anh-94946 I really liked Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but this one is so much better. Just everything about this movie is pitch perfect. The biggest improvement from the last one is that the human characters were significantly more interesting. Also, this movie has probably the most creepy/sad opening ever. I love this movie.

Pjtaylor-96-138044 One of the best things about this entertaining and intelligent action-thriller is the way that it doesn't pick sides, doesn't paint the humans as stereotypical villains in the way that something like, say, 'Avatar (2009)' does. Instead, it portrays its delicate situation with nuance in a way which allows everyone's perspective to be both clear and understandable. Even the main ape antagonist, who's militant sensibilities stem from a deep-rooted mistrust in humanity established in the prior title, has reasonable and somewhat supportable motivations. Once the set-up is out of the way and the action - which is bigger in scope, spectacle and success this time - begins, the feature still keeps its focus on character and this is what allows it to remain as emotionally resonant as it really is. 9/10

Michael Ledo Roddy McDowall is now out of a job being replaced by a sexless CG ape. During the opening credits we quickly discover the ALZ 113 virus has killed off many humans creating a quarantine condition which for some unexplained reason caused rioting and killing off more humans. In spite of the weak plot point, it was more probable then the original dog/cat virus which lead to breeding apes with long gestation periods as pets.The film spends time building ape character with perfect English syntax subtitles. In this plot, our quarantined humans are running short on fuel and seek to restart a hydro-electric dam in ape territory and seem willing to go to war for oil, er ah, energy if need be. Koba, a neo-con ape, doesn't trust the humans and wants to have a first strike. (Koba was a nickname for Stalin.)Some of the initial soundtrack and imagery reminded me of "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" with later scenes of cooperation reminiscent of the final film and TV series. There was nothing bad about the CG apes, except they got their money's worth from them. The ape on ape fighting was far too long, reminding me of that first Iron Man film.Okay, this film is done. I am ready for the film where women wear the Linda Harrison loin cloths.

Gavin Purtell 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' does a great job of continuing the story from 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', without picking up directly where it ended or doing any gimmicky flashbacks. The graphic of how the simian virus spread was quite original and the opening shot of Caesar - and indeed the first 15min or so - does a great job of showing so much, without needing any talking.The setting is still Muir Woods in San Francisco, but a lot has changed, with the apes now living peacefully and successfully in the forest and the humans a desperate mess in the city. I was amazed by how quickly I was cheering for the apes and, if not despising, then at least not caring for the humans at all! Caesar (Serkis), Koba (Kebbell), Blue Eyes (Thurston) & Maurice (Konoval) are the main stars here, with Dreyfus (Oldman), Malcolm (Clarke) & Ellie (Russell) merely making up the numbers. It's great to have Serkis back as Caesar, the "king of the Apes", with such nuanced and believable body language and facial expressions. Hard to believe he has gone from obscurity to the world's greatest motion-capture actor in just over 10 years! He's now responsible for three of the biggest characters of all time - Caesar, King Kong & Gollum - and he'll be in 'Star Wars: Episode VII' next year!So much happens in this film - it's tense and dramatic in parts, then a full blown war in others and a political tug-of-war in others, and often times both "sides" are trying hard to do right, but something prevents that. It's definitely not boring and flies along, looking great, and importantly too - sounding great, with a nice score underneath and throughout.Seeing as this is the seventh film in the franchise (no one counts Burton's 2001 remake, right?), it definitely leaves you wondering and anticipating what will happen in the third of the "prequel trilogy" and see how they link them to the original 60s/70s films. It will also be amazing if they have the third prequel made by 2016, considering how much CGI & motion-capture detail they will need for the epic 'conclusion'...