Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Release Date:  11 July 2014                                                                  Runtime:  130 Minutes              
Review Date:  13 July 2014                                                                   Rating:  5 (of 6)

     Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a worthy installment in the franchise, though not as succinct or poignant as its predecessor.  There, chimpanzee Caesar really was the focus; it was his story and we often found ourselves in his shoes.  Here, it feels like more of a human story and none of these humans are as well developed as those in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a disconnect between them and us.  It's not till we get closer to the end that it becomes more of a movie about the titular apes.  (However, to be fair, the focus of the first 2 movies in the original series were the humans, the apes taking a back seat.)

    The lack of a strong emotional connection with either side is probably how the marginal magic was lost, but where along the lines it fell by the wayside in this outing is anyone's guess.  The writing team of Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, who single-handedly resurrected the franchise, returned, though it appears a new writer, Mark Bomback, was brought on board to do rewrites.  The original director, Rupert Wyatt, was set to return but bowed out when Fox set a release date he found to be too soon to do a competent job.

     (Now this new director, Matt Reeves, and writer are set to helm the next installment, Reeves pulling double duty as a writer, too.  Meanwhile, Jaffa and Silver who had originally envisioned a trilogy for their reboot won't be on board for the third outing other than in the capacity of producers, currently entrenched in the Jurassic Park and Avatar franchises.)

     Neither here nor there, the titles should be reversed, the "Dawn" being the beginning and here the ape population growing or on the "Rise".

     RANT: Unfortunately, my viewing was impaired by a major distraction and therefore my enjoyment, perception and rating may have been affected.  I had read that this was one of the rare movies that were supposed to be really good in 3D, receiving really high marks (I recommend using http://www.cinemablend.com/3d yourself), so that's the route I went.  By the time the film called for glasses, the theater was pitch black dark.  I opened the package and put them on.  Something wasn't right, the picture often looking blurry or objects were doubled, except in the close up (but sometimes even then).  I didn't know if this was the actual movie, this particular projection or a problem with the glasses themselves.  I noticed if I closed my right eye when the focus got really bad, it would rein the picture in a little but this was no way to watch a movie!  However, I couldn't go out to Customer Service because then I'd miss what was going on and the next viewing wouldn't be for another 5 hours, time I didn't have.

     I was rather astounded because the 3D had gotten a rave review and here I wasn't experiencing it at all.  When the film concluded and the house lights came on I discovered the problem when I removed my glasses--THEY WERE MISSING THEIR RIGHT LENS!!!  I was rather annoyed as I had been waiting a long time for this film's release, the only one I'd been anticipating since the disappointing Lego Movie.       

     But more annoying is this whole scam with the $2 or $3+ surcharge for 3D movies' accessory glasses.  I have a 3D TV, I have my own glasses that I take good care of and know that work, why do I need to buy glasses every time I go to the theater?  It's an absurd rip off, especially when you take into consideration that they then expect you to return the glasses at the end of the film so they can "recycle" them.  If you have your customers doing that, why not give them their deposit back, like some states do with bottles and cans?  I don't want to wear someone else's repackaged glasses, thank you, and then be ripped off by being charged each time.

    (For more insight into this practice, read: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/01/are_these_3d_glasses_dirty.html.)