Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

[missgotty]

Brilliant, definately recommend!

8.5/10

[funthing29]

Excellent on so many levels. Serkis and Kebbell are brilliant and it is amazing how strongly the audience connects with the ape and human characters. I think I have to give this film a 10/10. One of my favourites of the year.

Edit: I was a bit overenthusiastic in my rating and find it more deserving of 9.5/10.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

Just came back from seeing this. One of the handful of films I made sure I squeeze in my hectic summer work overload.

I loved "Rise" and I recall I gave it a 9.5/10. I wish I had now given it a lower mark because despite my high anticipation for the sequel, I never imagined that it would be so far superior in every way which certainly does not reflect the mere 0.5 mark I have remaining to give it for its deserved maximum.

This movie does not even need the novelty of human behaving apes and their technical bravura to still be a magnificent ,emotional driven and thrilling epic. For the true brilliance of this film lies in the narrative of fragility in peace and warfare between two species which could have been simply two different human nationalities/race/religion. But man, having said that, the apes rock so hard here, they elevate this film to more than just simply brilliant.

And what a time to release this film, reflecting the very essence of the same fragility that plagues the world nations today (actually, on second thoughts any time would be the right time). A reflection of every animal species (we dumbass homosapiens included) internal conflicts of ideas, power, greed, rationality, vengeance, compassion, hatred and love. All those elements are drawn out here to such incredible depth, in a powerful narrative structure, superbly performed by all and confidently directed with a dramatic and emotional punch.

As for the performances well, I am going to ignore the fact that these are motion captured human performances with cgi overlay for a moment and assess their performances as if they were fully real apes. Ceasar played by Andy Serkis is simply astounding but we all expect that didn't we? Because Serkis is king. You only have to see him in human form action as Gollum/King Kong/Caesar etc to know what a great nuanced actor he really is both physically and vocally. But he doesn't actually steal the show here like he normally does. The supporting ape actors shine just as bright holding their own against him, especially a character called Koba...who in fact DOES steal the show from Serkis's Ceasar. A brilliant character that will make you gasp and react in extreme ways.

The humans once again, play second fiddle to the apes but they do get a lot of screen time for us to care one way or another about their actions and fate and importantly to draw comparisons between the two different species. Gary Oldman, as usual provides a reassuring presence even when there isnt a great deal for him to do as was the case here but nevertheless he makes the most of it.


Then there is the score by the increasingly great Michael Giacchino adding even more quality heft to this astounding epic. He has been using a touch of choir lately in recent blockbusters such as the Star Trek films but here, he really lets loose with them giving the film a sense of throwback to the likes of the 50s biblical epics such as Ten Commandments and Ben Hur. There is a distinct biblical drive in this score which to be honest, in other circumstances, I would have found it arrogant to be used in a popcorn blockbuster but this film truly deserves the full choir treatment.

If there is one flaw it would be that, a couple of the human support characters are a little too caricatured in their behaviour which felt unrealistic but understandably needed to drive the narrative. Also, there are a couple of coincidental scenes which stretches plausibility but again, a necessity for the all important narrative.

Finally, i saw this in 3D and it was very effective in use of depth (but of course as always on a cinema screen, the colours are muted but the nature of this film doesnt suffer too much from that). A passive 3D TV will certainly deliver a superb experience when it becomes available on Blu Ray which will be a must b*y for me. Ive been a firm hater of 3D in Live action movies but much progress has been made recently effectively polarising my opinion, they just now need to improve the contrast and vibrance in cinema showings which is down to the cinemas themselves to make the effort.

I have avoided all trailers for this film and all the recent posts while the film was out, so will be catching up on those now, to see what some of you guys thought :)

But first....Hail Ceasar and hail the renewed Planet of the Apes franchise!

10/10

[valda]

Just came back from seeing this. One of the handful of films I made sure I squeeze in my hectic summer work overload.

I loved "Rise" and I recall I gave it a 9.5/10. I wish I had now given it a lower mark because despite my high anticipation for the sequel, I never imagined that it would be so far superior in every way which certainly does not reflect the mere 0.5 mark I have remaining to give it for its deserved maximum.

