Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

MadCardDisease

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I really liked "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". Thought the story of how it all started was really well done.

Looking forward to seeing this one and how they progress the story further.
 

crisper57

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I remember when "Rise" came out that everyone groaned and thought it was totally unnecessary. Then they went and saw it.

IMO, if Hollywood is all about reboots, then this is how it should be done. A complete re-imagining of the mythology so that we aren't retreading familiar ground. Take a segment of the untold story and blow it up if you have to, but leave the other movies as canon.
 

PDXChris

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I remember when "Rise" came out that everyone groaned and thought it was totally unnecessary. Then they went and saw it.

IMO, if Hollywood is all about reboots, then this is how it should be done. A complete re-imagining of the mythology so that we aren't retreading familiar ground. Take a segment of the untold story and blow it up if you have to, but leave the other movies as canon.

Like instead of remaking Total Recall, show who Douglas Quaid / Carl Hauser really was and how he got in the position he it? How much better would that have been?
 

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Like instead of remaking Total Recall, show who Douglas Quaid / Carl Hauser really was and how he got in the position he it? How much better would that have been?

I'm not sure that's a great example, considering the original Total Recall didn't follow the original story as much as the remake did.
 

Gaddabout

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The script was put together by a lot of people. I don't think the producers liked how dark the first one was, and had comedy writers try to spice it up. The whole thing felt uneven to me, but I thought the potential was there.

The director of this movie also directed Cloverfield. I expect lots and lots of tight shots.
 
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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Release Date: July 11, 2014
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: Matt Reeves
Screenwriter: Scott Z. Burns, Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa, Mark Bomback
Genre: Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief strong language)
Website: DawnofApes.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, Kirk Acevedo, Judy Greer

Plot Summary: A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

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mojorizen7

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Saw it today. I'm putting almost my entire post in spoiler tags because there's really no point in giving my opinion without expanding.

I rated it a 8.5/10
I rated Rise of the Planet of the Apes a 9/10

Excellent CGI.
Good acting. I wanted more Gary Oldman, but Jason Clarke was very good.
Andy Serkis as Caesar....wow. I never thought one could put so much character into a CGI model. Pretty amazing really.
Strong story although quite predictable.
In terms of sequels it was quite strong, but i wanted a bit more. I loved the first hour. I'm also relieved that this film wasn't a blatant "cash in" off of the first film(Rise).
It took its time, had a message and successfully put it across. The few action scenes were excellent and visually it all looked fantastic.
I recommend it. If you liked "Rise" i think you'll enjoy it. I don't talk about plot holes in science fiction because well...it's science fiction.

I'm a huge POTA guy having been raised on the originals, TV series etc...
Tim Burtons POTA was mostly crap IMO, aside from the makeup/costumes which were well done.

I want to mention my feelings on where the 3rd film might/should go...
It needs to move forward quite a bit IMO. Bring the missing astronauts and the sci-fiction element back into it. I just got home from watching Dawn, it was good but not great for me. Admittedly my expectations were probably a little too high,but the last 15-20 minutes or so left me feeling a little flat. Still, it was a very good sequel.

The characters have all been set up nicely and all have been given some depth. A lot of ape/human drama in "Dawn"(and thats ok because after "Rise" it was important to get into all that)...but not a whole lot really happened in "Dawn" IMO. So now, lets broaden the scope and scale down a bit on the mass character development a little in the 3rd film.

I have a feeling that this franchise is going to end on a very positive, upbeat "lets all get along and hold hands and smile" note. It would very much benefit that final note of sunshine if first we get a more cynical, darker, sci-fi adventure that broadens the scope of the ape/human planet a bit. Otherwise i really don't think there's much more to be said following "Dawn."

Bottom line for me is this was a very good sequel, but it's going to need to take an unexpected left turn in terms of timeline, evolution...something risky to keep moving. Right now it's the story of morality of apes vs humans and morality within each species and it's struggle for peace and/or dominance. Yep. Well done so far. Got it.

For myself it needs a 3rd element of something interesting to move forward and keep it fresh.
 

