Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Ten years after Will last saw Caesar (Andy Serkis) leading a group of apes into the Redwood forests outside San Francisco, the ALZ-113 drug created at Gen-Sys began a pandemic known as the Simian Flu which wiped out most of mankind.  A group of survivors being led by former law enforcement officer Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) has made camp amidst the ruins in the city, but when Malcolm (Jason Clarke, "Zero Dark Thirty") leads a small band into the Muir Woods in an attempt to revive power generation at the O’Shaughnessy Dam they make a startling discovery, a large, Caesar-led community of apes whom some humans wish to communicate with while others want to declare war on in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes."

Director Matt Reeves ("Cloverfield," "Let Me In") takes over the franchise (written by "Rise of the Planet of the Apes's" Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and "The Wolverine's" Mark Bombeck) and if the motion captured apes of "Rise" owned the first film, they absolutely rule the second.  There is no mistaking Serkis is the star of this film, and if his words at the end of the first were astonishing, the sight of him on horseback bellowing 'Go!' to Malcolm is a powerful one.

To read the rest of Laura's review, click here:
http://www.reelingreviews.com/dawnoftheplanetoftheapes.htm