Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)

[The Futurist]

This movie rocked beyond belief.

Loved every second of it.

Movie s a milestone in VFX history, most important VFX movie since the first Transformers.

No stupid jokes, this movie believed in its characters and its story, each character had dilemas,qualities and flaws ( the human played by Kirk Acevedo was not a cliché, those people do exist, when you are controlled by your fear and your weak nerves,, you can't really control yourself and you re gonna end up doing something stupid/harmful) and I think it was a pretty clever take on the human/ape condition and how sometimes it is very difficult to take the good decision given certain circumstances.

Survival, fear of the alien/unknown, preemptive warfare, family, building bridges between races, this movie touched on many fascinating subjects.

The last conversation between Caesar and Jason Clarke was heartbreaking, I chocked up. Sometimes, even with the best intentions, you don't reach your goal and war becomes a harsh reality you cannot escape from ... They both tried so hard but failed in the end.

 

A+++

[Blankments]

This holds up well with a rewatch. Very nice cinematography too; see, Jay, this aspect ratio can be used well for scale!

 

 

I'm guilty of this stereotype too haha

[JohnnyGossamer]

I received this on Blu-Ray for the holiday, then immediately re-gifted it at a White Elephant gift exchange after enjoying it even less the second time around. I do respect it but don't really like. Though, again, I'm glad movie with a hard edge and penchant for science fiction like this one are out there.

[Rufus Magillicutty]

Maurice was awesome. There was just something great that I can't put my finger on about that moment when Caesar has been shot, the town is on fire and he just tells the humans to run. Such unwavering belief that they were not responsible in any way regardless of the apparent evidence.

What I loved about that moment from a directorial stand point is that its the only time you hear Maurice speak. The way Matt Reeves used the apes speech was absolutely brilliant. He didn't start off with them all chattering away. I think it would have been too much too quick. You'd never buy into the apes as real because you'd be think it was hokie from the beginning. But he eased them into it a few words at a time. Used little subtle visuals like Caesar having to hold his throat to vocalize. With Maurice they held back his speech well after the other apes had began using multiple sentences. I was actually wandering at that point if he could talk at all. Then to use that moment for him to simply say "RUN" made a huge impact.

 

That's how you design a film. Absolutely Brilliant.

[Rufus Magillicutty]

Ok I'm getting in on this late. I only just watched it a few weeks ago. X-mas gift    

 

For me it's an A+

 

This is going to be one of my all time favorite movies. You guys have touched on pretty much everything I liked about the movie. There's allot of love here for it so I won't do a play by play break down. I just have to touch on a couple of my favs.

 

First and foremost I'd like to give praise to Almighty God for making this hap................uhhh...wait.  Sorry that's my - I just won the whatever ball championship speech. Sorry.

 

 

*Ahem*   First I have to reiterate how phenomenal Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell and the whole CGI team are. I absolutely 100% believe this film is proof that they need to create a new award category. Oscars, Globes, MTV or Peoples Choice ... all of them. It should be a regular category just like supporting actor or cinematography. Only problem with that is that Andy would be the only winner for at least the next 5 years. In all seriousness though I was dumbfounded by the acting of the "apes/actors" and that they were all CGI. My brain literally would not accept it as fake. The weight and movement, the hair and eye refractions, the expressions and character were all just so damned real that I bought them as absolutely real. I'm telling you guys that scene where Koba plays dumb with the humans to get away was rendered so insanely perfect that I just couldn't believe it was all CGI. And I know damn well it was all CGI.

 

I agree with Futurist that this is a milestone in VFX history.......but I'm not sure I'd say TF was one.    I'd go back to Jurassic Park or T2 to mark that as a milestone. 

 

The next thing I thought was fantastic was the whole tone. Some have bemoaned that fact that it was slow or the action wasn't "fun". Well - It wasn't meant to be. Not every movie can be "The Raid". Room after room of blood shed and horrific violence designed to make the audience cheer for more like Roman citizens riled up into a blood lust frenzy. I thought the way Reeves depicted the war and violence was perfect. The tone was dark and ominous so to suddenly have a Yeehaw shoot'em up moment would destroy everything they had done to that point. There were definitely some great visual moments and character moments but you never really root for one side or the other. As I mentioned in a previous post about the design of the film I think this was a master piece of film design. 

 

For the movie to work you have to believe in the apes. In caesar. They have to be characters not VFX. I think everything from the color pallet to the environments to the weather and the understated music was designed to make the world as real as possible so when you ask the audience to believe in something that is not real it isn't such a leap. It's actually very similar to what Nolan did to Batman. It's a great technique for adding realism to an otherwise unrealistic character.

Edited January 10, 2015 by Rufus Magillicutty

[Lordmandeep]

2014 box office may have been down.

 

 

However the blockbusters were all great.

 

CA2, DOFP, Apes 2, GOTG.

 

Was a great run. 

[FTF]

Saw this again on Blu and such a great movie. In my top 5 of the year.

[solaris]

I must watch this again. Really really liked and admired this on first viewing but didn't fall for it like everyone else seemed to. Looking forward to where they take the series next.

[MrFanaticGuy34]

A visually great work on the apes, themselves. Andy Serkis as Caesar, still brings a strength to this reboot franchise. And the climax was pretty good too.

 

It treated itself more serious than any other blockbusters from 2014.

 

A+

[Moviedweeb]

I think this a modern sci-fi masterpiece. A+

[The Futurist]

I think this a modern sci-fi masterpiece. A+

 

My review was glowing but the movie ages even better in my head.

 

This is definitely a contender for all time great lists.

What Weta Digital & Sirkis and all the apes actors accomplished still leaves me speechless, 2 minutes in the movie, you stop asking yourself if the apes are real or not, there are just living and breathing creatures dealing with life, dilemmas, emotions,love, friendship, kindness, violence etc

 

My favorite movie of 2014 easily with How to train Your Dragon 2.

Edited August 23, 2015 by The Futurist

[Ethan Hunt]

I love this fucking movie to pieces especially the gas station scene but Rise is still better

[RobinHood26]

After a rewatch B (84)

[Goffe]

Has much nicer production values and Reeves's direction is a whole level above Wyatt's. 

 

Its problem lies on the script, which is populated by hatefully stupid characters (the simian flu seems to have mostly killed people with IQ over 90), conveniences and bad exposition. It's tuuurrible.

 

70/100

Edited February 8, 2016 by Goffe

[Blankments]

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a marked improvement off its predecessor. Although the humans could use a tad more development, they're still pretty interesting, thanks to a charismatic performance by Clarke. The real star are the titular primates, with Serkis delivering another fantastic performance. Kebbell's Koba steals the show, being a rare modern blockbuster villain that's more than memorable. He's terrifying, a force of nature that is unpredictable yet methodical in his approach. The action and cinematography are top-notch, and Reeves directs with a confidence that may be lacking in style but always engages. The visuals are top-of-the-line and constantly make you forget you're not watching real apes on screen. The only notable flaw is Giacchino's distracting score, which has a solid theme for Koba but generic dullness for the rest. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a remarkable sequel that improves on the original in ways previously thought impossible. It's a prime example of a pulpy blockbuster, with memorable characters and setpieces with dynamics rarely exploited in modern big-budget filmmaking. B+