Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)

Matt Reeves, the director of the latest iteration of the "Planet Of The Apes" series 'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' is one of the good guys. One of his first jobs in the world of film was to work with his friend J.J. Abrams to restore Spielberg's short films from his childhood days that were thought to be lost. When J.J. Abrams wanted to keep a few of the leftover film snippets - after all, these snippets came from the master of blockbuster cinema himself - Matt Reeves wouldn't let him. "You don't do that," he explained to his friend. At the time, both young filmmakers were just 14 years old.Now Matt Reeves has once again ensured that a treasure from his childhood days is treated with respect. His sequel to Rupert Wyatt's successful reboot 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' (2011) does everything right. Reeves focuses on the nascent ape civilisation in the first twenty minutes. What should be a sad, dystopian film - after all, it describes the end of humanity and the rise of ape civilisation - is instead a quiet tale of an attempt at utopia that breaks down through mistakes and Shakespearean intrigue on both sides and erupts into open conflict.

As a child, Reeves was an ardent fan of the successful Planet of the Apes series, which began with 'Planet Of The Apes' (1968) starring Charlton Heston. He has always been more interested in the world of the apes than that of humans. Like the author of the novel, the Frenchman Pierre Boulle, Reeves understood the world of the apes as a projection of our mutual social interaction.

Ten years have passed since 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes'. The leader of the ape clan, Caesar (Andy Serkis), no longer believes that mankind has survived the outbreak of a deadly virus. But he is proved wrong when a small group of humans invade the apes' territory. Malcolm (Jason Clark) wants to secure the existence of the human enclave in decaying San Francisco by means of a dam. Apes and humans initially succeed in negotiating a truce, but the ape Koba (Toby Kebbell), formerly tormented by the humans, and the military leader of the humans, Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) throw sand is the gears of peace.A confrontation between apes and humans seems inevitable...

A terrific film that uses its Hollywood budget to stage a profoundly human story of conflict and lack of communication between hostile parties.