Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Tonight was date night. Hubby and I decided to go see the movie, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which, of course, is the sequel to the 2011 movie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. We had really enjoyed the latter, so it was an obvious choice. I had fond memories of watching the 1970s series, Planet of the Apes on Sunday afternoons with my family.

About 30 minutes into the movie, I realized that I could definitely do with watching the first movie again. There were so many references to events from the previous movie that I had difficulty remembering. Caesar, the head of the apes, who had rescued them all in the 2011 movie was a compelling figure throughout the movie. I had totally forgotten that he could talk in addition to using sign language.

Without creating too much of a spoiler, the movie is about the apes and their habitat that they have been living in since Caesar freed them from their confinement. They are living at peace until they encounter humans who are searching for a resource that the apes have in their backyard. A mutual mistrust between ape and man leads to an ape-on-ape attack, and finally and out-and-out war between man and simian.

Bottom line? The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a movie worth watching for its emotional depth and for the sheer beauty of the apes’ home. It is pretty violent, though, and it has a PG-13 rating. If you are sensitive to violence or have children who are, think carefully about seeing this. If you used to watch the series back in the 1970s, but have not yet seen the 2011 movie, you will likely be amazed at the special effects and how far they have come in 40 years.