The reviews are in and I am happy to add my voice to the rest of the worlds in acclaiming the Shakespearean (think “Julius Ceaser”) “Dawn Of The Dead” born to be a middle movie ala “Empire Strikes Back”, nothing quite complete but what is there is awesome.
But I have one problem and it is the same as it ever was, and it didn’t exist in Pierre Boulle’s 1963 sci fi novel “Planet Of The Apes” and it didn’t exist in 1968’s original movie: the allegory has stopped working, “Planet Of The Apes” starts as a why on this planet are human’s of limited intelligence and no speech? And the answer is God rid them of it and gave the Planet to the apes after mankind started a nuclear war.
Good, eh? It is Twilight Zone good,
But the need to continue the franchise ad infinitum has killed it off and if the movie is an anti-war allegory, it sure doesn’t act like one. In Part II of the reboot “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes”, ten years after Ceaser and the other apes being experimented on escaped across the San Francisco Bridge, a new ape society hasn’t been seen in two years when they are seen. the two societies clash and the result is a draw with everybody returning to their own corner to prepare for Part Three.
Andy Serkis gives an Oscar winning performance in full Simian drag as Ceaser, he acts with his eyes and commands with his presence. Nobody else shines and Gary Oldham is seriously underused and Keri Russel is virtually useless. Jason Clarke doesn’t look like a hero and can’t act it. But once you get past those problems, Matt reeves does a great job of building the tension. His excellent “Let Me In”, the pre-teen vampire movie, also built to an explosion of violence, This one is so tense as Ceaser, three steps ahead of everybody else tries to prevent the upcoming carnage.
It is a middle movie type deal so nothing is really concluded here, and it doesn’t hang together as more than an action flick, but it is a smart, exciting movie and a success as you completely buy into the Apes and their society.
Grade: B+