This movie does not even need the novelty of human behaving apes and their technical bravura to still be a magnificent ,emotional driven and thrilling epic. For the true brilliance of this film lies in the narrative of fragility in peace and warfare between two species which could have been simply two different human nationalities/race/religion. But man, having said that, the apes rock so hard here, they elevate this film to more than just simply brilliant.

And what a time to release this film, reflecting the very essence of the same fragility that plagues the world nations today (actually, on second thoughts any time would be the right time). A reflection of every animal species (we dumbass homosapiens included) internal conflicts of ideas, power, greed, rationality, vengeance, compassion, hatred and love. All those elements are drawn out here to such incredible depth, in a powerful narrative structure, superbly performed by all and confidently directed with a dramatic and emotional punch.

As for the performances well, I am going to ignore the fact that these are motion captured human performances with cgi overlay for a moment and assess their performances as if they were fully real apes. Ceasar played by Andy Serkis is simply astounding but we all expect that didn't we? Because Serkis is king. You only have to see him in human form action as Gollum/King Kong/Caesar etc to know what a great nuanced actor he really is both physically and vocally. But he doesn't actually steal the show here like he normally does. The supporting ape actors shine just as bright holding their own against him, especially a character called Koba...who in fact DOES steal the show from Serkis's Ceasar. A brilliant character that will make you gasp and react in extreme ways.

The humans once again, play second fiddle to the apes but they do get a lot of screen time for us to care one way or another about their actions and fate and importantly to draw comparisons between the two different species. Gary Oldman, as usual provides a reassuring presence even when there isnt a great deal for him to do as was the case here but nevertheless he makes the most of it.


Then there is the score by the increasingly great Michael Giacchino adding even more quality heft to this astounding epic. He has been using a touch of choir lately in recent blockbusters such as the Star Trek films but here, he really lets loose with them giving the film a sense of throwback to the likes of the 50s biblical epics such as Ten Commandments and Ben Hur. There is a distinct biblical drive in this score which to be honest, in other circumstances, I would have found it arrogant to be used in a popcorn blockbuster but this film truly deserves the full choir treatment.

If there is one flaw it would be that, a couple of the human support characters are a little too caricatured in their behaviour which felt unrealistic but understandably needed to drive the narrative. Also, there are a couple of coincidental scenes which stretches plausibility but again, a necessity for the all important narrative.

Finally, i saw this in 3D and it was very effective in use of depth (but of course as always on a cinema screen, the colours are muted but the nature of this film doesnt suffer too much from that). A passive 3D TV will certainly deliver a superb experience when it becomes available on Blu Ray which will be a must b*y for me. Ive been a firm hater of 3D in Live action movies but much progress has been made recently effectively polarising my opinion, they just now need to improve the contrast and vibrance in cinema showings which is down to the cinemas themselves to make the effort.

I have avoided all trailers for this film and all the recent posts while the film was out, so will be catching up on those now, to see what some of you guys thought :)

But first....Hail Ceasar and hail the renewed Planet of the Apes franchise!

10/10

You say it all so well, its a bout time you found time for a blog

[valda]

Just came back from seeing this. One of the handful of films I made sure I squeeze in my hectic summer work overload.

I loved "Rise" and I recall I gave it a 9.5/10. I wish I had now given it a lower mark because despite my high anticipation for the sequel, I never imagined that it would be so far superior in every way which certainly does not reflect the mere 0.5 mark I have remaining to give it for its deserved maximum.

This movie does not even need the novelty of human behaving apes and their technical bravura to still be a magnificent ,emotional driven and thrilling epic. For the true brilliance of this film lies in the narrative of fragility in peace and warfare between two species which could have been simply two different human nationalities/race/religion. But man, having said that, the apes rock so hard here, they elevate this film to more than just simply brilliant.

And what a time to release this film, reflecting the very essence of the same fragility that plagues the world nations today (actually, on second thoughts any time would be the right time). A reflection of every animal species (we dumbass homosapiens included) internal conflicts of ideas, power, greed, rationality, vengeance, compassion, hatred and love. All those elements are drawn out here to such incredible depth, in a powerful narrative structure, superbly performed by all and confidently directed with a dramatic and emotional punch.

