By Anton Massopust III

“Together. Apes Strong.” – Caesar

Many science fiction franchises don’t get a second chance but Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the second of the successfully rebooted franchise. More rare is the sequel that exceeds the original but Dawn shines above the first film, 2012’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Ten years have passed since the simian flu was accidentally released from a research facility at the end of that film. Humanity and the world have fallen apart, but Caesar and the apes he help free have thrived, creating a large and richly developed society in the mountains outside San Francisco.

Gary Oldman plays Dreyfus, the leader of a survivor outpost in old San Francisco. After 10 years they are running out fuel, and without fuel the generators, and the lights, will go out. Dreyfus sends off a small group led by an engineer named Malcolm (Jason Clark), to try to restart a hydroelectric dam that will allow them to continue a meager existence.

The group unexpectedly runs into apes and one of them shoots an ape child. Caesar resists the urge to attack the group and orders them to leave. His second in command, Koba sends apes to follows them and they learn of the survivalists and their cache of weapons. Caesar demonstrates a show of force to keep the humans at bay, but Koba believes that war is inevitable, as does the Dreyfus.

Desperate to get the dam restarted Malcolm returns to the ape outpost and pleads to be allowed to continue his work. Caesar grudgingly agrees and the rift between he and Koba grows wider, as Koba believes that the humans cannot be trusted. Koba wants to crush humanity, and despite this his anger and mistrust are understandable, since he was abused in the research labs.

To say more would ruin several plot twists but the drama unfolds to a violent conclusion. Don’t be fooled. This isn’t an action film or even a war film, this is a drama. This is a highly intelligent movie that has a lot to say about politics, war, power, forgiveness, fear, revenge, morality and being a parent. It also bluntly confronts the question of what is justified in the defense of your loved ones.

Can CGI apes hold your attention for two hours? You bet they can. Andy Serkis gives an outstanding performance as Caesar, but he is not the only one. After a while you forget you’re watching actors in motion caption suits rendering in CGI and believe that apes can talk. The technical skill on display is amazing as you can understand the apes emotions and read their thoughts from the expressions on their faces and their body language. The apes are the primary focus in this movie and the human characters are given far less screen time and thus, less character development.

I highly recommend this film and suggest you take the entire family to go see one of the best films of the year. There is no doubt there will be a third entry in the series and I can’t wait to see it.