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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes picks up about 10 years after the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Incidentally, I'd have thought a dawn would be before a rise, but there you go. There's quite a bit going on here. It opens with Caeser and his ape tribe (face paint and all) and stays with them for a good while before any pesky humans start stinking up the place. These pesky humans (Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, etc) don't compare very well to the apes, as far as holding the interest goes. They do compare in other ways, though, chiefly the fact that the human group mirrors the dynamics within the ape group. Without getting to technical, there's a liberal and a hawk on each 'team', and therein lies the drama.

The performance capture technology is top drawer once again, but whereas in Rise it was gob-smackingly advanced, here in Dawn it might be taken for granted. In fairness, it's probably a little better and Andy Serkis deserves a mention here. A great performance that requires recognition. Many of the other 'apes' give good 'per-cap' too, notably Toby Kebbell as scarred, fucked up Koba. He actually has some of the films best moments, whether it's riding a horse through huge flames, brandishing a machine gun in each hand, a la Rambo or dispatching a couple of humans at a weapons range (quite a scene this one).

There are also some visual referrals to Rise which work quite well. Apes steaming through the treetops en masse, only given away by the quietly falling leaves. Caeser and Koba's relationship highlighted by the submissive hand stroke. There's even a scene involving Caeser deciding whether someone can be dropped from a great height or not (see helicopter in the bridge battle in Rise). I'm guessing this kind of 'thumbs up or thumbs down' judgement isn't coincidental.

The slight missteps of the film come with the gender politics. The female characters might as well be dudes in dresses. They're basically there as male support, juvenile (male) nurturers or not there at all. Coming on the heels of Freida Pinto's (non) role in Rise, this seems like an unnecessarily paternal pattern. Likewise, the father/son thing is a bit over the top - both ape and human have issues here.

Ultimately it's a good enough jaunt, a finely made 'bridge' between Rise and whatever comes next. Not quite as much fun or intrigue as Rise but sets things up for (hopefully) a cracker in a couple of years. Going on the final messianic scene in Dawn, my guess is for a holy war of some description.

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