One thing kept occurring to me during the movie...
As far as I remember Caesar's son is never referred to by name in the movie, but does anyone think that he either is or will become the Cornelius character from the original movies? Admittedley my memory of the original movies is a little hazy, and I could be completely wrong on this.
However the first half if the film is excruciatingly dull, I nearly fell asleep and was really bored.
The second half is much better and the action pieces are pretty good.
Matthew Bond in today's Mail Event book agrees with you. He says it's slow, dull and the CGI doesn't work. He gives it 2 out of 5.
I am going to see it tonight so will see.
One thing kept occurring to me during the movie...
As far as I remember Caesar's son is never referred to by name in the movie, but does anyone think that he either is or will become the Cornelius character from the original movies? Admittedley my memory of the original movies is a little hazy, and I could be completely wrong on this.
I don't think so because...
...isn't Caesar the "Lawgiver" who wrote the sacred scrolls in Apes lore? He was a distant ancestor of the Apes in the 1968 movie, as they are 2,000 years in the future
We have just returned from watching "Dawn" and I thought it was truly excellent. The special effects are incredible, and the story is engaging. The nods to the first movie were neat, without being too contrived or obtrusive.
One thing I wondered Ted, in line with your question, was whether...
...the ending might have cut to showing the Apes ready for war, in the green and black garb and helmets they wore in the 1968 version, as a sort of link to that
Matthew Bond in today's Mail Event book agrees with you. He says it's slow, dull and the CGI doesn't work. He gives it 2 out of 5.
I am going to see it tonight so will see.
Not sure what film mr bond saw but clearly not same one as me. CGI was flawless. Yes maybe it was slow but its that type of film. If you liked rise then im sure you'll love this.
Been to see this today and echo some opinions above. CGI was brilliant, but it was boring in parts, no character development apart from Caesar and his son, and I dunno, it didn't feel like a blockbuster really. I get the feeling they left the wrong bits on the cutting room floor!
Been to see this today and echo some opinions above. CGI was brilliant, but it was boring in parts, no character development apart from Caesar and his son, and I dunno, it didn't feel like a blockbuster really. I get the feeling they left the wrong bits on the cutting room floor!
Very surprised you did not mention Koba...he had a very substantial character arc...
SPOILERS...
going from the sad, scarred and unstable ape from the first movie, to a scheming, ambitious and ruthless opponent of Caesar's methods...leading him to commit some dreadful crimes against his own kind as well as the humans, and ultimately challenging Caesar for leadership in an epic fight to the death.
Not sure what film mr bond saw but clearly not same one as me. CGI was flawless. Yes maybe it was slow but its that type of film. If you liked rise then im sure you'll love this.
He felt there was too much CGI and at times it felt too fake and cartoon like.
Matthew Bond in today's Mail Event book agrees with you. He says it's slow, dull and the CGI doesn't work. He gives it 2 out of 5.
I am going to see it tonight so will see.
I hope he realises that makes him a moron and not worthy of watching such films? ;-)
Caesars son has a name- Blue Eyes.
Also- didnt Caesar rather compromise himself at the end?? Going against the rules HE instigated?? Lost a bit of respect from me.
I just saw Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes this morning and I found it to be a great film maybe even better than Rise.I liked the character development and how you spend as much time with the apes as the humans.I was suprised at the lack of screen time for Gary Oldman character which basically was just a cameo role for him!
I don't really understand the negative comments in the thread towards this film but in my screening there were a few people who were complaining constantly about the amount of subtitles and one person sitting behind me who spend the whole film laughing whenever an ape spoke or rode a horse!
This is an intelligent blockbuster and for me one of the best films of the year.I just can't wait to see the third film!
4 out of 5
Getting annoyed at subtitles is one of my bug bears. If you're an adult who can read then you should be able to cope with them. I LIKED all the signing, it seems most logical that they would use that for communication.
With recent hits like The Artist with subtitles, & subtitles being a major part of some Tarantino films I think the public will have got more used to them by now
Caesars son has a name- Blue Eyes.
Also- didnt Caesar rather compromise himself at the end?? Going against the rules HE instigated?? Lost a bit of respect from me.
Do you mean when he let koba go? If so caesar said it himself, you are not ape after he killed ash. Always knew that koba would be the bad one.
I heard Gary Oldman's English accent slipping through a few times,makes me wonder why they don't ever redub these things.
I expect this from Jason Statham,but isnt Oldman supposed to be a "proper" actor lol
Do you mean when he let koba go? If so caesar said it himself, you are not ape after he killed ash. Always knew that koba would be the bad one.