Cheesebeef

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really good. some scenes were pretty damn awesome...the Koba/Caesar dynamic was pretty incredible to watch. that said, I liked the first a little bit better. but then again, the first one is one of my favorite movies in the last five years.

bottom line...it's better then any blockbuster this summer and probably on par with Cap 2.
 

Shane

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Yea this was really good. Enjoyed immensely!
 

UncleChris

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Yea this was really good. Enjoyed immensely!

Dammit, Shane!!! I really had no interest in seeing this, but now that you, my not so secret movie twin-bro, has said that it's really good, I'll have to go see it.....


:D
 

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Seen it and was not impressed. The CGI was great but the story was so cliche filled. Holy hell how many times can you see that ending in a movie. I seen it coming a mile away
 

Cheesebeef

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Seen it and was not impressed. The CGI was great but the story was so cliche filled. Holy hell how many times can you see that ending in a movie. I seen it coming a mile away

The ending was disappointing. Fight on top of the tower set piece left a little to be desired and if I see another movie end with a push in on the main characters eyes as they well up with resolve before going to black, I'm going to...well....Shake my head like I did here.

That said, I thought the rest of the movie was still really good.
 

Chaplin

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The ending was disappointing. Fight on top of the tower set piece left a little to be desired and if I see another movie end with a push in on the main characters eyes as they well up with resolve before going to black, I'm going to...well....Shake my head like I did here.

That said, I thought the rest of the movie was still really good.

You know that was an echo of the opening shot, right? I didn't see anything wrong with it. I think it's also a nod to Andy Serkkis.
 

Cheesebeef

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You know that was an echo of the opening shot, right? I didn't see anything wrong with it. I think it's also a nod to Andy Serkkis.

Too each their own. But, I've seen that ending now in four different movies in the last couple years...3 of them in the EXACT same fashion, at the end of a franchise episode signaling big change is coming for the main character. It's uninspired for me at this point.
 

MadCardDisease

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Loved the "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes". Thought this one was just as good. Really really enjoyed it.
 

MadCardDisease

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Too each their own. But, I've seen that ending now in four different movies in the last couple years...3 of them in the EXACT same fashion, at the end of a franchise episode signaling big change is coming for the main character. It's uninspired for me at this point.


It's better than the alternative... a close up of a baboon ass.

I had no problem with it. To me it showed eyes that looked very human and implied how similar to humans the apes had become.
 

ajcardfan

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It's better than the alternative... a close up of a baboon ass.

I had no problem with it. To me it showed eyes that looked very human and implied how similar to humans the apes had become.

Yeah, that was fine with me too. I did wonder how common Ceaser's eye color is among real apes.

All in all, I really liked this movie. If anything, I think it was a little better than the first one.
 

Russ Smith

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It's interesting people keep saying the CGI is great. My least favorite scene in the movie is the one with the bear because at one point the CGI is really bad, it looks about as believable as the bear in "Brave." A HS friend of mine works in the industry doing computer animation, didn't work on that film but he said the same thing he said I can't believe they let that one snippet of the bear make the final cut it looks really bad compared to the rest of the CGI.

I liked the movie quite a bit, it was predictable to a point yes, but there were some interesting elements to it I liked too that weren't totally predictable.

I am curious where they go with the next one, one of the things which always intrigued me in the original series is why over time did apes evolve to speak and humans to not speak? We know the talking ape came from the future that started it in the original series(classic Scifi conundrum) but they never explain why man lost the ability to speak. We know where ape speech comes from in this reboot, but will man in the future retain speech or not. Communication is such a big part of evolution it should also be a big part of "de-evolution" so I always wanted an explanation.
 

Mulli

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Kristen Schaal @kristenschaaled · 3h
Honestly, I assumed the female apes in #DawnofthePlanetoftheApes just didn't get any of that smart gas from the last movie. Sad.
 

Covert Rain

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DANG IT. I can read much of this thread because of spoilers. Going to see this tonight with a bunch of buddies from work. I will drop back in here after.
 
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