The Bird Boys are back at the dawn of a new age… it’s time to continue the saga of Caesar and his apes with Matt Reeves’ 2014 epic simian sci-fi action film “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes”. Starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, and Kodi Smit-McPhee, this is a superb genre movie hidden within a summer blockbuster that shows striking depth and skill, delivers huge action, and explores some deep questions about humanity and power. It elevates the franchise in new, thoughtful, and exciting ways much like any of the other truly great sequels. What we’re trying to say is that this one goes so hard and if you haven’t seen it… what are you doing??
In this episode, we talk all about “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” and the many things this movie does right. Hint: It’s pretty much everything. The performances are pitch-perfect, the themes and ideas are deep but not pretentious, the world-building is fantastic, the action and choreography are excellent, and the pivot toward making the apes the main focus of the franchise is truly inspired. Andy Serkis is a revelation and should have been nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Caesar. For real. The apes (and other animals) are even more impressive thanks to the work done by Weta Digital and the integration of CGI with practical sets delivers an immediacy that feels real. You’ll forget that these apes don’t exist. On top of that, the human side of the story is told incredibly well and filled with equally awesome performances. Nothing is lacking in this movie. The writing is great, the action set pieces are fantastic, and with this film, Matt Reeves solidified himself as one of them ones.
Later, we chat about the themes and duality within “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes”, the impressive CGI and motion capture tech, Andy Serkis being awesome, what we consider a good genre film, apes with guns, the positive critical response to the film, Matt Reeves, ape politics and Koba’s Shakespearian sabotage, and a whole lot more. We also share the film's plot, discuss our favourite scenes, talk about how excellent Koba is as a villain, discuss finding the right ratio of CGI and practical effects/sets in movies, and praise the development of the ape society. Plus, Otis talks about getting a haircut and the boys discuss aging gracefully, announce that “Weird Boy Summer” is here, share our review of the new album “I Want To Disappear” from The Story So Far, talk “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” being silly as hell, and more.
We’ll return next week with “War For The Planet Of The Apes” to finish the trilogy.
INITIATE BIRD PROTOCOL!
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