★★☆☆☆

As reboots go, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is not bad. I was a child when the first Planet of the Apes movies came out and saw them many times growing up.

Back when the SyFy channel was a good thing, they used to have the occasional Planet of the Apes marathon. One thing I miss in the reboot is the cheesiness and the distance. Special effects have actually gone too far in reboots. Some of the most beloved science fiction had sets that only Wisconsin could make cheesier.

Another nice aspect of the originals was they mastered keeping the audience at a distance. Yes, the characters had relationships and interactions, but we, the audience, always knew we were to remain outside looking in. The reboot has continued this new and not-so-good trend of trying to pull the audience directly into the movie. Trying to make us emotionally involved beyond observer level does not make for a movie that can be watched hundreds of times. At least when it comes to this type of movie. I’ve seen this movie a couple of times now, but have no interest in seeing it again. Perhaps I’m just old but I cannot see this one having perpetual re-runs on some fledgling station.

The message got lost

What appears to have gotten lost along the way was the message. What was special about the original Planet of the Apes movies was the consistent message. Trying to show the evolution of the Apes making the same mistakes man had made during his evolution.

On one hand we can say just how far we have come as a species, cures for many diseases, went to the moon, etc. On the other hand we can say man has not really evolved past his early history. We still have tyrants enslaving people. Power hungry individuals raise armies in an attempt to impose their will on others. The species may have accomplished many things, but appears to have learned nothing. This is something which I fear has gotten lost in the franchise reboot, and, for that reason, I gave it only 2 stars.

Planet of the Apes used to also take particular aim at “God made man in his own image.” The trilogy was an essay on the human condition. The reboot kind of misplaced that mission.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.