The sequel to 20th Century Fox’s reboot, “Rise of
the Planet of the Apes” has finally hit theaters. The eight film in the
franchise, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary
Oldman, Keri Rusell, Toby Kebbell and Kodi Smit-McPhee. It was also directed by
Matt Reeves, who also directed “Cloverfield” and “Let Me In”
Set 10 years after the first film, human civilization has
collapsed from the first film’s virus and the apes have created a community
outside the remains of San Francisco. However, some humans have survived,
immune to the virus. In order to restore power to their fragile colony, the
humans make a fragile peace with the apes which could shatter at any moment.
The film is very well made and succeeds in very nearly every
possible way. The production value is incredibly high, with fast-paced action,
well-maintained tension and understandable characters.
The cinematography and lighting are done incredibly well.
The shots and angles work well to immerse the viewer into the broken world of
the humans and the civilization of the apes.
One shot early on has Maurice (Karin Konoval) and Caesar (Serkis) in the
foreground with the forest in the background talking about how they haven’t
seen a human in two years. It does well in showing how overgrown the vegetation
of the world has become. Also, after Malcolm (Clarke) and his group get the power
working, the shot with them getting the PA system in a dilapidated gas station
to work works to present how it’s run down, but can still work. The beginning
of the film also has some great cinematography, even though it’s mostly
recycled news clips over a CGI map of the world. It recaps how the virus
overtook the planet and fallout, which nicely sets up the rest of the film.
How great the action is can be surmised in only four words:
monkeys with submachine guns. Towards the end, the apes full on attack the
humans with their own cache. It’s fast-paced and gives a tremendous sense of
urgency for the humans. The battle also constantly one-ups itself, with Koba
(Kebbell) going guns akimbo on horseback and eventually taking over a tank.
It’s enough to make the audience to stay on the edge of their seat without
going overboard and exhausting them.
The action is also a great complement to the tension. The
peace between the apes and humans is incredibly fragile and almost breaks a
couple times before it really does. And even after it goes to pieces, it still
remains when the apes break off into factions. This also helps make every major
character relatable and understandable.
The tension and action is also quite well balanced out with
some humor, but not too much to make it annoying. One great example is when
Koba discovers the massive weapons cache. He is made, but obfuscates stupidity
by blowing raspberries and miming.
Every character in this film has justifiable actions and the
only thing that amounts to a true villain is Koba. He loathes humans and hates
how Caesar is willing to make a partnership. But his hatred is understandable
as he was a test subject and only saw the brutality of humans. Caesar, who
remembers the goodness of Will (James Franco) towards him in the first film, is
willing to make peace. And, then there’s Carver (Kirk Acevedo) who also has a
rational hatred of apes because of the virus and Dreyfus (Oldman) who is
willing to do whatever it takes for the survival of the human race.
However, the film does have some pacing problems, dragging
in some areas. But it doesn’t happen too often and it’s not enough to be too
noticeable.
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is very well done and a
great continuation of the franchise. Clears the Edge of Satisfaction and becomes this year's #2
No comments:
Post a Comment