Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is about hyper intelligent apes who have been genetically altered by humans. In the beginning of the film that causes no problems for anyone. In fact, the remaining humans are unaware of these super apes. Humans have almost completely died out from a deadly outbreak of a virus; which was made in a lab by scientists. Time is then manipulated, as ten years fly by within minutes. We are quickly taken into the near future. The remaining humans in San Francisco are nearly out of power, and are in desperate need to find a new source. When the humans explore for a power source, and stumble into the apes, they kill one. The apes, led by Caesar, are furious. They set specific boundaries that cannot be crossed by the humans. An early conflict arises when the humans need to cross, as they think they have found a new energy source. It is a dam on the apes territory. This dam could potentially power the remaining human's civilization. Written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver and adapted from the original novel, "La Planète des Singes" by Pierre Boulle, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a sequel to Rise of the Planets of the Apes. It is the 2nd film in the prequel series to the original movie Planet of the Apes. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is Directed by Matt Reeves. Jason Clarke as Malcolm, and Gary Oldman as Dreyfus star in this movie, as leaders of the human survivors. Keri Russell also stars in the movie. She plays Ellie, a human survivor and Malcolm's love interest. Andy Serkis voices Caesar, the leader of the apes. The Major Dramatic Question of the movie is "What will happen next?" This movie ends with a major cliffhanger, and the audience is left questioning to themselves about the future of this movie franchise; what will happen of Malcolm, how will the war between the two species go, are there more human survivors? A major psychological theme that recurs in this movie is greed. Koba, Caesar's 2nd in command, has an undying hatred of humans, lasting at least ten years after humans nearly died out. Caesar tolerates humans and their needs during this movie. Koba cannot stand how Caesar trusts humans and requests he rethink his policies towards humans. Caesar does not consider turning on the humans. Koba then attempts to kill Caesar and frames the humans. He then gains trust from most of the apes, who think their beloved leader, Caesar is dead, to attack the humans. Koba was willing to kill his leader for more power and to become the new leader. His greed proves to Caesar later in the film, that not all apes are great beings. This movie questions character motives. It asks why people, or the genetically modified apes in this case, act the way that they do. This makes the film a Psychological Realism. It's theme's and character development are the primary Elements of Drama involved in the movie, making it a Character/Thought Emphasis Genre. The characters Koba and Caesar have vastly different perspectives of the humans, and how to engage with them. One of the main elements of the movie is how they fight each other to get their way. A hugely important theme in this film is leadership. Leadership is relevant both in the human world, with Dreyfus and Malcolm, and in the ape world, with Caesar and Koba. Each leader has different approaches and works to influence their people. Caesar is a multi-dimensional character. In the exposition of this feature, he is a strong leader and wants nothing to do with the humans. When the humans need his help, and diplomatically request access to the dam he hesitantly allows them into the apes land. By the resolution of the movie, he realizes how many humans can be great people like Malcolm, Ellie or Will Rodman (from Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and ends up helping Malcolm, by warning him of the inevitable war. The major conflict in this movie is a physical one. It is the war between ape and human. This movie is much closer to the Fantasy side of the Scale of Verisimilitude. Even though parts of this movie is believable, the majority of the film is not possible and is a work of Fantastical Science Fiction. This movie is a fun summer flick. The CGI makes the apes look very real, helping the audience get really sucked into this fantasy film. The apes language use is slow, menacing and concise. They're deep voices are startling and add to character of the apes, particularly Caesar. The action scenes are exciting to watch. Both the depiction of how the humans live in their post- apocalyptic world, and how the apes live, in their forest tree houses is interesting. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes satisfies the Dual Purpose of Art. It entertains, arousing plenty of emotions. It thrills, excites, and terrorizes, with the thought of a interspecies war. It also instructs, stimulating the thoughts of the audience. It questions what will happen next, and how will the war proceed. This movie was a worthwhile watch, and an exciting, engaging film.
Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
