This movie reaffirms what the first one hinted at: When the apes move in, there goes the neighborhood.

Some people are going to have a go at you over this, but I thought it funny!

Also, I just want to let you know I think political correctness is crap. Take a fucking joke, people, get over it.

Poor Koba.

This movie takes everything that was promising about part one and amps it up to a whole other degree. This is an incredible film - not just from a summer blockbuster perspective, but a filmmaking perspective as well. It's this franchise's Dark Knight. It is dark, emotional, thrilling, exciting and the message is relevant and deeply felt. No film in recent memory has reminded me so much of early Spielberg. I loved all the characters and was completely invested in their journey. All the performances from the actors are great - Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman and Keri Russell all shine, and in motion capture performances Andy Serkis and particularly Toby Kebbell are brilliant. Kebbell is one of the best, most chilling villains I've seen in a while. From a directorial angle Matt Reeves outdoes himself. I've been a huge fan of his since his work on Cloverfield and his work here is spectacular. In addition to the film being a gorgeous visual spectacle, there are two absolutely incredible single-shot sequences here that I won't be able to get out of my head - both reminiscent of the famed scenes in Children of Men. Michael Giacchino also does some of his best work ever with the musical score, which provides the backing for many of the film's silent sequences (the first 10-15 minutes are pretty much dialogue free). The ending is also absolutely perfect. This is a dark movie with deep ideas, but also a rousing and crowd-pleasing summer action film. I cannot recommend it higher. I left the theater more satisfied than I have with any big release this summer. A

Planet, please, more like The Apes of San Francisco. Are we to believe they've stayed in the same place for 10 years and humans never bothered to look there before.

I liked it, but for any true ape fan, this is basically (And almost shockingly) an almost point for point remake of Battle of the Planet of the Apes, the final entry in the original series. The acting is ok, but the apes certainly outshine the humans who have little to do outside of Clarke (Who is his typical eh self). Oldman in particular is more of an extended cameo (I count about 5 scenes he's actually in) and doesn't make the impact he should, especially during his crying scene (Audience laughed). But the Apes take center stage and it works. The action scenes were ok, but it's the emotion and Animal Farm-esque story the Apes go through that is more compelling and when it works, it really works. It's not nearly as good as the first in this new series, but it's a solid followup that makes me want to know what happens next.

B+ (Definitely the only satisfying summer blockbuster outside of DOFP, Go FOX!)

Also from a sneak preview audience perspective. Easily the most disappointing set of trailers I've ever seen before such a high profile film.

Why is it shocking that this is the same story as BATTLE? RISE was a riff on CONQUEST.

It's really good. Like, really fucking good. Some are going to point out flaws or a few moments of general silliness, but they're so trivial compared to the rest of the picture. The best blockbuster of the year, easily.

Can I have a sequel tomorrow?

I'd argue that, outside of the uprising, Rise is completely different then Conquest. Where Rise was able to take the B Movie elements and turn it into a very interesting film, I think Dawn is more or less a big B movie with some of the best motion capture acting I've ever seen. Not that it really matters though, ripping off a 40 year old 4th sequel wont mean shit to the general public. The film is very good, I was just hoping for something with a little less restraint to hold onto what came before. Much like STID in that regard. I'm hoping where this one ends it looks like it might go in that direction.

I'm sad to say that Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes flat out sucks.

The screenplay is a disaster - - boring, obvious, and lashed together with copiously dire exposition, it veers from accident to stupidity to the "end".

The actors have nothing to work with and even the solid players like Keri Russell and Gary Oldman can only furiously tread water, while they went and picked the blandest doofus ever as the lead, who is that ghoul? ...yikes!

Finally, the animation itself is a failure. Sure, they're endlessly hyping it as state of the art, but that just means that the characters are firmly inhabiting the uncanny valley when they don't look photoshopped onto the backgrounds. (As I've written before - - this decade will not be remembered fondly for it's realistic cgi - - it was better more primitive and will be better again more refined.)

I loved the first reboot, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes because it had everything this one did not: characters I cared about (both human and ape), a kick-ass story, and animation that knew it's place. I had hoped the producers would see the gem that director Rupert Wyatt had unexpectedly carved for them, but instead they hired a hack to regurgitate this tripe. It is a sad day for me and for what I had thought was a promising franchise - - R.I.P. Apes 3.0 - - you've just been debooted!


0.0001 out of 5.

Too rich. You're just too much sometimes. We could make a thread predicting what movies you'll "hate" and which you'll "love" you are that obvious.

