Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, 2014. Mistrust between intelligent apes and post-apocalyptic humans leads to conflict.

Directed by Matt Reeves. Written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, & Amanda Silver; characters by Jaffa & Silver; based on a book by Pierre Boulle. Starring Andy Serkis & Jason Clarke, with Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, & Toby Kebbell.

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: It's got intelligent writing, believable characters, amazing visuals, and everything about the world seems real. It takes itself very seriously - as seriously as if it were a film about a real war. There's never even the slightest break from darkness. There are some really cool Apes Kicking Ass shots, but in context they're too tragic to be fun. And there's zero suspense - everything is too inevitable for that. It's an impressive movie, though, and I look forward to when they finally get around to remaking the original. B

GPA: 3.3/4