2014 Movie Preview: #3 - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Release date: July 11

Plot summary: 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.

My take: Many people were shocked by how much they enjoyed the 2011 reboot of this franchise and you can include me in that group. Now I am really eager to see where they go from here. While James Franco will not be back in this film, the cast has added fine actors like Gary Oldman and Keri Russell. But let's face it, we're all coming again to see the great work of Andy Serkis as Caesar.

Back in the Hobbit

Because the original Lord of the Rings trilogy came out before I started this blog, many may not know that I have never been a big Tolkien fan. It's mainly based on the fact that the fantasy genre is one that I have never found overly compelling (it's the same reason you'll never see me talking about Game of Thrones on the blog either). Despite the fact that I am not a fan, I did see all three Rings movies mainly because I have friends who enjoy them and I'd rather do something with them than sit at home alone. Well a similar situation arose this weekend when I had a friend ask me if I wanted to join him to see the second installment in the Hobbit trilogy. Given that I had not seen the first one that came out last year, I opted to rent that one so that I would be able to follow along with the story. So without further ado, here's my quick and dirty reviews for both of those films

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Like many I struggled with this first film for the sake that it felt like it contained too much superfluous content. I mean, it takes 45 minutes before the characters actually decide whether or not to take the titular Journey. As we watch this collection of dwarves, Gandalf, and the hobbit known as Bilbo Baggins, head on out we get some brief moments of excitement that end up getting stretched out for far too long. The best moments come when we see appearances from familiar faces. Although it goes on too long (a recurring theme), the scenes between Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and Gollum are a lot of fun and remind us once again as to how good Andy Serkis is in this type of role. I also really enjoyed the scene between Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and Saruman (Christopher Lee). Even though there's very little action going on here, you enjoy seeing these great actors sharing dialogue. Despite some bloat, it does a decent job of establishing the quest that these characters will be encountering. I did have to laugh, however, as one character states near the end of the film that they believe the worst is behind them. It is quite clear that there's a lot more story and a whole lot more peril yet to come. Grade: B-

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - The second film features a similar and yet slightly different problem. Most of the action in this film flows better and is more engaging, yet it suffers from being the middle portion of the story. As a result, all of it is mere set-up without any decent pay-off. The film's closing feels particularly cheap knowing that there's still one more lengthy movie to go before we get a true resolution. Prior to that point, there are several impressive sequences that involve spiders, elves, orcs, and a wild river ride in a barrel. The introduction of the aforementioned elves including Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and new character Tauriel (played by Evangeline Lily) bring both some exciting action and an unconventional love triangle. In addition to all that, we get some major scenes involving an impressive looking dragon, known as Smaug. Voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, the creature is not only visually impressive, but provides some key dramatic tension in the film as well. While still far from perfect, this movie is an improvement over the first by virtue of its tighter storytelling. It is strongly advised, however, the you watch the first one before this or else you will struggle with following along with the plot and these many characters. Grade: B

Monkey business

As the trailers keep rolling in, we now get our first look at Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to 2011's surprise hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes.