Dawn of the Planet of the Apes product reviews

I honestly was not looking forward to watching this. I hate the end result of man kind being forced to be slaves to the apes. But, I have to admit I really enjoyed it and I got so much more out of the movie then I expected. This movie actually restored my faith in the human race. For some reason watching the apes have the exact same conflicts as the humans helped me realise that humans are not all that bad. Yes you have your bad dudes that just want to kill everyone and cause distruction but then on the other hand you have your good ones that despite the repercutions still fights for the rights of everyone else.

The apes all had a human like quality and the facials where fascinating to watch. I do like Andy Serkis and usually enjoy anything he is attached to so was no surprise when found out he played the role of Ceasar with the help of green screen. It is a movie you can actually just sit back and enjoy without over thinking anything. Its not complicated at all. Humans need something to help with there survival where the apes just want to be left alone. Although it slows in areas it still holds your attention for the whole movie and leaves you wanting more.

I loved the fact it showed all sides of man and beast and proves that everyone has different views on what they find is to be their own truth and beliefs. It has enough action to keep everyone hooked but also looks at emotions and relationships. Actually a surprisingly good watch.

I had always joked about the title of this movie. seeing as the original film this was based on was 'Planet of the Apes', and the first film of this series was 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes', perhaps the next film would be the 'Launch of the Planet of the Apes' or 'Inception of the Planet of the Apes'. My main issue with the film's name is that it makes it difficult to remember which film came first. 'Rise' and 'Dawn' are effectively the same thing.

But anyway, on to the content. This film was much more exciting to watch than the first installment of the trilogy (yes, there will be another!). With the Ape population well established in the forest, their leader Caesar has been able to create a strong community, that has strong values and ethics, valuing lives and knowledge. I was pleased to see the community hadn't accelerated too much, but had more focus of improving the defenses of their community and on social values.

Of course, this happy community was to be disrupted by humans who want something in the Apes land, and through their fear of the Apes, unfortunate events occur that throw everything into turmoil. I enjoyed watching the battle between the Good and Bad from both humans and Apes, some wanting harmony, the others wanting complete annihilation of the opposing team.

The special effects were great, and looked incredibly realistic. It was a clear indicator that Andy Serkis was involved; his performance as Gollum from Lord of the Rings is world famous. They weren't too "standing-up-y" their vocals weren't too advanced. It was the perfect balance. It highlighted the common issues with resource dependence, and the humans well-known lack of foresight when it comes to going to war for something that they want.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. With a fair amount of action, and plenty of tension, this plot had many potential turning points. Everyone knows how the story ends up, but nobody knows if it will happen in this film or in the future releases; and that keeps the interest.

I will admit that the ending did feel like it was stretched out; after certain events transpired, I had imagined a swift ending to the film; but it continued and battles within the parties eventuated. While interesting to watch from a realism point of view, it lengthened the film just a little bit too much for my liking.