I hate that Bradley's reviews even read like a troll is writing them. There isn't a hint of originality anywhere to be found.

Don't you mean 1000.0 out of 5?

If your local public library system offers audio/video media, is partnered with the online Hoopla service, and you have a library card and know your I.D. (and sometimes PIN), Hoopla has Battle For the Planet of the Apes available for free Borrow: Here →

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/108 ... =318351105

Normally you would access Hoopla and other a/v sites through your library's website, under "e-media" or "videos". Using the above link still requires a login using your library credentials.

I mention all of this because I've just found this today!

After doing quick research... I'm curious as to why bradley hates Matt Reeves.

A few years ago, Rise of the Planet of the Apes surprised many by reviving the respected, but obviously aging franchise. Its continuation, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, is an astonishing and nearly perfect science-fiction adventure film which will again raise the franchise's credibility and presence in the contemporary pop-culture landscape. Rise is a very solid film with a few superior components, largely of the motion-capture variety, with many demanding an Oscar nomination for Andy Serkis' head-turning digital performance as the intelligent and rebellious ape Caesar. This second (or eighth) film, which finds Caesar and his forest ape clan threatened by desperate human survivors barely holding on in a ruined San Francisco, enhances and further explores what resonated with audiences before and represents an enormous overall improvement. From the dynamic opening (an almost dialogue-free depiction of the apes' woodland existence, from hunting to the seeds of power-play politics) onward, I found myself riveted. The action is crisp and exciting, blending summer-movie spectacle with a sense of ferocity and menace. The human/ape interaction, as well as the portrayal of divergent worldviews within both sides, vibrates with genuine and complex moral severity. The choices have substance. The antagonistic characters (both human and ape) operate from a place we can comprehend, even if we do not condone their behavior. The violence is considered and has quantifiable impact. On the whole, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes can and should be held up as an example of epic-scale American genre cinema at very close to its most taut and thoughtful.

A-

That would be interesting.

If you were ever to make such a thread (and I highly encourage you not to further derail this review thread), what would have been the batting average of your predictions for recent blockbuster reviews?



________________________________
Edit: I see below that Caius has had a go and predicting my taste (at least in hindsight) - - but I challenge him or anyone to predict my reviews in the future. eg: Sex Tape, Hercules, Lucy, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Into The Storm, Expendables 3, The Giver, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Love: 5/5
Hate: 4/4
Meh: 3/5 (Would have predicted Million Ways to Die as "love" and Neighbors as "hate.")

For some reason I cannot get the idea out of my head that before Rise, and I've only seen the Burton Apes, the films featured humans turning into monkeys. I know they were wearing those awful costumes in 2001 so maybe that must be why. It's so obvious it's a costume.

I couldn't disagree more. As much as anyone can criticize Burton's Apes, the costumes are awesome, and definitely state of the art. I think the fact that they were able to almost add a humanistic quality to capture the human they were making an ape one of the more unsettling and genius things Burton has ever done creatively. If Paul Giamatti was an ape, it's exactly how you would imagine it. The complete CGI apes of the series are still not as good, luckily the films are that much better.

The film isn't awful, and for the most part a fun summer film. That dam ending is just so terrible, and per usual the other human characters are terrible.

PS, you should totally see the original series. 1-3, and 5 are all really great sci fi films, that really tackle a lot of interesting ideas. 3-5 are all very much the basis for the new series as well. 4 and 5 had some really terrible costumes though outside of the main characters.

It's good, but very predictable. There wasn't a single moment of surprise and I still say the scene where Koba kills those two guys shouldn't have been in the trailer. That moment would have been a surprise. Yeah, he was going to kill them, but the execution would have been surprising.

Overall - The plot and dialogue is mediocre/predictable (I'm sure most could guess what any of the characters were about to say or do before they said or did it), the effects are great, the action sequences were good, all the ape characters are interesting, the human characters are very dull (I never really felt they were "desperate" to survive), and the score is solid. And the ending was kinda weak. B+

Fucking awesome. Best movie of the year and easily best of the summer.

And better than every 2013 movie I've seen.

Narrowly edges Edge of Tomorrow for the title of "best blockbuster of the summer" so far. An exciting, thought-provoking and often spectacularly composed film that expands upon its predecessor in satisfying directions. B+

This new Ape series is doing to the Ape franchise what the TDK trilogy did to the Batman franchise.

No it isn't, the original apes franchise is great, outside of Burton's film it is often overlooked, sure there is 70s silly ness throughout, but the series has always been above the genre. The original is still supreme.