Warning: This review will contain enough monkey puns to fill a zoo. Try not to go bananas if it annoys you. To be honest, I didn’t really expect all that much from this sequel. The original was a strong entry to the- mixed canon, but was a little shallow in terms of any real depth. The acting (bar Andy Serkis doing what he does best, Oscar free) was a tad weak, and the story, whilst compelling enough, didn’t have the moral flexibility one would hope for in a battle between species romp. Dawn chucks all of that out of the window. From the very opening shot of this film you know that’s it’s going to be epic. Caesar hanging out with his primemates at home, hunting, gathering, growing. It’s a utopian paradise, bar some downs (mostly in the form of bears and 44. s) and the spectacle captured here is jaw-dropping. Forget Avatar’s tropical paradise brimming with seething jungle bliss- this place is quite the opposite and yet much more impressive. It’s dark, ominous woodland packed with scarily realistic apes and a whole plethora of less exotic wildlife like Deer, but still garners awe and wonder. Speaking of realistic apes, the thing I love most about Dawn is how humanitarian it is. There is genuine emotion, real depth and flexibly moral characters (of which the first was sorely lacking). Koba is the obvious bad guy from the start, but he and Caesar begin with a strong simian bond (“Thank-you Koba”) and seem relaxed in eachother’s company. Koba’s talk of war and human evil is easily defused by Caesar’s words, which is new ground for such a war-like figure. His moral compass isn’t rigid: set straight course for blood with no surrender- he is much more complex because of his background and how Caesar can influence and quell his bloodlust. He does turn into a frankly irreparably evil Psyco towards the end (so much so that I was quaking with satisfaction when Caesar started beating the snarling bastard) but his denser foliage before the field of evil prior gives him some soul- which is great. Soul being something the film is rolling in abundance of. Caesar’s stirring leadership is filled with genuine wisdom and strength; he doesn’t rely on unseen charisma or power like many movie marvels- instead using words and actions to control his brethren. Thus, we care about him when he is hurt, and gives us even more drive to see him pound that mangy monkey Koba into the dirt. His relationship with son Blue-eyes and supporting apes is also chock-stocked with emotion. Andy Serkis really is something rather precious ( ehhh? ;) ) and delivers some real raw character and gravity in his actions, particularly in some flawless facial expressions. So much so that the flip-side pales in comparison. Which brings me to the less stellar aspect. True that the violence is shocking, not stylised (which is awesome for a blockbuster) and holds weight with me, true that the apes are unfathomably well written and they, along with their CGI forestern home, are undoubtedly impressive- BUT the humans are a little weak. Gone are the orange-o-tanned hulks that plague modern action flicks, we do have more complex and compelling men like Gary Oldman to lead the counter-charge, but in the presence of the apes they feel a little tacked on. There only to contrast to their primordial ancestors and show that both sides are equally as good, and equally as bad. Nonetheless, they bring some much needed contrast to the film and it’s great to see that not only has this film improved upon the strong enough predecessor, but has risen even higher in challenging the normal modern blockbuster standards in terms of violence, moral depth and emotional intensity. It’s like the Dark Knight- but deserving of its accolades -_- 9- Rated so highly because it’s in cinemas now. And you all have free time. So grab your primemates, sit in some simian seats with your buckets of bananas and have a real swinging time. Im going to stop now. PS. One last thing. If they could have had Koba do a Jungle Book tune whilst dancing around then that would really have just been the cherry on the cake. That I would pay to see!
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 21:09:01 +0000
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