Review by Gene
I was a big fan of Rupert Wyatt’s first installment to this rebooted series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I don’t know of many who were not pleased with it. I felt the story laid a very solid foundation for a larger project, the intellectual and emotional progression of Caesar was tastefully and realistically done, and the action sequences were satisfying as well. All that praise, plus the spectacular CGI which brought these apes to life. The CGI alone really made the 2001 reboot starring Mark Wahlberg, though sufficient for its time, look like child’s play.
Now three years later, Matt Reeves has picked up the directing scepter and impresses again with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Events set in motion in Rise lead to a virus of sorts, dubbed the “Simian flu”, which wipes out over 99% of the human population on the planet. Now a full 10 years after those events, the remaining humans have made it through some very difficult times and are finding themselves confronted with a previously unknown enemy while trying to grasp at vestiges of their past.
