Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

Dawn of The Planet of The Apes

Without a doubt, my favourite film this summer has to be the new incredible blockbuster, ‘Dawn of The Planet of The Apes’. If it isn't enough that it soared straight to the top of the box-office upon release, the film is, I believe, a progression into the future of cinematography and film-making. The plot which takes the audience through unity, friendship, love and betrayal had me shedding a tear more than a couple of times. It was an amazing piece to watch and enjoy, and sure enough, it lived up to the many outstanding reviews I had seen prior to watching it. 

The film, centred around the progression of the strength of the apes that we know will inevitably end up ruling the world due to this film being a prequel to ‘Planet of The Apes’, uses the latest in motion capture and CGI animation to present the audience with a full cast of apes that, I at least, could relate to as near human-beings. The production based around their facial features had me wondering at points how different these creatures were to us as humans and really helped to immerse me into the world which had been created. 

The soundtrack, too, is a tool used by the film creators to alert the audience to changes in moods and events. Using subtle music, this film enabled me to be prepared for anything and used especially louder tracks during scenes of violence to raise tension and the feelings of aggression in the audience. Music is expertly used in this film to withdraw raw emotion from the audience, for instance, the scene when our main ape protagonist returns home, there is a slow track playing in the background, and this scene, put together quite perfectly, managed to draw more than a few tears from me. 

A wide variety of camera angles and editing techniques are used to make the film high profile and still realistic looking despite its not-so-realistic plot basis. Creating a world full of intellectual apes eventually gaining control over the entire human population isn't the easiest thing to create, but with the director, Matt Reeves’ image in mind, the entire piece is well executed throughout, constantly capturing the beauty and magnificence, as well as darkness intended by the thought-provoking piece. 

Symbolism is also a major aspect to this film and lighting is often used to portray this. Towards the end of the film, we see the apes, led by their leader who we grow to love, walking into the light. All seems happy and well for them and the light foreshadows their bright future, which left me with a sense of satisfaction after having watched all of the struggles they had encountered during the film. Their human counterpart however, is seen backing into the darkness, indicating the upcoming demise of the human race and the loss of hope for them as a people. The light and dark imagery created by the director left me with feelings of foreboding, yet also an undoubtable contentment with the way the film unrolled before my eyes.