Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

***½ out of ****

When Hollywood decided to reboot the “Planet of the Apes” franchise a few years ago, I thought it was kind of irrelevant. Other than the 1968 “Planet of the Apes” I thought the entire series of films in the 70s was unnecessary and dull. So I was pleasantly surprised when 2011's “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was not only enjoyable, but actually good.

Strangely though, I still expected very little from the new-on-DVD “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, despite the fact that the critics have been very kind to it. But in watching it I was swept away by a story replete with Shakespearean intrigue, racism and biblical undertones.

Some ten years has passed since the events of the “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. Those apes that had escaped the lab and made their way to the woods have prospered and multiplied, leading an intelligent and organized society led by Caesar, the primary ape from the original. Humanity though has not been faring so well. The very gas that made the apes intelligent has led to a species threatening disease in humans, wiping virtually all of them out. Small pockets of naturally immune survivors remain, taking refuge in the cities and living undetected by the apes.

But in San Francisco things are getting desperate as their power reserves are almost at an end. Their leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) sends a duo to investigate the possibility of harnessing the power from an old dam, and while in the woods they encounter the apes, shooting one in fear. Caesar sends them back unharmed hoping that this will be the end of the encounter but Koba, another survivor of the first film with a deep hatred of humans due to his life in the lab, wants to attack while humanity is weak. To appease Koba and ensure ongoing peace the ape army rides on San Francisco and Caesar confronts the human colony, insisting that they stay out of the woods and that the apes would stay out of the city. This will prevent all out war.

The “Shakespearean” intrigue basically begins there as the two clear sides begin to have separate factions – those that want to cooperate and live harmoniously with each other, and those that hate the opposite side and want war. Plotting and attempts to usurp power come along, and in a very “Cain-and-Abel” moment an attempt is made on Caesar's life to remove him as an obstacle to war. This is all spun together beautifully as the story and the characters steal you into the story.

The battles are well done and the CGI content is utterly fantastic, blending seamlessly with live action throughout. Though the “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was a good movie, "Dawn" might almost be considered great. It's scope is so much larger, the story so much more interesting and the plotline considerably more intriguing. Even the characters that cross over from the first film have developed into far more compelling creatures.

Now I have to admit that I am doing something I rarely do: I am looking forward to the sequel. I avoid this whenever possible because virtually every time you walk into a sequel with expectations you are badly let down. Sequels generally suck. But the first two entries into the “Planet of the Apes” reboot have been good, with the second being considerably better than the first and setting up for a pretty epic third. Here's hoping they continue the good work – the next one looks like it could be something really special.