Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The return of Caesar, the return of the stunning visuals, the return of the brilliant Andy Serkis; the return of the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise. I must freely admit to having made a classic film faux pas as I have only very recently seen the original film, which I loved, but I did love the 2011 reboot all the more, and this second outing well and truly blew me away. Not a massively "in your face" impact from the start, but hugely dramatic, and lucidly powerful and emotive throughout, to the point that by the end I was well and truly bowled over. This is easily the best Apes film I have seen by far, and all I shall say is - we've come a long way since Charlton Heston shouting at those "damn dirty apes".

Much more so that the first in this reboot series, Dawn of just seems to come together so much more, so effortlessly and so wonderfully.

Origin stories are always difficult (see what I was saying about Captain America a few days ago if you want to read more of my ramblings) and rebooted origin stories even more so. Don't get me wrong, I feel Rise of was still a great film and they pulled it off, but only just. On one hand they did take quite a while in getting to the crux of the matter and whilst solid, I didn't feel James Franco did quite enough to carry the film home. On the other hand though, they did in that film instead concentrate on some beautiful emotive and unique sequences, they showcased some spectacular effects, and showcased the superb Andy Serkis as Caesar.

In this barnstorming, blistering sequel those last two are back and back with a vengeance. No matter what is on screen in this film, it is always stunning to look at. Terrifying villains, chilling moments, beautiful scenery or apes, touching emotive scenes or all out war; it is just beguilingly dazzling to look at. We are of course very used to all sorts of CGI effects being able to create literally anything on screen these days, but the unique and tailored techniques used in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes just make everything look so heightened and pure in a way that I have never seen before.

We must also of course, mention Andy Serkis, the star of the last film and even more so of this one. He is of course no stranger to perfectly inhabiting and creating CGI enhanced roles (King Kong and Gollum to name two) and again as Caesar he comes alive. Not only as Caesar, but as a clearly defined and evolved Caesar in this film. It is one of those occasions where I am truly struggling to describe a performance; I urge you just to watch Dawn of for Andy Serkis if nothing else - he is perfect.

Another ape to mention, is Caesar's second in command turned nemesis Koba, played by relative unknown Toby Kebbell. Chilling...truly chilling. It has been a long time since I have seen a film villain fashioned, created, honed (over the space of two films) fleshed out and then presented to marvellous effect. Just the look of Koba on screen is frighteningly excellent, but when teamed with Kebbell's truly and deliciously sinister voice; the result is a visually and audibly equal character to Caesar.  

Let us now turn to the human side of things, as they are an important aspect of these films too. Like James Franco (who does get a welcome cameo in this one) in the first film, I feel Jason Clarke as Malcolm could have done a bit more to carry his character and role in the film. Having said that I can completely see why he was cast and he has enough of an individually raw approach to see the film through. Keri Russell is his opposite lead and generally I love her as an actress, my only complaint being that for whatever reason we don't see more of a developed role for her. Aside from the simian side of things, the star performer for me is Gary Oldman as Dreyfus, the leader of the human colony. His role itself is perhaps quite predictable (a hint of villainy but broadly just fanatical) yet he does it justice entirely, being incredibly watchable every second he is on screen.

What I love about this film, alongside its predecessor now, is probably what a lot enjoyed with the original films; they have found a very unique and captivating way of telling an evolving, well-crafted, brilliant story. Again, clichéd though it may sound, this is a startling rarity as the Dawn of sequel is in my opinion a far greater film than Rise of. It is truly wonderful to behold. Visuals, music (composed by the rapidly ascending star that is Michael Giacchino) the acting and the overall stunning finished product. I have no doubt that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, like its original predecessor of so many years ago, shall go on to become a cinematic classic.

