Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Directed by Matt Reeves
A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.
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27 films that influenced Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
What critics say influenced Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
In title and spirit, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes evokes the “Dawn of Man” opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, an obvious influence on director Matt Reeves ( Cloverfield , Let Me In).
(One is reminded of the best moments from Rise, the ones set within the ape prison, and also of the great prologue to 2001: A Space Odyssey.)
The end result plays like a cranked-up simian riposte to the French-Canadian film Quest for Fire , or an alternative-universe extension of the "dawn of man" sequence from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey , which went head to head with the original Planet of the Apes in 1968.
One need only think of the primates at the beginning of "2001: A Space Odyssey," some of the title characters in "Gorillas in the Mist," and, obviously, all of the "Planet of the Apes" films over the years for examples of such work.
But the “Apes” in “Dawn” are awfully darned appealing, learning the hard way that ape lesson of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”– that murder and treachery are the traits that make us, and them, most human.
It's an extended sequence — the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey comes to mind — but pulse-quickening with the colony's mass agility and power, hunting deer and defending against a bear.
Drawing in equal measure from his previous works—rampaging monster flick Cloverfield and the unnecessary-but-serviceable Let the Right One In remake—Reeves strikes a deft balance, allowing the film to transition from a claustrophobic jaunt through a battlefield that evokes Children of Men to a heartbreaking moment of family drama without losing footing.
The director is Matt Reeves, who did Cloverfield and helped turn the Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In into the overstyled, overly conceptual 2010 remake.
Matt Reeves, whose Let Me In was an evocative adaptation of the Swedish horror film Let the Right One In, delivers both action spectacle and character drama, and he rightfully centers the entire film on Caesar, the noble leader who understands the best and worst of humanity, and has to come to terms with the worst of his own tribe as both sides push for war rather than co-existence.
Reeves , who previously directed the lo-fi sci-fi drama Cloverfield, as well as Let Me In, the superb English-language remake of the Swedish emo-vampire chiller Let the Right One In; he, never allows the movie's scale, colossal as it is, to overwhelm the story.
Reeves has since helmed Cloverfield, in which he tried to find some nifty ways around the usual J.J. Abrams dickarounds, and Let Me In — a gorgeously shot and entirely unnecessary remake of Let The Right One In.
Of all the riches and distractions at the box office this summer – the cocky charm of 22 Jump Street, the tantalizing prospect of Days of Future Past, an X-Men adaptation of one of the most groundbreaking comics in history, the giant spectacle of Godzilla, even the clanging stupidity of Transformers – this is the movie I’ve most been looking forward to.
(The climax of the new Transformers movie has a similar incongruity: trucks riding dinosaurs.
It has already been designated one of the biggest movies of the summer, and smartly positioned as an ideal remedy for the depressing hangover of the latest Transformers debacle.
What’s nice about “Dawn” is that while we still see foreshadowing glimpses of the future as seen in the original 1968 “Planet of the Apes”–humans being caged, for instance–the sequel doesn’t try to hit the viewer over the head with references to the original movies as “Rise” sometimes did.
"Rise," directed by British writer Rupert Wyatt, melded smart science-fiction with great affection for Franklin Schaffner's original 1968 feature "Planet of the Apes."
But the outcome has already been set in Franklin J. Shaffner’s 1968 “Planet of the Apes” which proves that that will never be the case.
This installment inches events closer to a merge point with 1968's Planet of the Apes while maintaining its own unique identity.
Dating back to the original 1968 film, the “Planet of the Apes” franchise has been an exercise in sci-fi irony.
This is a sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), which itself was the prequel to a sci-fi franchise that began with Planet of the Apes in 1968 and which had burned out through multiple extensions and remakes.
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Directed with serious intensity by Matt Reeves ( "Cloverfield," "Let Me In" ), "DOTPOTA" offers parallel societies, one crumbling and one rising (or dawning).
In title and spirit, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes evokes the “Dawn of Man” opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, an obvious influence on director Matt Reeves ( Cloverfield , Let Me In).
It’s fairly clear Matt Reeves has upped his game since “Cloverfield,” though he’s working with a much better concept, script and cast.
Drawing in equal measure from his previous works—rampaging monster flick Cloverfield and the unnecessary-but-serviceable Let the Right One In remake—Reeves strikes a deft balance, allowing the film to transition from a claustrophobic jaunt through a battlefield that evokes Children of Men to a heartbreaking moment of family drama without losing footing.
The director is Matt Reeves, who did Cloverfield and helped turn the Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In into the overstyled, overly conceptual 2010 remake.
The direction, by Matt Reeves of the soulful vampire remake " Let Me In " and the half-magnificent, half-lame found footage monster flick " Cloverfield ," strikes a marvelous early Spielberg vibe, alternating humor and terror with plot-motivated directorial flourishes (including a " Children of Men "-style tracking shot through an ape-infested warehouse and a hair-raising ride atop the turret of a tank).
Drawing in equal measure from his previous works—rampaging monster flick Cloverfield and the unnecessary-but-serviceable Let the Right One In remake—Reeves strikes a deft balance, allowing the film to transition from a claustrophobic jaunt through a battlefield that evokes Children of Men to a heartbreaking moment of family drama without losing footing.
The direction, by Matt Reeves of the soulful vampire remake " Let Me In " and the half-magnificent, half-lame found footage monster flick " Cloverfield ," strikes a marvelous early Spielberg vibe, alternating humor and terror with plot-motivated directorial flourishes (including a " Children of Men "-style tracking shot through an ape-infested warehouse and a hair-raising ride atop the turret of a tank).
Ascendant director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) evidently has the ambition to equal The Empire Strikes Back or The Dark Knight when it comes to genre sequels, and even though the film falls considerably short of those lofty goals, you can’t fault him for trying.
There aren’t that many sequels that could be considered superior to its predecessor, unless you’re thinking of “The Empire Strikes Back,” but when the same writers (Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Mark Bomback) are back along with at least one returning character (Andy Serkis as the ape Caesaer), there’s room for one more to fit in that room.
Like the Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back , Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a much darker follow-up but that transition feels inevitable.
…by Walter Chaw Matt Reeves's remarkable Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (hereafter Dawn) isn't the best sequel since The Empire Strikes Back, but it is the best sequel since The Dark Knight.
This is the “Empire Strikes Back” of the franchise.
The humans on display are either hateful, or a hindrance, and the story is just one big Empire Strikes Back setup for (one imagines) a rip-roaring third installment, yet you realize that director Matt Reeves has indeed managed the near impossible.
Michael Giacchino’s propulsive, snazzy score is rich with unexpected textures, especially a few passages reminiscent of the great Lalo Schifrin (“Mission: Impossible”).
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(He makes Sam Neill in Jurassic Park look like Richard Dreyfuss in Jaws.)
Perhaps it was because “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” deals with much of the same story elements as “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” (my favorite of the original “Apes” films) while “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” borrows heavily from “Battle for the Planet of the Apes” (the weakest installment, which was also the film that effectively killed the franchise for thirty years).
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973): The not-so-memorable, not-so-classics.
It’s all in service of an utterly conventional story, however, one you’ll be three steps ahead of even if you have no memories of the ’70s “Apes” movie (“Battle for the Planet of the Apes”) this is largely based on.