Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Review

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Release Date: 10th July 2014 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Chernin Entertainment

TSG Entertainment

Relativity Media (in association with)

Ingenious Media (made in association with)

Down Productions (produced in association with)

Distribution

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 125 minutes

Budget: $170,000,000

Box Office Gross:

$710,644,566 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

In 2026, humanity was on the verge of extinction by a lethal virus. A group of survivors has been searching for a new power source in the woods near San Francisco. Only to discover a community of highly evolved intelligent apes led by Caesar. A fragile truce was born between the two species. But dissection grows as the groups find themselves hurtling toward an all-out war.

Cast

The Apes

Andy Serkis - Caesar
Toby Kebbell - Koba
Nick Thurston - Blue Eyes
Karin Konoval - Maurice
Terry Notary - Rocket
Doc Shaw - Ash
Judy Greer - Cornelia
Lee Ross - Grey
Scott Lang - Luca
Richard King - Stone

The Humans

Jason Clarke - Malcolm

Gary Oldman - Dreyfus

Keri Russell - Ellie
Kodi Smit-McPhee - Alexander

Kirk Acevedo - Carver
Jon Eyez - Foster
Enrique Murciano - Kemp
Keir O'Donnell - Finney
Kevin Rankin - McVeigh
Jocko Sims - Werner
Al Vicente - Manone
Lombardo Boyar - Terry
James Franco - Dr. Will
Rodman (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Director - Matt Reeves
Based on the Novel and Suggested Concept "La Planete

des Sings" - Pierre Boulle

Based on Characters/

Writers/Producers - Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver

Writer/Executive Producer - Mark Bomback

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager - Thomas M. Hammel

Executive Producer - Jenno Topping

Producers - Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark

Casting Director - Debra Zane
Production Designer - James Chinlund

Supervising Art Director - Naaman Marshall

Art Directors - Aaron Haye,

William O. Hunter and Scott Plauche

Art Director: Vancouver Unit - Kelvin Humenny,

Set Decorator - Amanda Moss Serino

Set Decorator: Vancouver Unit - Shane Vieau

Property Master - Doug Harlocker 

Costume Designer - Melissa Bruning 

Director of Photography - Michael Seresin

Director of Photography: Second Unit/

Second Unit Director - Gary Capo

Unit Production Manager: Vancouver - Lisa Towers

First Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Julian Wall

Second Assistant Director - Brandon Lambdin

Key Second Assistant Director: Second Unit -

David Waters

Second Assistant Director: Vancouver -

Gary Hawes

Second Unit Director - Bradley Parker
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator

(Reshoots Only) (Uncredited) - Gary Powell

Stunt Coordinator/Movement Choreographer

(Uncredited) - Terry Notary
Stunt Coordinator - Charles Croughwell

Stunt Coordinator: Vancouver Unit - Marny Eng

Stunt Rigging Coordinator - Jake Lombard
Special Effects Supervisor - Matt Kutcher
Special Effects Supervisor: Vancouver - Alex Burdett

Special Effects Tech: Second Unit - John S. Baker

Special Effects Coordinator - Jennifer Picard

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor - Joe Letteri
Visual Effects Supervisor - Dan Lemmon

Visual Effects Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Keith F. Miller and Erik Winquist
Visual Effects Producer - Ryan Stafford

VFX Sequence Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Thelvin Cabezas, Luke Millar and Thrain Shadbolt

Pre-Visualisation Supervisor - Jeffrey James Varab
Textures HOD/Creative Art Director:

Weta Digital - Gino Acevedo
Animation Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Daniel Barrett and Paul Story

CG Supervisors: Weta Digital - Phillip Leonhardt,

Daniel Macarin, Alessandro Mozzato,

Mike Perry and Alessandro Saponi

Head of Compositing: Weta Digital -

Charles Tait

Compositing Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Scott Chambers, Sam Cole, Robin Hollander,

Florian Schroeder and David Houghton Williams

Models Supervisor: Weta Digital - Florian Fernandez

Digital Creature Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Simon Clutterbuck

Massive Supervisor: Weta Digital - Jon Allitt

Head of Layout/Animation Technology:

Weta Digital - Shawn Dunn

Film Editors - William Hoy and
Stan Salfas

Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer/

Additional Re-Recording Mixer - Douglas Murray

Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer/

Re-Recording Mixer - Will Files

Re-Recording Mixer - Andy Nelson

Additional Re-Recording Mixers - James Bolt

and Craig Henighan

Music - Michael Giacchino

Awards

2015 Academy Awards
Best Visual Effects - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon,
Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist (Nominated)

Review

I plan to watch and review any new Planet of the Apes movies released in the future. To date, I have reviewed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was the restart of the timeline. I recently had the privilege of watching the new one in the saga. For an apocalyptic theme, the setting of DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is perfect. It's not in the original 1968 classic. My visit to its predecessor explained how apes turned against humanity, and the second instalment shows that the surviving humans are struggling to co-exist with the dominant apes. Stepping up the directorial helm is Matt Reeves, who has previously gone through the success of another sci-fi great, Cloverfield.

It still has motion capture technology to craft the apes' visual design instead of the makeup applied in the classic series and the Tim Burton remake. Returning is Andy Serkis, who uses the mo-cap technique to portray the main ape of Caesar, whereas the last movie shows the beginning of his character rising to power. Toby Kebbell is believable as the treacherous ape Kopa, who takes no pleasure in hating the human race when he is almost the opposite of Caesar. At first, I was stunned that Gary Oldman took on a different role after appearing as Commissioner Gordon in the Batman series.

To the Ape fans, this film matches the quality of its predecessor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and has entertainment value. Great continuation or not, this instalment fits well and is a worthy addition to an already reinstated franchise. If you have not seen it, you should watch it if sci-fi is your thing.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

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