Dawn of the Planet of the Apes makes a monkey out of its summer competition

The Godfather Part II. The Empire Strikes Back. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The Dark Knight. Just in case you’re a bit slow on the uptake, these are all sequels that not only managed to meet the expectations of their masterful predecessors; in some cases they even surpassed them. Now, you can add Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to the list; a remarkable sequel, which takes everything that made Rise of the Planet of the Apes such a rollicking surprise and amplifies them by adding new layers of pathos, character development and intensity. Dawn elevates this franchise to a whole new level of awesomeness. Dr. Zaius would be proud.

At the film’s start, a horrible virus has already wiped out most of humanity. In the wake of this catastrophe, Caeser (Andy Serkis, reprising his role as our hero from Rise of the Planet of the Apes), governs a new generation of genetically evolved super-apes. This civilization is cut off from the rest of the world and the apes go about living, learning and loving in peace. When a small band of human survivors stumbles upon the outskirts of their home, it begins a downward spiral, which will ultimately lead to an explosive showdown between humans and apes. Why can’t we all just get along??

Director Matt Reeves has officially cemented himself as one of the most talented working directors of this day and age. I’m a huge fan of his first film Cloverfield and was pleasantly surprised by his remake of the Swedish classic Let the Right One In, but both of those films play like warm-ups to his work here. He takes his time building suspense and his action sequences aren’t just composed of mindless explosions and computer generated trickery; there’s a weight to the proceedings that evokes a real sense of dread. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes uses the morose mood in its favor and in a way that thankfully doesn’t feel like a tacky knockoff of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. (COUGH*MANOFSTEEL*COUGH*) There are moments of understated beauty here, moments that tend to get overlooked in these kinds of films and I’m so thankful that Reeves included them.

While we’re on the subject of effects, can we just go ahead and give this SFX team all the awards now? They’ve really raised the bar, combining state of the art technology with empathetic animation. And if there is any reason to revisit the ‘Why can’t a computer generated performance qualify for a ‘Best Actor’ Oscar?’ argument, Andy Serkis’ performance as Caeser is it. His capabilities as an actor are truly extraordinary and his performance in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes may be his best this side of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. Equally strong is Toby Kebbell as the rebellious and dangerous Koba, who spent the majority of his life as a lab experiment and has nothing but contempt for the human race.

The human cast fares about as well as they can in the wake of these two stunning performances. Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman stand at the forefront; the supporting cast featuring Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-Mcphee and Kirk Acevedo give strong performances, despite the limitations of their more simplistic characterizations. The screenplay by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver does an excellent job of fleshing out its characters so they serve a greater purpose than to stand and gape at all the pretty effects, but there’s no question that the apes steal the show here.

Technically, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is flawless. I’ve already given a shout out to the VFX department, but also worth mentioning is Michael Seresin’s stunning cinematography, James Chinlund’s striking production design and the haunting score by Michael Giacchino, who continues to cement himself as one of my favorite working composers. Dawn is a visual feast and Reeves orchestrates it with passion and elegance.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes captivated my attention from its very first shot and never let it go. I don’t think there’s a single wasted moment in the whole 130 minute running time. It’s one of the best films of the summer and, quite frankly, I’d rank it amongst the best films I’ve seen so far this year. It continues to pave the way for what is shaping up to be an incredible ‘rebooted’ franchise. You’ll be hard press to find a blockbuster more emotionally satisfying and thrilling.

FINAL RATING: 4.5/5