Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

3 Stars (out of four)

When I saw Rise Of The Planet of the Apes a few years ago, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, especially after the disastrous remake in 2001.  I was absolutely shocked how good it was.  It had drama, action and most importantly, real pathos.  I was totally enthralled and I didn't expect to be.  The power of low expectations, I suppose.  It also holds up with repeated viewings.  So when I went to see Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, I was a little scared.  The first was so good that I didn't want its legacy to be ruined by a money-grabbing, subpar sequel as the first movie from the 60's was.  It turns out I needn't have worried.

This new one starts essentially where the first left off.  A global pandemic of "simian flu" hits the world and wipes out approximately 98% of humanity.  Ten years later, the only people left are the ones genetically immune to it.  Civilization is in shambles.  The apes, on the other hand, have evolved into the beginnings of a new civilization, with Cesar from the last movie as the alpha male.  One day, a couple humans come across some apes and shoots one of them.  This causes great consternation with the apes, with Koba leading the dissenting voice against Cesar.  Cesar still remembers that some men are good, so they follow the men back to San Francisco where one of the last outposts of humanity are.  The humans were in the apes' territory to restart a hydroelectric dam to power the town.  Cesar convinces the apes to make a show of force and and all of them show up in Frisco.  Cesar says for the humans to stay out of their territory and the apes will do likewise.  But the humans convince Cesar to help start the dam, which he agrees.  Because of this, Koba, with a stolen gun, shoots Cesar and blames the human.  Open war then breaks out.

I don't want to give anything else away because that is where the movie gets interesting.  The movie's primary theme, like the first, is prejudice and the damage it sows.  It isn't an accident that the apes live in the forest, in a metaphorical Garden of Eden and what happens when evil walks into it.  It's a little ham-handed in its symbolism, but what can one expect today?  Most moviemakers and moviegoers aren't really big into thinking when it comes to big action movies like this, but it is nice to see studios try to make something more than just the usual cynical, mindless claptrap like Transformers again and again.  One can hope this won't end up like the first series, just one dumb movie after another.  The movie is a little intense for youngsters, but otherwise, it is entertaining and smart and worth the price of admission.