Much like Batman in Batman Begins, he didn't kill the villain at the end, but he also didn't save him. Gravity and a sudden stop, 100s of feet below him killed Koba.
Very surprised you did not mention Koba...he had a very substantial character arc...
SPOILERS...
going from the sad, scarred and unstable ape from the first movie, to a scheming, ambitious and ruthless opponent of Caesar's methods...leading him to commit some dreadful crimes against his own kind as well as the humans, and ultimately challenging Caesar for leadership in an epic fight to the death.
I thought the decision to make Koba the main antagonist was an excellent one, as his motives were very believable considering what happened to him in "Rise". I also liked the round window being Caesar's "symbol".
In fact, the only thing that did start to grate a little was Caesar's continual sighing and weary expression, but I suppose what was trying to be conveyed was the weight of being the apes' leader.
I don't know if this was already mentioned here, but there's an audio "stinger" (end of credits) at the end of the film that made some people speculate that Koba was still alive and was being rescued by some of his followers. So, if that's true, then don't be surprised to see him again in a future film (not necessarily the next one though).
I don't know if this was already mentioned here, but there's an audio "stinger" (end of credits) at the end of the film that made some people speculate that Koba was still alive and was being rescued by some of his followers. So, if that's true, then don't be surprised to see him again in a future film (not necessarily the next one though).
Wish they wouldn't do that. Everybody left as soon as the credits rolled. Why they feel the need to wait until the end of the credits which usually take ages to finish I don't know.
He felt there was too much CGI and at times it felt too fake and cartoon like.
He needs glasses - getting realistic fur is incredibly difficult with CGI and they carried it out - at times you could forget you were looking at CGI at all - which is the mark of a good movie - which this was.
Obviously the original Heston film started the franchise but the CGI these days enabled actual apes with ability to speak rather than people in ape suits / make up. At times especially with Maurice the Orangutan the CGI was so realistic it was like watching a nature film with real apes.
The sign language, facial expressions and body language finally killed off the abomination that was Tim Burton's version and brought the concept that apes could evolve through drugs to develop brain power, speech but also create viruses that could kill off the human race and result in apes being dominant.
He needs glasses - getting realistic fur is incredibly difficult with CGI and they carried it out - at times you could forget you were looking at CGI at all - which is the mark of a good movie - which this was.
I just find any comments regarding the cgi and the realism element regarding the apes rather odd...it's like some people have completely by-passed the cgi revolution when it comes to animals over the last 20 years.
Even tv adverts have shown realistic animals for some time now, so I just don't get these comments.
There was never any point when I felt the cgi didn't convince, and in fact there were a few moments in Rise where the effects did not look that convincing.
Sadly...I think a lot of people are going into this movie with the 'its a big summer movie blockbuster' attitude, and expecting to be hit over the head in the first 10 mins.
If you go into movies with that attitude, with none or little knowledge of the franchise and history then you may be expecting something else.
For me the its same with the Harry Potter movies, or the Twilight films...just not my bag...have watched the odd one, but they are not made for me or my generation...so to write reviews tearing them apart would make no sense for me.
I think the cgi was so good that most of the film I was just in awe of how realistic the apes looked that I forgot about the story. I don't know how many planet of the apes films there will be but I cannot wait for them if they look this good.
I just find any comments regarding the cgi and the realism element regarding the apes rather odd...it's like some people have completely by-passed the cgi revolution when it comes to animals over the last 20 years.
Even tv adverts have shown realistic animals for some time now, so I just don't get these comments.
In fairness, if you compare the CGI apes in "Dawn" with that of "Rise", you can even see here that there has been a vast improvement.
Really enjoyed this film - it's probably my film of the year so far, but admittedly my selection is fairly limited.
It was great to see a film with a solid, well developed villain for a change. Hollywood has been really lacking in the villain front in recent times. Admittedly Koba is very similar to Napoleon from Animal Farm - but I still thought his arc was done very well.
My only complaint would be the human characters. An unfortunate side effect of glossing over the Simian Virus was that I found it hard to care about the survivors. I don't think it helped that the main human character is essentially just a bland Mr Niceguy type. From the trailers I expected the Gary Oldman character to be more critical to the story, but truthfully he didn't feature enough to make an impression.
The last 3 films I've seen at the cinema have been sequels that I've preferred over the original (22 Jump Street, X-Men DOFP)... strange year.
Saw it tonight (in 2D) and while the CGI is indeed stunning and has raised the bar even further, I thought the story wasn't as good as the previous one. Still a good night out though.
Comments
Matthew Bond in today's Mail Event book agrees with you. He says it's slow, dull and the CGI doesn't work. He gives it 2 out of 5.
