DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

An apocalyptic film with a twist; Director Matt Reeves within minutes cements the viewers vested interest in the ape community; run democratically by “Caesar” (Andy Serkis), keeping a watchful eye on miscreant “Koba” (Toby Kebbell), living in mist -full, luminous harmony, gracefully swinging from one limpid, luscious limb to another; extraordinary makeup and costuming make each ape easily distinguishable.

Enter the human ingredient; looking for a dam, capable of generating power to the beleaguered metropolis of San Francisco; Jason Clarke (“Zero Dark Thirty”) as “Malcolm” is an empathetic engineer who persuades Caesar to allow him and his crew to investigate dank, clammy tunnels in their quest for “light” and viability. Particularly intriguing is “Carver” (devilish depiction by Kirk Acevedo), untrusting, circumspect in his treatment of the primate colony.

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is a metaphor for contemporary society: vicissitudes of the human condition, viciousness of immoral “power” politics; guns and the pervasive evil, unwarranted deaths they perpetrate; man’s and beast’s destructiveness, inhumanity when boundaries and parameters are not recognized, respected.

A fan of the 5th Dimension’s, dawning of the “Age of Aquarius”, an “age” lasting approximately two thousand years; puzzling,  wondering what lies ahead in a planet divided between two diverse, unfettered forces. Expect this anomaly will be addressed in the next chapter of a “day” on the planet of the apes.

THREE STARS!!!

Peneflix