Movie Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Yesterday I took the day off from work and hung out with my oldest daughter at our local mall for the day.  I actually do this with both of my kids every year on the day before their birthday as it's my last chance to hang out with them before they get another year older.

Anyway, after snacking on a lot of tasty food and enjoying a great lunch, we decided to check out the new film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  The movie was fantastic, and other than a jerk using his cell phone two rows in front of me, we had a pretty great time.

Like the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes this film is a reboot of the classic '60s series and both films were really fascinating.

The second film takes place ten-years after the first, and the apes (led by the first film's protagonist, Caesar), have created a society of their own while humanity has largely been decimated (actually much higher than 1 in 10) due to a virus which was contracted shortly after the first film, leaving civilization behind and forcing humanity to live in small settlements again, cut off from each other and striving to survive as their world shuts down against them.

The best part of the film for me was the apes, both in terms of special effects and in terms of story, seeing how they have changed since the first film was fascinating and many of the films emotional high points happened to the apes, rather than the humans.

A great film, and well worth the watch.