes. And holy crap, did they do a good job with the animation on these apes! I would go see the third movie just for the CGI work alone. The detailing you see throughout the film proves that we are very close to obtaining full realism in Hollywood movies.
  In short I feel like this film was better than the first, but also takes itself seriously enough to not be entirely over-the-top. It is an entertaining movie that will prove to be a pleasant experience in this current wave of lukewarm summer films.
 
  Overall rating: 7/10