MY RATING: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The summer blockbuster season is about to come to a close but Hollywood continues to deliver great films nonetheless!
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is set 10 years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes where most of humanity is being wiped out by the virus that made the apes who they are. The remaining humans immune to the virus reside in a colony in ruined San Francisco. Meanwhile, Caesar has become the leader of a thriving community of apes living in the woods. However, following an encounter that left both species threatened by the other, both sides are inadvertently brought to war to determine which species triumphs over the other.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes undeniably exceeds all standards set by its predecessor. It boasts a strong, well-written plot which is executed well on screen. Not a minute is wasted on scenes unrelated to the plot and the film continues to capture your attention from start to end with it's trilling action and the numerous twists and turns in the storyline. What I like about the plot is that there is more than two sides when it comes to the war between the humans and the apes, in fact there are conflicts among the individual communities happening simultaneously and it is amazing how the film managed to string all these elements into one seamless flow.
The film also invests a lot of screen time in bringing out emotional scenes which I am very impressed by. It is great how motion capture technology today is able to bring out the facial expressions of actors in computer generated characters, allowing to characters to behave more life-like. I never imagine I'd be more emotionally attached to the apes than I was to the humans.
In all, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes contains every aspect of an amazing summer blockbuster with a powerful story, adrenaline-pumping action and incredible special effects. It is definitely a step up from the previous film and I highly recommended this for it is a film that anyone can genuinely enjoy.
