Planet of the Apes is a legendary chi-fi series that has been popular among many audiences since the first film was released in 1968. A new reboot of the series began with the 2011 film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” The sequel to the first film in the series, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” was also released in 2011. The film has surpassed the first film in the series at the box office, and critics have praised it even more highly than its predecessor.

• Box Office
  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes
    • Budget: $93 million
    • Worldwide box office: $480 million
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
    • Budget: $170 million
    • Worldwide box office: $710 million

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Box Office Mojo

Delicate heart movements are carefully depicted.

What is noteworthy about the movie “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is its careful depiction of delicate emotions. While we tend to focus on the flashy action and special effects using flashy computer graphics in significant films, this film conveys the attention paid to psychological portrayal. The screenplay that made this possible is highly acclaimed around the world. The screenwriters are Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and Mark Bomback of Total Recall 2012 fame, as in the previous film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

The world depicted in this film is about ten years after the previous film. The film tells the story of Caesar, the leader of the Apes, who is struggling with the problematic issue of survival of the Apes and coexistence with humans. Caesar is inevitably associated with the ancient Roman statesman Gaius Julius Caesar. Caesar is the English reading of Caesar and is widely known in the play “Julius Caesar” by the English playwright William Shakespeare. Although the play takes its title from Caesar, not much is said about him, as he is assassinated relatively early in the story. The protagonist of the play is Brutus, the assassin of Caesar.

Although “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” does not have much of a direct relationship with Julius Caesar, CCaesar’sstruggles as a leader has been described as Shakespearean, which I think is a very appropriate assessment. No matter how good a leader you are, you can still lead your fellow man. No matter how great his ethics, morals, and sense of justice are, he cannot act solely based on his ideas as a leader. This inner conflict and the circumstances that pushed him into a corner were very carefully portrayed.

Technology that has been scaled up from the previous work

One thing that cannot be overlooked when discussing the movie “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is the beautiful visual technology, especially CG. The previous film was also outstanding in terms of these visual technologies. Still, this film has even richer expressive power. While there is a lot of flashy action in this film, there is also a lot of quiet psychological depiction. The key to the film is the psychological portrayal of Ape and his friends. Suppose the visuals, mainly created by computer graphics, are unrealistic. In that case, it will be difficult for the audience to feel emotionally involved with the characters. However, in this film, Ape and his friends are portrayed more realistically than in the previous films, and we can naturally become emotionally involved with them.

Since the ape characters are unclothed and their fur is brown, it is difficult to tell which character they are just by their appearance. The reason why it is still easy to tell them apart is because of each of them’s different facial expressions. The realistic expressions created by motion capture take elements from humans and actual apes. Of course, the actors’ performances, including those of Andy Serkis, who played the main characters, were excellent. Still, one cannot help but be impressed by the evolution of technology that made this possible.

Why are we going to war?

The film depicts a world in which the human race has been dramatically reduced in numbers by the pandemic at the end of the previous film. The few survivors invade the realm of the Apes in search of energy sources. Eventually, the humans and the Apes find themselves at war.

The Planet of the Apes series has long been about racial issues. I felt that the portrayal of fear, anxiety, hatred, violence, justifying ourselves, and going to war was indeed the history of humanity and could be the future. Even though it is a story about humans and apes, it somehow mirrors the path people have followed.

It is because it has such a profound and universal theme. This film was a masterpiece, carefully depicting it while exquisitely developing it into an entertaining action epic. Caesar’s eyes at the end, although he did not wish to protect and lead his loved ones, were full of strength and sadness, which made me look forward to the next film.

The film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is a highly acclaimed entry in the new “Planet of the Apes” series. It is an excellent film with skillful CG technology and a script that depicts the characters’ inner conflicts. At the same time, it is more strongly felt when seen today after the pandemic and the many wars that have occurred. Although the film is a bit long (over an hour), you should sit down and watch it to think about our situation.