All Hail Ceasar in Planet of the Apes 2

The Big Boss is back, folks! Nothing signals that better than the epic wonder of Apes riding horses in this summer’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the follow up to 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

First things first, I know a lot of us don’t care for SPOILERS (I say that in my best Prof. River Song impression), so let’s get to the guts of this review… My rating. Overall, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (or DPA as I will affectionately refer to it from this point on) was an amazing film with incredible performances from the entire cast. Especially the work of Andy Serkis (whom you may remember played the part of Golem in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy).

As you get into the film, there are moments of reading subtitles, but if you can get through things like that, then you can definitely appreciate this film. You definitely want to see this movie in theaters, and in IMAX if you can. The audio for this movie was amazing. Along with the added quality of the picture, there were moments where I felt as if I was there. It was worth every bit of money to see this movie in theaters.

Caution: Spoilers Ahead

This was definitely a movie that went to the apes. The story takes place 10 years after the events of the first movie (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). The effects of the virus used to bring the apes to their now enlightened state of mind has had adverse effects on the human race. Dubbed as the “Simian Flu” the virus ravaged humanity and nearly wiped them out. When the movie starts, we are joined with Caesar and his tribe on the hunt.

Watching the apes at the beginning of the film you get to see how much Caesar’s character has progressed from the first movie. The last time we were with Caesar, he took his band of apes and withdrew from humanity after seeing the capacity for hatred and fear. He’s settled into quite the family man and has preserved his people protecting them and keeping them from humanity. The story sets itself up once the apes come across a small group of humans looking for a power source to fuel their city set up in the ruins of San Francisco.

My favorite part of this movie has to be the talent force that is Andy Serkis (Caesar). His portrayal of Caesar is something that I think will garner him respect in the acting community. This role will do one of two things for Serkis: 1) Gain him a nomination for best actor at the Oscars, or 2) open the door for a new award genre for the Academy Awards. Yes, he was THAT good. Toby Kebbell also did an incredible job as Koba, the ape scarred by humanity and warped by his hatred of them. Koba proves to be an interesting villain in the movie, being a product of the wrong done to him by humanity.

Gary Oldman is another tour de force that goes without saying. Oldman’s role was not as large as the original trailers alluded, but his character almost acts as a mirror to Caesar for humanity. A man that only wishes to protect his tribe of humanity, we get to watch him exhibit a range of different emotions in a short amount of time. As short as his appearance is in the movie, Oldman manages to introduce us to a man who simply wants to survive in this new state of things.

The character of Malcolm (played by Jason Clarke) acts as a bridge between the humans and the apes. I can only describe his role as being very similar to the role of Dr. Will Rodman (played by James Franco) in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Caesar is given the opportunity to forgive humanity through Malcolm.

The movie was an incredible showcase of the many facets of humanity and how fear and misunderstanding can warp individuals into the darkest of figures. Overall, DPA was worth the time to see it in theaters and definitely deserves a look over by the masses. Go see it today, folks. You will definitely enjoy yourselves.