I am going to see it tonight so will see.
I don't think so because...
We have just returned from watching "Dawn" and I thought it was truly excellent. The special effects are incredible, and the story is engaging. The nods to the first movie were neat, without being too contrived or obtrusive.
One thing I wondered Ted, in line with your question, was whether...
Not sure what film mr bond saw but clearly not same one as me. CGI was flawless. Yes maybe it was slow but its that type of film. If you liked rise then im sure you'll love this.
Very surprised you did not mention Koba...he had a very substantial character arc...
SPOILERS...
going from the sad, scarred and unstable ape from the first movie, to a scheming, ambitious and ruthless opponent of Caesar's methods...leading him to commit some dreadful crimes against his own kind as well as the humans, and ultimately challenging Caesar for leadership in an epic fight to the death.
He felt there was too much CGI and at times it felt too fake and cartoon like.
I hope he realises that makes him a moron and not worthy of watching such films? ;-)
Also- didnt Caesar rather compromise himself at the end?? Going against the rules HE instigated?? Lost a bit of respect from me.
Getting annoyed at subtitles is one of my bug bears. If you're an adult who can read then you should be able to cope with them. I LIKED all the signing, it seems most logical that they would use that for communication.
With recent hits like The Artist with subtitles, & subtitles being a major part of some Tarantino films I think the public will have got more used to them by now
Do you mean when he let koba go? If so caesar said it himself, you are not ape after he killed ash. Always knew that koba would be the bad one.
I expect this from Jason Statham,but isnt Oldman supposed to be a "proper" actor lol
I thought the decision to make Koba the main antagonist was an excellent one, as his motives were very believable considering what happened to him in "Rise". I also liked the round window being Caesar's "symbol".
In fact, the only thing that did start to grate a little was Caesar's continual sighing and weary expression, but I suppose what was trying to be conveyed was the weight of being the apes' leader.
I don't know if this was already mentioned here, but there's an audio "stinger" (end of credits) at the end of the film that made some people speculate that Koba was still alive and was being rescued by some of his followers. So, if that's true, then don't be surprised to see him again in a future film (not necessarily the next one though).
LINK
What I didn't like was parts of the story with the human survivors. Found it too cheesy and clichéd especially Gary Oldman as the baddie.
Wish they wouldn't do that. Everybody left as soon as the credits rolled. Why they feel the need to wait until the end of the credits which usually take ages to finish I don't know.
He needs glasses - getting realistic fur is incredibly difficult with CGI and they carried it out - at times you could forget you were looking at CGI at all - which is the mark of a good movie - which this was.
Obviously the original Heston film started the franchise but the CGI these days enabled actual apes with ability to speak rather than people in ape suits / make up. At times especially with Maurice the Orangutan the CGI was so realistic it was like watching a nature film with real apes.
The sign language, facial expressions and body language finally killed off the abomination that was Tim Burton's version and brought the concept that apes could evolve through drugs to develop brain power, speech but also create viruses that could kill off the human race and result in apes being dominant.
Great film
I just find any comments regarding the cgi and the realism element regarding the apes rather odd...it's like some people have completely by-passed the cgi revolution when it comes to animals over the last 20 years.
Even tv adverts have shown realistic animals for some time now, so I just don't get these comments.
There was never any point when I felt the cgi didn't convince, and in fact there were a few moments in Rise where the effects did not look that convincing.
Sadly...I think a lot of people are going into this movie with the 'its a big summer movie blockbuster' attitude, and expecting to be hit over the head in the first 10 mins.
If you go into movies with that attitude, with none or little knowledge of the franchise and history then you may be expecting something else.
For me the its same with the Harry Potter movies, or the Twilight films...just not my bag...have watched the odd one, but they are not made for me or my generation...so to write reviews tearing them apart would make no sense for me.
In fairness, if you compare the CGI apes in "Dawn" with that of "Rise", you can even see here that there has been a vast improvement.
It was great to see a film with a solid, well developed villain for a change. Hollywood has been really lacking in the villain front in recent times. Admittedly Koba is very similar to Napoleon from Animal Farm - but I still thought his arc was done very well.
My only complaint would be the human characters. An unfortunate side effect of glossing over the Simian Virus was that I found it hard to care about the survivors. I don't think it helped that the main human character is essentially just a bland Mr Niceguy type. From the trailers I expected the Gary Oldman character to be more critical to the story, but truthfully he didn't feature enough to make an impression.
The last 3 films I've seen at the cinema have been sequels that I've preferred over the original (22 Jump Street, X-Men DOFP)... strange year.