 Hey guys, Jeremy here. Now I reviewed War of the Planet of the Apes a few days ago, and I really wanted to review Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. However, when I was just kind of random going through my old research and all my old reviews, I noticed that I remembered more so that I reviewed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes when I used to write for my university's newspaper. So I thought, who better to review this than 23-year-old me who watched this brand new when it came out in July of 2014. So this is going to be me just roars a reading this review and with some visuals along the side. So I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm interested to see what 23-year-old me sounds like now. Reactions were mixed when director Rupert Wyatt brought us Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011. While some believe that the failed reboot, which was Tim Burton's 2001 film, was enough, 20th Century Fox wanted to give it one more go. For the most part, it worked with a good script from Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Rise of the Planet of the Apes brought a new and creative take on the Apes who, while still primitive, possessed higher brain function and character development than any other human character. That was the only thing needing correction in the sequel, and they only got halfway there. After images and audio messages superimposed to a revolving earth explained how a virus encompassed the globe, the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes shows a community that Caesar, the leader of the Apes, has created. Andy Serkis has truly become the primate animal man of Hollywood. His character is still the strongest by far, but there are others with unique characteristics. Rick Jaffa and Rick Rafa and Amanda Silver deliver a script that takes the narrative down surprising paths just when a predictable outcome appears to loom its head. The major turnaround is the growing aggression between humans and apes. While there are some stereotypical characters, they are only mine and serve the necessary purpose of contriving conflict. Jason Clark delivers a decent performance as Malcolm, the man who builds a foundation of trust with Caesar. For an actor who has spent most of his time as a secondary character in most projects, he takes a role closer to lead with an emotional resolve that has been absent from previous outings. But despite his attempts, he still ultimately becomes a secondary character by the time the film comes to a close. This in turn weakens the viewer's emotional resonance with the humans. Renowned actor Gary Ollman is given such a small amount of screen time that we only get peeks into his character when there is obviously so much more that needs to be shown. In the end, he turns out to be the guy who just hates apes simply because he isn't given enough time to reveal anything else. The humans take a backseat to the narrative once again controlled by the apes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is in fact what this series has built itself on. We get so much more from the apes because of their simplicity. Their primitive nature lets us discern so much more than we can from humans. While the film tries to preserve humans with a similar style, it only half works and leaves questions unanswered. A strong connection to the human characters would have made the final climax more morally complicated. But this is brought on because of choices in the editing room. The film tends to drag in certain areas, but it still keeps the story constant. Had there been more human development, the film would have ultimately been damaged because of an inflated runtime. For those who wanted more drama from the apes, this film is full of it. Crumbling, hierarchy, disobedience, betrayal, run amok, and Caesar's community. Andy Serkis delivers an even deeper look into the primate than ever before, as he struggles to connect with his tribesmen in the face of rising tensions with the humans. His performance is incredible to watch as he attempts to rebuild the trust with the humans that he once had with his adopted father, played by James Franco from the previous movie. But not all of the apes are of the same mind. One of Caesar's loyal apes, Coba, is opposite Gary Oldman as the aggressor in this film. Having lived a life of pain and confinement, he seeks the means to exact his revenge for what was done to him. Similar to Magneto's story of loss and vengeance in X-Men, Coba follows a path that ultimately leads him to darkness. Throughout all of this, director Matt Reeves keeps everything in the camera's focus with fantastic cinematography and excellent action sequences. There is one panoramic shot on top of a mobile tank during the apes' siege of the human settlement that is completely awe-inspiring. So much is happening in one shot, and it is both terrifying and amazing to behold. Matt Reeves can instill astound audiences by altering the tricks he used in Cloverfield to create such sequences. While his work in Cloverfield may be the staple of his career, Dawn is by far the best work he has ever done. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes dwells into social divides on both sides, though the apes come away with a much more powerful delivery than that of the humans. It's not just because of the amazing effects, it's Andy Serkis' performance, but of the collective performance. The apes deliver multiple sides to a story, mainly through sign language and body motion, and while the ending is morally gray, you will find that you are still cheering for the apes once all is said and done. So yeah, I pretty much agree with 2013 myself, and the only thing I might say is a little bit much on the human characters, because the humans are not main characters in this series, it's always been the apes, but I just kind of wanted more characters, less stereotypes, because there's a few of them in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Sure, most of them, as I said, are minor and more so tools of the plot, but Gary Olin. You had Gary Olin, guys, and you basically just, if he had been Malcolm's character, maybe that would have been more of a use of his talents, but I don't know. Either way, though, this is still the best one in the series, in my opinion. I think Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is near perfect with its decisions of the story, the twists and turns it takes, the whole moral compass of Caesar, and the confliction with Coba, and the humans trying to connect, but in the end, causing what would be an ultimate strife that would continue on into War of the Planet of the Apes. So in the end, my rating for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a 6 out of 7. This is a good movie out of all three, I would suggest everyone watch this one. I know War of the Planet of the Apes is getting massive praise, but I still say that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the best one of the three. Anyways, guys, that's my little random review, and that's another bucket list review actually too, so anyways, I'll see you guys later.