Simian the Blues
I don’t usually walk out on movies, but last night I walked out on “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”
Here’s why.
Mostly, I was bored beyond belief. This is a movie that makes “Pre-Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” or whatever that James Franco origin story flick was called, look like a work of art.
Rather foolishly, perhaps, I came in with high expectations from all the hype and the trailers. I was anticipating humdinger action, at a minimum. And maybe if I’d stuck around, I’d have gotten it. But instead, after an hour of painfully slow exposition and phoned-in everything, I’d had enough.
The production team for “Dawn” has brought in a new director, Matt Reeves (“Cloverfield”) and a nebbish cast of unknowns. I guess Franco wanted no part of this silly sequel. The quirky Gary Oldman is the only name player. He wears aviator glasses – again with the aviator glasses? – and acts … quirky.
“Dawn” picks up where its predecessor, “Rise” (yeah, that was it), left off. A very brief preamble updates us on the spread of the simian virus that has killed off most of the human population. The rest have killed themselves off, descending, one presumes, to the level of apes. A few pockets of humanity survive.
Meanwhile, the genetically altered apes have built themselves a budding pre-civilization somewhere outside of San Francisco. Cute ape babies are born. English composition is taught, though only the emperor Caesar (Andy Serkis) and a few others can speak the words.
Otherwise, they communicate with each other in grunts, gurgles, rattles, and some kind of rudimentary sign language. Actually, I think it must be telepathy, because the English subtitles indicate that very deep thoughts are being conveyed. If grunt equals “I feel your pain,” that’s some darn remarkable evolution. It’s just one of the many things in “Dawn” that make no sense.
It doesn’t make sense, either, that the humans in their little colony in Downtown San Fran need power to reboot a radio tower to communicate with the rest of the world, in order to find out who else has survived the apocalypse. Um, you’re driving vehicles? Send a search party?
In the beginning, one of those vehicles drives into the woods and encounters a band of apes. The rest is all slow – very slow – build-up to the inevitable confrontation. Predictability, cheesy dialogue, and mindless cliché are other distinguishing features of “Dawn.”
One other point about “Dawn,” which was true of “Rise” as well: for all its hype, the use of “motion capture” technology is not all that impressive. There are some lifelike moments, but there are also many that look very CGI fake. Close-up facial reactions and movements work well; more distant group shots and fast-moving action do not.
If the big showdown was gloriously entertaining, I’m not sorry I missed it.
***
I would end there, except one more observation needs to be made. If anything “dawned” on me after a few hours’ distance from the movie (and only then because I can be slow on the uptake), it’s the offensively, almost blatantly racist content of “Dawn.”
I made the same point, though it was not as salient, about the 2011 prequel “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” in which one ape character in particular looked like a horrible black stereotype. At least that movie had the mitigating factor of an African American actor in a prominent role. (I believe that was David Oyewolo as the head of the research firm where Franco’s character worked.)
Thinking back on the scenes of the human colony in San Francisco, I cannot remember seeing a single African American face. Certainly the nebbish lead characters are all white. The full cast list on IMDB has a few – one of whom voices one of the apes, “Ash.” Perhaps they appear in the movie after the first hour.
Nevertheless, the obvious contrast of the all dark-skinned and dark-furred simians (except for the rust-colored organgutan) cannot possibly be missed. If this is not a vision of a white-black civil war, I don’t know what is. I think it’s high time we put an end to the idiotic “Apes” franchise and all worked on getting along.
Here’s why.
Mostly, I was bored beyond belief. This is a movie that makes “Pre-Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” or whatever that James Franco origin story flick was called, look like a work of art.
Rather foolishly, perhaps, I came in with high expectations from all the hype and the trailers. I was anticipating humdinger action, at a minimum. And maybe if I’d stuck around, I’d have gotten it. But instead, after an hour of painfully slow exposition and phoned-in everything, I’d had enough.
The production team for “Dawn” has brought in a new director, Matt Reeves (“Cloverfield”) and a nebbish cast of unknowns. I guess Franco wanted no part of this silly sequel. The quirky Gary Oldman is the only name player. He wears aviator glasses – again with the aviator glasses? – and acts … quirky.
“Dawn” picks up where its predecessor, “Rise” (yeah, that was it), left off. A very brief preamble updates us on the spread of the simian virus that has killed off most of the human population. The rest have killed themselves off, descending, one presumes, to the level of apes. A few pockets of humanity survive.
Meanwhile, the genetically altered apes have built themselves a budding pre-civilization somewhere outside of San Francisco. Cute ape babies are born. English composition is taught, though only the emperor Caesar (Andy Serkis) and a few others can speak the words.
Otherwise, they communicate with each other in grunts, gurgles, rattles, and some kind of rudimentary sign language. Actually, I think it must be telepathy, because the English subtitles indicate that very deep thoughts are being conveyed. If grunt equals “I feel your pain,” that’s some darn remarkable evolution. It’s just one of the many things in “Dawn” that make no sense.
It doesn’t make sense, either, that the humans in their little colony in Downtown San Fran need power to reboot a radio tower to communicate with the rest of the world, in order to find out who else has survived the apocalypse. Um, you’re driving vehicles? Send a search party?
In the beginning, one of those vehicles drives into the woods and encounters a band of apes. The rest is all slow – very slow – build-up to the inevitable confrontation. Predictability, cheesy dialogue, and mindless cliché are other distinguishing features of “Dawn.”
One other point about “Dawn,” which was true of “Rise” as well: for all its hype, the use of “motion capture” technology is not all that impressive. There are some lifelike moments, but there are also many that look very CGI fake. Close-up facial reactions and movements work well; more distant group shots and fast-moving action do not.
If the big showdown was gloriously entertaining, I’m not sorry I missed it.
***
I would end there, except one more observation needs to be made. If anything “dawned” on me after a few hours’ distance from the movie (and only then because I can be slow on the uptake), it’s the offensively, almost blatantly racist content of “Dawn.”
I made the same point, though it was not as salient, about the 2011 prequel “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” in which one ape character in particular looked like a horrible black stereotype. At least that movie had the mitigating factor of an African American actor in a prominent role. (I believe that was David Oyewolo as the head of the research firm where Franco’s character worked.)
Thinking back on the scenes of the human colony in San Francisco, I cannot remember seeing a single African American face. Certainly the nebbish lead characters are all white. The full cast list on IMDB has a few – one of whom voices one of the apes, “Ash.” Perhaps they appear in the movie after the first hour.
Nevertheless, the obvious contrast of the all dark-skinned and dark-furred simians (except for the rust-colored organgutan) cannot possibly be missed. If this is not a vision of a white-black civil war, I don’t know what is. I think it’s high time we put an end to the idiotic “Apes” franchise and all worked on getting along.