"a unique achievement, human input aside it’s really the apes that steal the show"

Dawn is surely one of the most anticipated sequels in recent years, following on from the excellent Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes back in 2011. Thankfully, Dawn does what most sequels fail to do which is continue the story and bring together new elements to create something ultimately more satisfying than its predecessor.

Set almost a decade after the events of Rise, Caeser, now a husband and father, has built a new home for himself and his clan in the huge redwood forest outside San Francisco. While the apes are under the impression humans have long since been wiped out, the truth is a stronghold of human survivors, immune to the Simian flu that devastated the planet, remain within the crumbling ruins of San Francisco. However what little power they do have is dwindling and in order to restore it they need access to the Reservoir which is well within the domain of Caeser. Despite hostility from Koba, Ceaser's second in command, his compassion for humans gets the better of him and allows the team to do their work.

Things seem to be going well between the two species, power is restored to the human civilisation and they even provide medicine to save Caeser’s sick wife. You kind of want things to end here on a happy note but unfortunately the narrative trajectory is well known and soon chaos ensues when Koba, with a passionate distrust of humans takes matters into his own hands and all out war breaks out.

What is so remarkable about this sequel from director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let The Right One In) is how humans essentially play a secondary role to the apes, and what we get are genuinely touching, emotional moments played out on screen by these stunningly rendered CG characters. Particularly with Caeser and the relationship he has with his son, Blue Eyes, which has all the depth and emotion of a human father/son bond, made all the more poignant when Blue Eyes is caught up in the horrors of war.

On the human side of things, Reeves has pulled together a fantastic cast with Jason Clarke, Keri Russell and Kodi Smit-Mcphee as the group who intially make contact with the apes, as a unit they represent the good in humanity. Gary Oldman turns in a brilliant supporting role as Dreyfus, appointed leader of the group. He is essentially a good man but prepared to go to war at the first sign of unrest. What’s interesting about the two factions is how both show demonstrable imperfections, although it looks for a while as if the apes have achieved a more peaceful evolution it transpires there is trouble in both camps and ultimately two chain events caused by both human and ape are responsible for the imminent war.

It’s easy to forget that we’re actually seeing the efforts of actors portraying the apes on screen, a testament to the abilities of Andy Serkis who truly brings Caeser to life and has made this character his own. Caeser is possibly one of the most complex characters in the whole film, both loyal to his family and his clan he’s also alone in knowing the goodness humans possess, which leads to a lot of friction with Koba, played menacingly by Toby Kebbell.

Visually, Dawn surpasses Rise with some incredible effects and shows just how far the technology has come, the opening hunting sequence alone is a breath-taking example of what can be achieved with purely visual effects. The closing shot is almost unbelievable as the line between human and ape becomes truly blurred. DOTPOTA is a unique achievement, human input aside it’s really the apes that steal the show and undoubtedly one of the best films of the year so far.