As for the performances well, I am going to ignore the fact that these are motion captured human performances with cgi overlay for a moment and assess their performances as if they were fully real apes. Ceasar played by Andy Serkis is simply astounding but we all expect that didn't we? Because Serkis is king. You only have to see him in human form action as Gollum/King Kong/Caesar etc to know what a great nuanced actor he really is both physically and vocally. But he doesn't actually steal the show here like he normally does. The supporting ape actors shine just as bright holding their own against him, especially a character called Koba...who in fact DOES steal the show from Serkis's Ceasar. A brilliant character that will make you gasp and react in extreme ways.

The humans once again, play second fiddle to the apes but they do get a lot of screen time for us to care one way or another about their actions and fate and importantly to draw comparisons between the two different species. Gary Oldman, as usual provides a reassuring presence even when there isnt a great deal for him to do as was the case here but nevertheless he makes the most of it.


Then there is the score by the increasingly great Michael Giacchino adding even more quality heft to this astounding epic. He has been using a touch of choir lately in recent blockbusters such as the Star Trek films but here, he really lets loose with them giving the film a sense of throwback to the likes of the 50s biblical epics such as Ten Commandments and Ben Hur. There is a distinct biblical drive in this score which to be honest, in other circumstances, I would have found it arrogant to be used in a popcorn blockbuster but this film truly deserves the full choir treatment.

If there is one flaw it would be that, a couple of the human support characters are a little too caricatured in their behaviour which felt unrealistic but understandably needed to drive the narrative. Also, there are a couple of coincidental scenes which stretches plausibility but again, a necessity for the all important narrative.

Finally, i saw this in 3D and it was very effective in use of depth (but of course as always on a cinema screen, the colours are muted but the nature of this film doesnt suffer too much from that). A passive 3D TV will certainly deliver a superb experience when it becomes available on Blu Ray which will be a must b*y for me. Ive been a firm hater of 3D in Live action movies but much progress has been made recently effectively polarising my opinion, they just now need to improve the contrast and vibrance in cinema showings which is down to the cinemas themselves to make the effort.

I have avoided all trailers for this film and all the recent posts while the film was out, so will be catching up on those now, to see what some of you guys thought :)

But first....Hail Ceasar and hail the renewed Planet of the Apes franchise!

10/10

You say it all so well, its a bout time you found time for a blog

[D-Fens]

Thought it was a good sequel but not a great movie. Entire plot hinges on stupid decisions being made and doesn't really make sense in the time frame presented. Human characters are non-existent so could have made the whole thing from an apes POV.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

You say it all so well, its a bout time you found time for a blog

Thanks Valda but can FMUK count as my blog? Seriously, I much rather vent and share my thoughts here because there is more interactivity. The film is still lingering in my mind, I have a very strong desire to see it one more time at some point this week.



Of all the great and cool scenes in the film, the moment that really hit me was a sombre realisation of the what the film was about and its defining message:

Spoiler

Show

...it was a short and sombre scene at the end, particularly two lines that were said.

Malcolm: "I thought we had a chance"
Caesar: "I thought so too"

It just simply brought home not just of their unfortunate circumstances but of our own reality, a world walking a tightrope over an endless fire pit where war and peace can be influenced by individuals and fate ruled by chance on whether the individual leaders are rational or irrational, fair or unfair, destructive or peacemaking.

[deb1]

I'm so looking forward to seeing this, especially after all these wonderful reviews. Only just got round to watching the first film when it was on tv on Saturday night and thoroughly enjoyed - much more than I thought I would have.

[RAZORBACK]

Saw this earlier today and although I thought it was the best movie to be released this month I don't think it's close to being the best movie of 2014.

I guess high expectations played a part in this but despite thoroughly enjoying this film it didn't affect me emotionally as much as I'd hoped it would.

I also found the sign language based subtitles quite irritating as a lot of time they were either unnecessary or seemed to be adding words that weren't being used. However the biggest criticism I can place against this film is in it's handling of 'Koba'.

For the first half of the film he was a wonderfully complex character (with genuinely good reasons to feel hate towards humans) but after that he was transformed into a relatively two dimensional villain and the transition really didn't work...at least as far as I was concerned.

That said (& criticisms aside), this still represented a positive viewing experience overall therefore it gets a mid to high 8/10 from me...

[tonethestone]

Absolutely outstanding film on all levels, my 2nd fave film this yr behind Wolf of Wall Street.