DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES : Tuesday 15th July 2014.

At a cost of US$93M to make with a global box office haul of just under US$500M it was inevitable that 2011's 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' would spawn a sequel - particularly given the magnitude of the 'Apes' franchise spanning now six decades. And so with a bunch of mates I saw 'DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES' earlier this week. The production has been ramped up in this instalment with an estimated budget this time around of US$170M and a new Director at the helm - Matt Reeves.

The action takes us ten years on from 'Rise' (so effectively the mid 2020's) when a global simian flu has all but wiped out the worlds population. The opening montage tells us that just one in 500 humans survived because those that did are genetically immune. The simian flu came about through human researchers injecting monkeys with various viruses in test laboratories, and when the monkeys escaped, they gave it back to us humans and we got wiped out - ahhh, the circle of life!

With the world literally in ruins, cities in collapse, no infrastructure, no electricity, no communication, no transport systems and petrol supplies almost run dry, there are small enclaves of human colonies scattered about the globe. The action here is centred around a community holed-up in San Francisco (where the action is 'Rise' came to such a dramatic climax) led by Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) and supported by Malcolm (Jason Clarke) and various others doing their damnedest to survive with what is left of civilisation.

The Apes are led by a grown 'Caesar' now (expertly cast once again by Andy Serkis who has proved himself the master of motion-capture movie making technology) living in a forest in the San Francisco hinterland. The apes number in their hundreds and are advanced in their intelligence using sign language, learning to read, write and for many, speak. Caesar however, as leader, is the most developed having got off to a good start by his teacher and mentor from 'Rise' - James Franco. We learn early on that there has been no Ape/Human contact for over two Winters now, and the Apes wonder if in fact the human race has died out completely.

Then, right on cue, all this changes! As Malcolm and a band of explorers search through the forest they needless to say come across two straying apes. There are gunshots and the ape colony is alerted and quickly descend on the explorers. There is a standoff between Caesar and Malcolm in which dialogue is exchanged and the two groups part company going back to whence they came agreeing never to darken each others doors again! If only it were that simple? The humans are searching for a dam, which has a dormant hydro electric power plant attached to it, and if this can be rebooted then San Fran can have power restored, and some degree of normalcy can be reinstated.

What ensues is a battle of wits between apes and humans, where latitude is shown by both parties, but there are factions on both sides who are not satisfied with the genuine intentions of the others, there is in-fighting, there is bloodshed and there is ultimately a climatic battle which is likely to change the ape/human landscape again forever.

This film is far richer than 'Rise', the story more detailed, the characterisation has more depth, and the ape effects by those actors donning the mo-cap suits day in day out during filming are outstanding. The stature, the mannerisms, the expressions, the horse riding, and the way the apes walk, run, grunt and behave with one another is so real and life like that even 'Caesar' comments that the apes have more in common with the humans than they know! The dystopian landscape of an overgrown San Francisco is reminiscent of Will Smith's 'I am Legend' and is almost faultless. This is Andy Serkis' film and quite rightly he gets top billing as Caesar and his other ape 'family' counterparts do a pretty good job too - most notably Toby Kebbell as 'Koba', Karin Konoval at 'Maurice', Terry Notary as 'Rocket' and Nick Thurston as 'Blue Eyes' - son of Caesar.

This is a strong sequel that should be seen on the big screen. I saw it in 2D and this was more than acceptable - 3D would add to the richness and depth of imagery but you can live without it I would think. Needless to say the ending sets up another sequel with Director Matt Reeves set to return and a release date already announced for July 29th 2016.

  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-