Ape shall not kill ape.  It is the golden rule by which the society founded by Caesar lives upon.  No matter what, apes try to hold themselves above the pettiness of man, to rise above and be better than their forbears.  But, as shown in this film, the early years were not as peaceful as they could have been and emotions run the gamut no matter who you are, ape or man.  Caesar learns this the hard way in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, a sequel to the unexpected blockbuster that was Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  While this movie was expected to be good, it was not expected to be so much better than that first prequel.  What director Matt Reeves and the team of writers, consisting of Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, did was create not only one of the summer’s biggest epics, what they did was create an emotionally charged film that underlined the principles of family and the horrors of war.  The film might be seen as just another special effects-laden spectacle by some, but in a sea of mega films this year, this might be the best one as it does not revel in its budget and does not try to be the best piece of eye-candy for the masses.  It strives to tell a tale that has meaning and it does so masterfully.

The film opens on Caesar, with a look into the eyes of an ape that is proud, resilient and on the hunt.  We meet up with some of the former cast including Maurice, Koba and are introduced to his son, Blue Eyes.  And just as the apes are talking about how the humans must be extinct by now due to the planetary virus which wiped out most of them in the last ten years, they rear their heads in the form of Jason Clarke who plays Malcolm, Keri Russell as Ellie, and more including Kirk Acevedo and Kodi Smit-McPhee.  While the apes live in the forest and have built themselves a home, stragglers of the human race have met up and now live in the ruins of San Francisco with Gary Oldman as their leader, Dreyfus.  The humans are on the hunt for electricity and that just happens to be in the form of a dam in the midst of the apes kingdom.  Soon apes and humans meet up, much to the astonishment of Dreyfus and company and even more so when they find the apes’ ride horses and can speak.  When things seem to be going right between the two peoples and power is restored to the city, betrayal most grievous takes place and the apes and the humans will find themselves in the opening salvo to a war.

Central to the entire film is the protagonist, Caesar, the leader of the apes and the one who wants nothing more than to live in peace.  He is wise and smart, more so than any of the other apes and that is why he leads and why all choose to follow.  He tempers that with kindness, understanding, forgiveness and resolve.  He is at times, more human than any of the humans.  Opposing him is the film’s antagonist which most would think would be the human race and Dreyfus in particular.  Instead it is Koba, his right hand and an ape that is trusting to a point until the humans reveal themselves.  Having been tortured for years in a lab, Koba cannot forgive nor forget and seeing Caesar help mankind, Koba feels betrayed.  And so in feeling betrayed, Koba in turn betrays Caesar and all of the apes.  During the first act of the movie, we are introduced to all the players while during the second they work toward mutual cooperation.  The film then takes on a darker tone during the final act of the film with an all-out battle between the residents of San Francisco and the apes, spurred on by Koba.  This darker twist in the film is expected and even so, you wish it did not have to happen.

Standing against the apes, and with them, is the human element of the film led by Jason Clarke.  He takes over the lead role from James Franco and does a great job of it.  His character Malcolm essentially represents what is best about humanity and thus we care about him and his family as well. Comparatively, there is not any true villain element amongst the peoples of San Francisco, though Kirk Acevedo comes close.  If anything, the only evil represented by mankind is the way they cling to their base fears and static way of thinking that anything different from them must be something to be wary of.  The film does focus more upon the apes than the humans as it is their journey which leads to the original set of films, but it was nice to see a little bit of it focus upon humanity’s downfall as it does play an integral role to the series.

The special and technical effects created by hundreds of people for this movie are utterly breathtaking.  They are the best to be seen on film so far this year and while at times they seem so simple, to make the apes seem so real is truly a marvel.  Many of the best moments involve Caesar of course, but the winning shot of the whole movie has to be Koba riding a horse into battle with a machine gun in each hand while in the midst of gunfire and explosions going off around him.  It is an incredible image that just seers itself into your mind when you see it and it draws you back to the original films with the future society of apes riding their horses and ruling over the last dregs of humanity.  Couple those effects with the stunning cinematography by Michael Seresin, editing by William Hoy and Stan Salfas and the expert direction of Matt Reeves to bring it all together and the film was not only a technical marvel, but a beautiful picture on every level.

In the end, the latest movie in the Apes franchise is a lot of things.  It is a story about trust and betrayal, a story about two different cultures, a story of the beginnings of war and a story of a father and son.  It is moving and dramatic, it is exciting and tragic, joyful and sad, but triumphant as well on many different levels.  You see it in Caesar’s eyes when the film starts and you see it in his eyes when the film ends.  There is a triumph there, not only of what he has accomplished, but of the spirit.  It is many things and on top of that it is also a superb film.  It was hard to believe that it could have been better than Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but it is.  Even though everyone knows the outcome of this timeline and what eventually happens, thanks to Fox Studios, getting there is becoming a very rewarding experience for the film goer.  If you ever wanted to experience the true magic of film, like watching the Wizard of Oz, E.T. or Jurassic Park for the first time, then watch this film.  Andy Serkis will most likely be overlooked once again at the Oscars, but if he does not win an Oscar for his performance of Caesar, then he never will.  While some might simply view this as the making of a hero, it is a lot more than that – it is the making of a legend.  All Hail Caesar!

5 out of 5