*Oh and as a brief aside, it has come to my attention that this is actually my 100th blog post! Thank you so much for your readership and support, hope you have enjoyed it so far!*

RIP Lord Richard Attenborough

1923-2014

CAPTAIN AMERICA - The Winter Soldier

The final Marvel movie/"Avengers sequel" to date that I missed at the cinema and have now finally caught up on via DVD. Essentially Captain America 2, this film takes the war-time, all-American hero of a bygone day and thrusts him well and truly into the modern Marvel era.

Without his team of Avengers, we see what life is like for Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) when he flies solo. In many senses - it is action packed! Honed and focused action sequences, thrilling political neo-drama, sparkling character chemistry and various intruiging and well executed Marvel themes and undercurrents make The Winter Soldier a very solid film in the Marvel canon, a very well received sequel and a great 2 hour watch.

I did enjoy the first Captain America of 2011; in many senses it was groundbreaking and gave something radically different compared to other Marvel action movies - offering a near-perfect blend of action and incredibly human emotive scenes, as well as being heavily genre orientated. But in the back of my mind whenever I watch it, there is always the sense that they were trying to get through it for the sake of it at times; like they just wanted to establish the origin of Captain America, draw it out into one long film, and then bounce him into the rosta of the Avengers. Now we see the Captain coming into his own in the modern world (though the process takes some struggle) which to me feels like what we were meant to see from the start; certainly it is what a major proportion of the character's comic book background is made of. From his first origin film, to development in the Avengers, to major development in this film, we also see Chris Evans come on leaps and bounds too. Slipping back into the essence of Captain America with ease,we now get to see him in this whole new host of situations and scenarios, the result  of which he delivers upon very well.

Apart from Chris Evans and Captain America/Steve Rogers, we also get the welcome return and evolution of a few other familiar faces. The ever iconic Samuel L. Jackson returns as the ever iconic Nick Fury who, without giving too much away, by the end of the film goes on quite a ride character-wise himself. In terms of action, attitude and development, we see more of Jackson in all his glory as Fury then we have ever seen before, and I for one think that to be a brilliant thing. Scarlett Johansson returns as Cap's fellow Avenger Natasha Romanoff, AKA the Black Widow. Again we see a few new glimmers of development in what is clearly a multi-film character arc here, but we still see a development of this character's personality and backstory, as well as being reminded of her ability to kick ass like the best of them. Also as a brief aside, I credit the writers and producers for not simply turning the Black Widow into the girl who falls for the boy in this film. Obviously Scarlett Johansson is stunningly gorgeous and she is the main female lead in this film, but her character introduced in the Avengers is stuck to, and we do not just see her gazing into Cap's eyes for two hours. The result is originality and very watchable chemistry.

The other returning face comes in the form of the character the title of The Winter Soldier refers to. Sebastian Stan returns as the resurrected "Bucky" Barnes who has hence become the villainous Winter Soldier. Whilst this is a staple in the Captain America mythology, and a very important aspect to be covered in these films, the character itself fell quite flat for me; being one element in an otherwise quite original Marvel film that felt clichéd. I didn't really take to the character in the first film, I thought he was two one-dimensional and predictable, and I'm afraid (despite a radical revamp) the same can be said second time around.

Though not seen before, though also a staple in the Marvel/Avengers mythology is Sam Wilson, AKA the Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie. A bit of backstory and a new action boost makes his a welcome new face.

One final casting note to mention. Cap 2 has a very deep and resonant undercurrent of the political, the secretive, and the scandal exposure. All elements in this film work to create this, but one more than most is Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. This was a surprise bit of casting, but still a welcome one, as the moments where Redford tries to convey the two-sided Pierce fall a bit flat, but when his dark streak is revealed he excels in presenting it with subtle venom.

So yes, unlike for example the Thor sequel which also came post-Avengers, this film goes a bit beyond relying on old formula, and instead pushes the character and the universe in new and slightly unexpected directions, which such a film and such a sequel should do. Though at no point do we feel that this particular Marvel branch is running out of steam, I feel that this is certainly a better outing for the star-spangled hero, and bodes well for the next time we shall see these characters, which I am sure we are due to get... Avengers: Age of Ultron anyone?