re: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Thoughts with Spoilers; Fricking fantastic)

Just got back, my thoughts:

Very good. I'm not sure if I liked the experience more than Edge of Tomorrow, but it was probably the better film. But it is a different movie with different goes. Winter Soldier, Apes, and EoT are still my favorite films of the year (in that order), and out of those I think the film with the most depth is probably Apes. It really was a fantastic movie with a ton of subtext and great production values.

The film does two things really well:

1) Intensity. I don't think I've seen a movie that keeps things that tense for that length of time. I felt like the entire film was resting on the head of a needle just waiting for everything to topple. Even when things were settled, you just knew something could set everything off. And it often did. But just the anxiety you could feel if you just let go was great.

2) Character. With another successful film, Caeser could be an all-time great character. I mean, they have to go that direction. I wouldn't want them to jump all the way to Planet and forget Caeser's story. he's a magnificent character and he needs a proper close, probably a sacrifice of some sort.

The movie also balanced morality well and showed the good and bad of both sides. It got a little cliche' with Koba, but I think the idea is that although they are advanced, they still have primal urges, so his motivations become extremely simple. Well done there.

Someone else said Shakespearean in this thread, and that's an apt direction.

The only faults are that we need a little more of the human side, just a tad. Or at least more of the interaction with the apes when things were better.

I also think the end was a slight cop out when Caeser said "Humans would not forgive." That's not necessarily true if he thought Malcolm was so honorable. I think there was a missed chance there.