http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/2014-07-14/Dawn-of-the-Planet-of-the-Apes-Dawn-of-Some-Sense-Finally-101837
Finally,
the studio executives, writers, and the director get it right with an apes
sequel. Most of the apes sequels had nonsensical
names, and were terrible with utter lack of creativity. They were dished out
only to milk the fan base of the original.
Even Tim Burton could not get it right in 2001. It was a good decision
to reboot it in 2011 instead of trying to explain the ape statue at the Lincoln
Memorial!
Most
fans of the apes movies loved only the 1968 original. The fact that most people
rented the original and ignored the sequels bears testimony to its popularity.
The original had a great premise and it had Charlton Heston! The climactic shot
of a buried Statue of Liberty shocks as well as informs the audience that the
ape evolution happened not on some distant planet but on earth itself. However, one wondered about the lousiness of
the space mission that was actually aimed at some distant planet. The
astronauts traveled light years, probably in circles, to land back on earth a
few thousand years into future! The space vehicle was actually a time machine!
How stupid is that?
When
one learns that popular actors of the time played the apes in all the five
original movies, it does not make much sense. Anyone could have played the
roles and it would not have made any difference to the audience. It looked like
the actors were wearing masks though it was actually heavy ape make up.
Beneath
the Planet of the Apes was perhaps the most dim-witted apes sequel. It had
psychic humans who survived a nuclear apocalypse and lived in a forbidden zone
while apes grew dominant everywhere around them. When conflict ensues between
the dominant apes and the humans, the humans detonate the Alpha-Omega bomb that
destroys the earth for good! No wonder Charlton Heston was not even a wee bit
interested and wanted his character to be killed off for good so that the
franchise would not need him in further sequels.
This
latest apes sequel does not have such illogical stuff as some obscure gas that inexplicably
increase the intelligence of apes overnight, electromagnetic storms that push
you thousands of years into future, or a space vehicle that travels light years
only to land in the same place. It is a great story about the difficulty of
leadership in turbulent times, how a handful of bigoted individuals can scuttle
peace between two warring communities, about how fear and hatred fan distrust, and
about discovering that members of your community are equally capable of
betrayal and are not above your enemies in moral stature. The director Matt Reeves says that the
premise of this movie is what happened when there was a chance for peace
between humans and apes.
Ceaser
is the leader of the apes who revolted against humans in Rise of the Planet of
the Apes, the launch film of the rebooted series. The apes take refuge in a
California forest and thrive. It has been ten years since the human race
infected itself with the fatal simian virus. The virus decimates the human race.
The
apes have not spotted a human in years and almost presume that the human race
is extinct. A small band of human survivors then arrive to locate and repair a
dam that may provide power to their dilapidated San Francisco camp. Humans and apes reach a fragile peace.
However, fear and hatred fan distrust on both sides and conflict ensues.
There
is no question on who wins the war between humans and apes. After all, it is
supposed to be the planet of the apes and not of humans ultimately. “Dawn”
documents the moment when humans struggle for survival and the apes take their
first step towards dominance.
The
main and supporting cast all did a great job. Andy Serkis, who is known for his
motion-capture roles, returns for the role of Ceaser. Jason Clarke does a good
job as the benevolent human leader. Keri
Russell plays his wife. Toby Kebbell plays the motion-captured role of Koba, an
ape who had been a lab rat and develops hatred for humans as a result. Gary Oldman plays Koba’s human counterpart, a
leader who lost his dear ones to simian flu and has only hatred for apes.
“Dawn”
is perhaps the best movie of the franchise so far and with the same director
returning to action, fans can’t wait for the next sequel.
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