Bevendre

The summer movie season is in full swing, and new movies are coming out on a regular basis intended to be little more than popcorn fluff and fodder.  The new Apes movie is not one of these movies, and that is a very, very, very, VERYgood thing.

As always, spoiler alert below the break.

Story and characters

The film opens up with a very brief recap of the events of the previous entry in the series, and the aftermath of the ending scene.  Years have passed by since Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and much of the human population has passed away in the wake of an epidemic caused by the very virus that rendered the apes intelligent, and dubbed the Simian Flu by the few remaining humans.  Though a few pockets of humanity survive, the species as a whole has been largely wiped out, and civilization is but a shadow of what it once was.  
The opposite is true for the apes, again led by Caesar (played by the ever amazing Andy Serkis (Gollum)).  In the few short years that it has taken humanity to collapse the apes have thrived in the Redwood forests of California, creating a community, taming horses, and developing technology and language.  Thinking that humans are extinct, the apes live in peace as a family until a small group meet them in the woods in search of a dam to power their compound and preserve their way of life.  All that follows forces apes and men to work against one another, and together in an attempt to find peace, and to define the true differences between man and ape.

Caesar and other apes are extremely emotive and separate from one another.  Every chimp that is given a moment to themselves feels different, every gorilla has character, every orangutan has drive.  This is especially apparent with Caesar, and Koba (Toby Kebbell), both of whom offer a different perspective on the relation between man and ape.  Both characters wear their drives admirably, and go about different paths in order to reach their goals with Caesar leading by example and respect to achieve cohabitation, and Koba who works behind his leader’s back and leads his followers on a path towards war through betrayal.  Et tu Koba?

The differing characters provide great antitheses to one another, and it is easy to see reflections of both sides among the humans.  While Malcolm (Jason Clarke) wants peace and to be able to live well with his son, without infringing upon the ape’s home, his close friend Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) would prefer to eradicate the apes and take what he deems meant for humanity.  The preservationist aspect of the conflicts between the apes and the humans are portrayed realistically, especially with the world being in a pseudo-post-apocalyptic state, and tensions being very high on all sides.  The need to protect one’s own is a powerful driving force, and one handled very well by the film’s main players for better or worse.  

The pacing is handled very well, and is helped throughout by the character’s interactions and drives, leaving me wanting more after the film had ended 2 hours in.  Though there were a few places where things could have stopped, and seemed to for a brief moment, every shadow of a false ending is brief, and the actual ending of the film is immensely satisfying with each major character (and most minor ones) being handled well.

Music and sound

The music in Dawn is phenomenal, with each added string and beat of the drum adding more to scenes.  More so than the music though, the volume of the silence in the film is palpable.  It is not uncommon for a scene’s sound to be dulled or muted to allow music to get through, but many times in many movies this feels overdone or poorly implemented.  Not so here.  When the noise of the apes, or of the fighting in the streets of San Francisco grows dull it is not without reason, as the lack of noise adds much more than it takes away.

Every rustle of the leaf and screech of an ape feels properly placed and well executed, providing great suspension of disbelief that is often lacking in such films, but again it is the use of quiet and silence that allows Dawn to stand out, as emotional scenes are left to the portrayal of the characters and not their dialogue, and action scenes reflect confusion and chaos more than explosions and madness.

The use of voicework among the apes is also of note, with the voices used blending in very well to their grunts, howls, screeches and hoots.  The speech feels organic, and its placement by several characters throughout the film speaks more than what is said more often than not.

Presentation

You will believe an ape can talk.  You will believe an ape can hunt deer, and ride a horse.  You will believe that apes were playing the parts of their characters, rather than humans in motion capture suits.  Motion capture has advanced so far at this point, that the uncanny valley didn’t register with me more often than not, and the suspension of disbelief established by the film only served to accentuate that.  The presentation and choreography of the apes feels real and organic, as do their settings be it the apes’ home constructed in the forest, or the overgrown streets of San Francisco.  

Set design is top notch and well used, and makes me wish I knew how much was constructed and how much was generated in some areas.  The integration of the characters into their surroundings is handled superbly, from the gentle sway of power lines after an ape has leapt from them, to the rustle and fall of  leaves as they pass by overhead.  The refugee compound in San Fran feels like a refugee compound.  The forest home of the apes feels like a forest home constructed by a society in its early years.  They are done and rendered beautifully.

Color is used wonderfully throughout, but especially during climactic scenes such as the fights in San Francisco after dark where shadows are played sharply against the oranges and reds of fires and gunshots, or in the final bought filled with orange and grey, brown and black and red.  The colors fit the music and the action gorgeously, but are overshadowed so well by the action and reactions that it is at times hard to notice or pay attention to them.  This is by no means a bad thing, and if anything is quite good as they serve to enhance a scene without being overbearing, and further the story more than the artform.

Cinematography is handled well, devoid of shaky cam and other such tropes that wear the patience thin quickly.  There are a plethora of beautiful shots, especially of the apes as they move about the cityscape and forest, but perhaps the best is the repeated rotation of a character upon a tank’s cannon, allowing a full 360 of the setting several times as events unfold around them.

Verdict

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a beautiful film from its music to its design and cinematography, to its characters and to its progression.  The main conflict has been done before, but not quite like this or at least not with an ending in the way that Dawn handled it.  The characters portrayed are wonderfully emotive and emotional, even without dialogue for large segments of the film, and even the antagonists are somewhat relatable and understandable in their actions.

This is a wonderful film that I would highly recommend to anyone, whether they’ve seen Rise of the Planet of the Apes or not (there is a 10 year gap after all).  For best results, watch Rise shortly before seeing Dawn for extra feels and a better understanding of Caesar, and of Koba.  All in all, this is the movie of the summer for me, and even the movie of the year.  I definitely want to, and plan on seeing it again, and again.

10/10