Year: 2014
Director: Matt Reeves
Screenplay: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri
Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Synopsis is here
For me, the biggest issue with the ever expanding summer
film season, has a lot to do with the frequently changing narrative that occurs
very Friday. As each tent pole gets released, last week’s film, and the column
inches that come with it. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was released a week
before Guardians of the Galaxy exploded onto the scene, yet it feels like the
good word that came with the film had been lost by how to make dancing Groot
pages. This is something of a shame. I for one believe that Dawn of the Planet
of the Apes is the more effective film.
The nostalgia loving fans of Guardian of the galaxy were
quick to label their film fun. In fact, to hold any argument to some people,
that was the only statement given. “Shut up. It’s fun!” That’s all you need. The
near obsessive call to have blockbusters that only seem to call back to the
considered glory years of the 1980’s is more than a little strange. Mainly to
the superficiality of it all. The likes of Chris Pratt’s slightly slobby space
rouge gives a warm fuzzy feeling to those still whipped up in the eighties
revival party, in that it’s different (new source) but not (comfortably
familiar). James Gunn’s jovial yet frivolous feature utilises the slightly
tiring template to a tee. Yet that doesn’t matter too much because fun is Chris
Pratt. Whom I’ve already witnessed on meme replacing his face over Harrison
Ford’s in Indiana Jones. New face, same feel.
It is here I find Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the
Apes as a much more forward thinking creature. It finds enjoyment in the
grooves of the uncomfortable. It is also fun, but it’s prepared to suggest more
than quick flashes of amusement. Its opening credits are an impressive world
map of lights as the deadly simian flu slowly begins to take hold of the globe.
From the start it primes us for risk, in a blockbuster world where we’re doing
our best to ensure our heroes, like the goddamn Goonies, never die.
Drawing heavily from the themes, ideas and motifs that
appeared across the whole of the original franchise; Dawn, like its processor
Rise, is a taut and economic blockbuster. While the film still comes in at over
two hours, Dawn observes the franchise’s important areas of focus and compiles
in one film, what the four original sequels needlessly stretched out
excessively. Much of this stems from a keener eye on the narrative from both
the screenwriters and director. But Dawn’s highly praised technological elements,
heavily improve upon the issues being placed across. The CGI allows apes with
more distinction. The money spent allows world building of a grander scale and
more plausible action. All this combined together gives us an action feature
that is often, more the sum of its parts.
Bookended by a pair of watchful, unwavering primate eyes,
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is quick to throw us into the world of the apes
before we ever see a human. The film forces us to absorb their world; a mixture
of overgrown jungle and lost suburbia. We observe the apes; their ways of communication
(mostly sign language) and their laws and social structure. What fascinated me
about the film’s opening, is just how much the film is pushing us to relate to
the apes way of being over the humans. Peter Jackson’s King Kong has elements
of this, but nothing to this extent. By the end of the first act, I felt totally
accustomed to their ways and habitat. Matt Brown expressed difficulty in
relating to Ceasar and the apes in his always intelligent MAMO podcast, however
when placing in consideration the socio-political aspirations and ideals that
lie within franchise, (both old and new) as well as the unnervingly timely events that
have occurred in St Louis, These new chapters in the apes saga seem quick to express
that we as an audience need to address who or what we relate to within a movie
screen. In a world where no one had a problem with a science teacher, becoming a
drug overlord, we should be ok with intelligent apes. I certainly was.
Once the film's human characters enter the frame, Reeves’
carefully ratchets the tension from scene to scene. Tentative alliances are
balanced in such a way that even smaller scenes lay delicately on tender hooks.
We’re never too sure about whether the mood will change due to a gesture, tone of
voice, or a stray bullet. Reeves’ film shows the assertiveness that came with the
likes of Let Me In and Cloverfield, but Dawn has allowed his confidence to
really flourish in his storytelling. The film’s screenplay is smart enough, but
there are decisions in the visuals, characters and storytelling that are clearly
showing a steady growth of a mainstream filmmaker. It’s certainly becoming
extremely clear of the faith, directors have with Andy Serkis, whose
positioning within the motion capture world is one of extreme importance,
particularly within this world.
Dawn does struggle with a few issues. The films pacing in
the latter stages is not ideal, with elements of the climax feeling a little
tacked on. Granted the film underground section wishes to nod to Beneath the
Planet of the Apes, but the film's pace slows right down and the film loses some
of the tension that was built. The film also follows the blockbuster trend of
not really knowing what to do with its female characters. Keri Russell has more
agency as a nurse than Sally Field in The Amazing Spiderman 2 or Elizabeth
Olson in Godzilla, but she seems hardly essential to the plot. The films action
is well structured and delivers us a wonderfully iconic image of rampant monkey carnage
on horseback, yet no set piece feels as strong as the Golden Gate Bridge
sequence from Rise.
This maybe because I was more caught up in the film's
storytelling than anything else. A small but smart touch is having one of the
film's characters, teach Cornelius English with a certain graphic novel, which
like the Trouble man album found in Captain America: The Winter Solider says
more about the film's themes than is the first lead on. When a supporting character,
Carver begins to sound off about apes and their aggressiveness, I’m suddenly
reminded of real life behaviors sounding eerily similar. Such moments evoke a
gut impact that’s hard to shake off.
Meanwhile, the behavior of the film’s two antagonists isn’t
just “bad guy” plot mechanics, they stem organically character's history and
past interactions. What’s significant about both “villains” is they’re not necessarily
wrong in their actions. Both appear to want the best for each side. Both antagonists are more engaging than
anything Ronan the Destroyer can muster.
On its surface, Dawn of the Planets of the apes is a solid
blockbuster. A thrilling popcorn cruncher when it needs to be. It’s a “fun”
movie, which is what everyone wants it seems. Under the hood, however, is an
emotional and intelligent piece, which provokes the kind of responses that have
slowly been disappearing from the mainstream blockbuster. Dawn casts its eye
over themes such as civil rights, humanity and survival with a keenness in its
eye that a viewer like myself will lap up with a hungry enthusiasm. The Planet
of the Apes are now eight films deep and span over four decades. Now, with this
recent interruption of the material, we are once again reminded that if we take
off the rose tinted glasses of “fun” we can still enjoy escapist thrills while
taking on board thoughtful and on point commentary. Same face. Fresh feelings.
