Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier.

Director:

Matt Reeves

Writers:

Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa

Stars:

Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 17 wins & 47 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Serkis	...	Caesar
Jason Clarke	...	Malcolm
Gary Oldman	...	Dreyfus
Keri Russell	...	Ellie
Toby Kebbell	...	Koba
Kodi Smit-McPhee	...	Alexander
Kirk Acevedo	...	Carver
Nick Thurston	...	Blue Eyes
Terry Notary	...	Rocket
Karin Konoval	...	Maurice
Judy Greer	...	Cornelia
Jon Eyez	...	Foster
Enrique Murciano	...	Kemp
Larramie Doc Shaw	...	Ash (as Doc Shaw)
Lee Ross	...	Grey

Storyline

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

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Plot Keywords:

ape | planet of the apes | post apocalypse | sequel | leader | 

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Taglines:

One last chance for peace.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rupert Wyatt of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) declined to direct this film, saying he was uncomfortable with the original locked release date of May 23, 2014, that would not give him enough time to work on the film. However, just a few months before release, the film's released slot was replaced with X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).

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Goofs

The apes charging on horseback with automatic rifles, firing all their weapons endlessly without reloading.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Physician: If you have a fever and cough or a sore throat, stay home.
Man on TV: I'd say 95% chance of this is manufactured. Came out of a laboratory.
Female Reporter: The source of the virus was traced back to drug test done at Gen-Sys Laboratories in San Francisco.
Male Reporter 1: The lab technician, now known as Patient Zero, was accidentally exposed to retrovirus ALZ-113, an Alzheimer's trial drug that was being testing on chimpanzees.
Male Reporter 2: The infected chimps showed signs of erratic and aggressive behavior that led to their escape from the...

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Crazy Credits

After the credits there is an audio cue of Apes digging through, and removing rubble and concrete. Then Koba's distinctive breathing is heard, hinting at Koba surviving the fall after his struggle with Caesar.

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Connections

Featured in Film 2018: Episode dated 5 March 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Ain't That a Stinger
Written by Griffy Giacchino

User Reviews

Much Better Than The First Film Which Isn't A Massive Endorsement

After seeing RISE on Channel 4 last night I promised myself I wasn't going to waste two hours of my life and money on a bus and cinema ticket to watch a Hollywood blockbuster sequel . Maybe the Summer heat has been frying my brain because I found myself taking a long walk to Edinburgh city centre and spending £8.20 on a ticket to watch DAWN . Perhaps I was trying to teach myself a lesson in that I should always stick to gut instinct ? When someone makes a decision they should stick to it otherwise bad things might happen

DAWN starts in exactly the same manner as RISE finished . Simian flu sweeps across the world killing billions of humans and this economy of storytelling is very effective indeed . Unfortunately when we're introduced to the surviving humans there's been a massive spanner thrown in to the works because they're all living in a small district of San Francisco . What's wrong with that you ask ? Common sense should tell you that's the worst place you can stay in after a catastrophe . As John Wyndham and John Christopher point out in their novels a city is nothing more than a concrete desert . Surely they'd be hundreds of thousands of dead bodies in the city ? Won't this lead to all types of secondary diseases ? How you going to farm crops in a city ? I suppose there might be some supplies left but after ten years of industrial collapse people still have access to cigars and cigarettes . I'm guessing simian flu only affects non smokers ?

I'm also guessing you're not supposed to think too deeply about this scenario because it doesn't really hold up to much examination . Characters are shown to having access to military hardware but the military are conspicuous by their absence . This is probably down to plot function . The human survivors need access to a hydro dam just outside the city in order to gain electricity and kick off the plot . The human enclave need electricity in order to power communications to contact other human communities but it's impossible to believe that in ten years after the flu outbreak not one single warship has berthed in the docks , or a military plane has landed at the airport or a self sufficient military unit has entered the city

Another slight problem is that the characters are like in the previous film rather one dimensional and underwritten . We've got the nice male human character , the nice female human character , the bad ethnic minority human , the good ethnic minority human etc and this is mirrored by the ape community . If you've any knowledge of Soviet history you might just second guess how things pan out in the ape community and it's the actors playing the apes in a motion capture suits who make the biggest impression . If you're going to cast Gary Oldman at least give him a part deserving of his talents and have him do something interesting with his character

It's a pity the film is let down by a succession of small flaws because I did like it but wanted to love it and the movie doesn't quite pull it off . It is a solid relatively dark blockbuster better than the film that preceded it and better than most Summer fare that's been released over the last few years but don't think it's anywhere near deserving of its position of 150 on the IMDb top movies list and feel like the HOBBIT movies will quickly drop out of the list . As it stands the original franchise was probably more enjoyable as a whole due to its imagination

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Brazil]

Country:

USA UK Canada

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

11 July 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Rise of the Planet of the Apes Sequel

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$170,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$72,611,427, 13 July 2014

Gross USA:

$208,545,589

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$710,644,566

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chernin Entertainment, Ingenious Media, Soho VFX

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos Datasat Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1