A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species. Read more …
This is primarily a visual experience..and on that front it's spectacular and sophisticated.
Incoming director Matt Reeves doesn’t monkey around in taking the rejuvenated franchise baton and running with it, offering up a sequel that – narratively and visually – sets the standard for its summer-movie stablemates. Worth seeing for Serkis and Kebbell’s simian double-act alone.
The plotting here is predictable and, at times, even melodramatic...What the film does offer is full blooded action sequences.
Dawn... exceeds expectations and its predecessor with a good balance of character and action, exciting showdowns and plenty to talk about on the way home. Two opposable thumbs up.
A superbly mounted, powerfully performed, if slightly underfed Apes sequel. That Reeves is set to direct Untitled Of The Planet Of The Apes next is cause for much celebration. This guy’s fur real. No pun intended.
When factoring in the excellent special effects and the dark but involving storytelling, Dawn is a triumphant continuation of this impressively rebooted franchise.
I’m sure I’ve seen this before. Oh, I have. Just not with monkeys.
Though bold and uncompromising in some respects, the picture is largely safe and predictable at the same time, resulting in a solid slice of blockbuster spectacle that never quite lives up to its promise.
There are no monsters here, and the result is one of the smartest, most thrilling blockbusters in years.
Dawn has action and spectacle aplenty but it also has the rare ability to bring a tear to the eye.
This is the apes’ movie and Caesar’s in particular and his presence and charisma carry the picture to a large extent.
It's very enjoyable stuff.
The only pity is that it rather cheats, by making the human characters so bland, and leaving the detail of the post-apocalyptic human society so sketchy.
What redeems it all is the sense that the film-makers take their subject matter seriously and imagine their audience to be as sentient as their simian screen counterparts.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: The ape of things to come
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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