Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: a simian triad movie

I am old enough to watch a few of the original Planet of the Apes (those days, RTM loves to screen reruns and old movies.. hey, even today RTM does that!). All I could recall was the fake monkey mask and the human wearing next to nothing. Total role reversal. Similarly, I could not recall much from the remake by Tim Burton, which again, may not be that memorable at all. However, I was pleasantly taken aback by The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It was one of the most memorable movies ever made. James Franco and Andy Serkis were in their top form, and it was such a touching movie.

Therefore, I had high expectation on the next sequel/ prequel/ reboot. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes continues where Rise left. Many of the earth population were wiped out from the simian flu, which basically originate from the lab in the first movie. Many years later, Caesar, the genetically enhanced ape, built his own colony of monkeys and were living peacefully. However, fate has it that a small human colony chanced upon  the ape settlement while searching for power source from a certain dam. The human side, desperate for power, send Malcolm (Jason Clarke) to negotiate with Caesar. There is initial distrust but after some time, both of them learn to trust and respect each other. However, there is always the villain. This time it was one of the apes who betray Caesar (not consider as spoiler, I guess, since from beginning everyone can sense that he will become the main villain), and carefully instigate a war between the human and apes.


Clarke is no James Franco, his role seems to be secondary. It is Serkis and the motion capture that brought the film to another level. Every emotion was portrayed so well that the monkey can even contend for an Oscar. CG plays an important role here as I believe many of the apes were produced that way. However, compared to other summer blockbusters showing the same time, it is nothing to shout about.



It is a really enjoyable film. The first half was bit slow, but subsequently the story picks up. There are some poignant moment again, for those who had watched the first movie, there is a reference to the earlier work which brought back lots of memories. However, it is still not as great as the first movie. While the first movie works because of the poignant relationship between each characters, the bleak fate eventually  that destroy them, it was more on a personal and emotional level. Dawn, on the other hand, felt more like watching a good triad movie. The ape clan, with its own brand of "yihei" (ape do not kill other ape); the appearance of another human clan; the initial agreement that both clans should not cross each other path; the eventual trust; the betrayal of one the members which sparks an all out war..... all the good elements to make a good HongKong triad movie. That, is not a bad thing, since I also enjoy a good triad movie. But still, I prefer the first one. Personal preference, I guess



Still, I do believe that this is one of the better movies rolled out in this summer. Highly recommended! No regrets catching the whole movie here.

ratings: 3 half poink!
comments: still undecided whether should I root for the human or apes....