Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Review: A cinematic war of traitors

After a fantastic first film by Rupert Wyatt that started a whole new reboot franchise, Matt Reeves had some big shoes to fill. And shoes he certainly did fill! Is it better or worse than its predecessor? Or is it just a whole different experience altogether? That's what I, Brighton Nelson, will be tackling in today's review: a Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Review: The cinematic war of traitors.

Following the teaser ending of the previous film, the unintentional disease Gen Sys developed is making apes intellectual and causing humans to die. The fatal, highly communicable disease wipes out almost the entirety of the human race, saving a lucky percentage of people who gained immunity. Ten years after the outbreak, we follow to different groups. The first is Caeser and the apes, and the second is a group of a few humans sent into the ape territory to strike a deal to get the nearby city a power supply. Caeser wants to live in harmony with the humans and allow them access to the abandoned dam for their survival's sake. However, many apes are opposed to this—most prevalently, the family of an ape who was severely injured by humans and Koba, an ape that will not forgive humanity for the torturous actions of a select few humans. Caesar gives in to their pleas and visits the humans to declare that they don't want war, but they are willing to defend themselves if any harm is inflicted upon the apes. Koba starts to steal weapons and ammunition from the humans to start an uprising, leading to strained relations. One human in the motley crew turns on the apes, leading Koba to use his gun to kill him. He then covertly pretends to be a human, firing many blasts into the ape's celebratory crowd. This inciting incident pushes the apes over the edge and escalates their hatred for humans, leading to full-fledged war—despite the fact Koba was the traitor, not the humans. Caesar is gravely injured, but his human allies come to the rescue and inform Caesar that Koba is the cause of the escalating conflict. Caesar's apes team up with the humans, and they defeat Koba. However, while the apes won the trust of a select few humans, they decided to migrate to a new home in preparation for the next stages of the war.

This movie is a perfect sequel to the original film! In the older series of films, we get to see the rise of Caesar and the post-apocalyptic results of his actions. What makes this film so fantastic and original is that it exquisitely presents the in-between of the two tales, which, in my opinion, is the most interesting story to tell of the three movies of the trilogy. While Rise feels like a better Conquest and War feels like a better Battle, this film is entirely original. And that's why it is easily my favorite of the three! I loved seeing the flawed humans and apes finally be allies and how they depressingly come crashing down due to traitorous actions—it was heartbreaking and intriguing to watch. I loved how excellently this film built tension, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through! I adore this movie, and its personal stakes yet grand scope make it a quintessential and lovable action blockbuster.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 94%
Letter Score: A+
Star Ranking: 4.5 out of 5

In the end, if you love the other Planet of the Apes movies or just want a great post-apocalyptic action film that can stand on its own, I strongly recommend this fantastic film. It is one of my favorite sci-fi films, and while it isn't perfect, it is my third favorite film in the series and one of the greatest action movies of the past decade.

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