Matt Reeves is a talented director, I want to state that up front. I enjoyed his movie Cloverfield immensely but I skipped his American version of Let The Right One In entitled Let Me In, so I was intrigued by what he would do with Dawn, only his third feature film release. I think he was let down by a few things, mainly the script. Penned by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver, Dawn supposedly takes place ten years after Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the apes, under Caesar's rule are flourishing. Caesar has apparently taught the apes sign language and they communicate rather prolifically both in sign and verbally. They wonder if there are any humans left, they have concerns about family, unity, and they live by the philosophy that ape does not kill ape.
My primary issue is how uneven the movie is. While it focuses on the apes primarily, the actual humans in the film are basically just a footnote. One dimensional characters that never evolve, rise above, or change the way they think from the second we meet them to their last breaths. I didn't care about them at all, about whether they lived or died, or if they were going to be successful in their mission that took them into ape territory because the movie builds no compassion for them.
Making up the human contingent was Jason Clarke as Malcolm, Gary Oldman as Dreyfus, Keri Russell as Ellie, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Alexander. I think they were saddled with a script that didn't allow them to play with any emotions except fear. There was no desperation, no real sense of loss or urgency, and no trauma from them which hurt the movie in my opinion. Andy Serkis played Caesar and unlike in the last movie where he reigned untested, this time he has to deal with a vicious and cunning rival seeking the leadership position of the apes in the form of the angry, human hating Koba played by Toby Kebbell. That was a lot of fun to watch but while Matt did what he could to keep the momentum going, this movie seemed to be at least twenty to thirty minutes too long. Clocking in at two hours and ten minutes, there were a lot of things this movie could have done without.
Dawn did satisfy the ape/human confrontation anticipation on every level. When Caesar and crew show up in force at the human compound, it was a whole lot of fun to watch. Massive plot holes notwithstanding the movie had it's thrilling and compelling moments and my favorite was when Koba explained to Caesar that he knew all too well what "human work" consisted of. Koba's story was gripping and it directly challenged Caesar's philosophy of family and murder.
The film had a great look courtesy of veteran cinematographer Michael Seresin. There were some shots that were just jaw dropping good. The score by Oscar award winning composer Michael Giacchino left me hollow, but in all fairness to him this movie didn't really need music. He added some nice tender musical touches to a film that had very little tenderness to it. After seeing this film I have NO idea where they'll take the next movie (which has already been announced) since I feel Dawn showed us everything there was to see. What I know is I am happy I don't have to write the next film and I feel sorry for whomever pulls that assignment. I'll see you at the theater
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