Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Franchises are a sure-fire way for Hollywood to keep that 'gravy train' just chugging right along, because they are money making avenues. GHA-CHING! There are many film franchises out there, but one of the most profitable ones has got to be 'Planet of the Apes'. With five films back in the late '60s and 70s to its credit, along with the remake in 2001, then the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", it all leads us up to "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes". Oh, and if you like this installment, don't worry, another installment has already been announced. What a shock!

Some years after the previous "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" ended, a growing number of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar (Andy Serkis) is threatened by a small group of human survivors led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke) to attempt to find any electricity in a nearby dam which happens to be in the same area of the ape's home ground. The search for electricity is from a fallout of the devastating Simian virus unleashed a decade earlier. Through talks with Caesar and Malcolm and Dreyfus (Gary Oldman)--the actual leader of the humans, each species reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, mostly because of both sides having amongst them certain ones who have no intension of allowing peace. So through a great deal of assuming and manipulation on both sides, they are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

Others to round out the cast are Keri Russell as Ellie, Toby Kebbell as Koba, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Alexander, Malcolm's son, Kirk Acevedo as Carver, Nick Thurston as Blue Eyes, Terry Notary as Rocket, Karin Konoval as Maurice, Judy Greer as Cornelia, Jon Eyez as Foster, Enrique Murciano as Kemp, Doc Shaw as Ash and Lee Ross as Grey.

This was effectively directed by Matt Reeves ("The Pallbearer" '96, "Cloverfield" '08, "Let Me In" '10) plus a ton of TV. He was so effective in portraying these apes as a species in the  middle of evolving due to the chemical given in the previous installation, that Reeves is slated to direct the next installation as well. This was written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Mark Bomback based on characters created by Jaffa and Silver which was originally based on the novel, "La Planete des Singes" by Pierre Boulle. If you haven't figured out why there are so many installments of this franchise, other than the money, it's because these films are slowly leading us up to the original, "Planet of the Apes", explaining just how our society got so turned upside down. So these are a series and not merely sequels to the original. This was a bit long-in-the-tooth, but once it got going, it had a together, consistent and exciting pace to it--you just have to be patient until it gets there. Certainly the visual effects predominantly created by Weta Digital, Ltd. were seamless, but since this company is the same one that's produced the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the "Hobbit" films, it's no wonder that the visuals would be anything but.

If you're into a total escape summer film to spend two plus hours all in a neat 3D process, look no further, because this 'ride' will get you from point A to point B walking out of the theater feeling as if you just came off a roller coaster. Have fun!

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                Rated: PG-13                               130mins.