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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes


Movie Review for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

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Motion capture technology is continuously advancing year after year. I remember watching The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in the cinema when I was 8, not remotely bothered by Gollum because all I wanted to do was be Gandalf. Just watching him lead the Rohirrim into the battle of Helms Deep like an insane old badass blew my tiny little brain away. Even though I'm meant to be an adult, deep down I still want to be Gandalf. It was only until my teenage years and read the LOTR books that I appreciated Gollum so much more as a character. Gollum was a big breakthrough in film and for motion capture. It was the first real time motion system that imputed the actions of Andy Serkis into the computer generated Gollum whilst he was acting. I have massive respect for Andy Serkis. The amount of effort he has put into developing motion capture has been immense. He is the pioneer of this type of technology. I remember him saying in an interview that when he first went onto the set filming in a spandex suit with sensors all over him, people couldn't stop laughing and didn't take it seriously at all. A gimmick. The gamble for him paid off and now he's being recruited as a consultant to many films attempting to use motion capture. There has been numerous debate between the film community on how much of Serkis's character success is down to himself as an actor with the various body language and voice overs, and how much assistance does the technology have with his performances. The prequel to this film Rise of the Planet of the Apes showed me that Caesar, played by Serkis, was a not only a brilliant visual character but that the acting shone through. This new film should put any doubters to bed.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes continues the story from its predecessor 10 years later, with Caesar and the apes creating a new home just outside San Francisco, home to the remaining human survivors of a deadly man-made virus who try to regain some form of power by using the old dam, which is sitting on the land occupied by the apes. A power struggle ensues between the humans and the apes, as well as a power struggle between the apes themselves. Firstly this film looks absolutely fantastic. Every single scene is shot with so much care and attention, that it creates such a engrossing atmosphere that keeps you hooked. The film's visual effects are in a different league. The apes look incredible. The motion capture work is so detailed that you immediately buy into them as characters, because they all have different faces and expressions. You can tell that they aren't just CGI creations made with just the tech guys, they're actual actors. It's a break taking experience that I've never seen in a cinema before. The character of Caesar is so interesting and intriguing, that you care about him so much. Andy Serkis is faultless as Caesar. He has acting talent in abundance. If there are still critics who believe motion capture isn't true acting, you're wrong. This is one of the best acting experiences I've seen this year. It's not just Caesar who has character development, the entire main cast has a back story, so you can understand where is character is coming from and why they feel in certain ways. Because of this, you feel sympathetic towards the "villains" in the film and you understand the motives for their actions. It's fantastic writing. The human performances lead by Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman are very natural and feel grounded. They don't try and hog the spotlight because ultimately it's Caesars film and they do a great job. Oldman in one scene showed his acting class that brought out so emotion without even saying a line. Not only is it a quality film, it still has the popcorn summer blockbuster action film aspects, with the big fight scenes and the apes shooting weapons on horses, which again are shot to perfection.

The director deserves the biggest credit for this film's success. What Matt Reeves has done is combine a powerful story with compelling characters and still have a big summer film feel with well crafted action scenes, which have so much entertainment value. It's very hard to achieve but he has done it. Faultless acting, great story, crazy action. It's my perfect kind of movie. Best film of the year so far.

10/10