“The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is the second installment in the Planet of the Apes movie franchise, following “Rise of The Planet of The Apes.” The film features Jason Clarke as Malcolm and Andy Serkis as Caesar. The story picks up with the human population rapidly declining due to the ALZ 113 virus created by Gen Sys. Meanwhile, the Apes establish a colony in the woods, where they teach their young and hunt for food. Caesar leads the colony as the Alpha, and everyone follows his lead. He also has a wonderful family, including his son Blue Eyes, his wife Lisa, and his newborn son Cornelius. The plot centers on the encounter between Caesar’s colony and a human group seeking to restart a dam to power their settlement.
The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
What is causing the human population to deteriorate?
In the previous film, Will, a scientist at Gen Sys lab, created the AZL 113 virus to cure Alzheimer’s. The testing was conducted only on chimpanzees, but one of the lab scientists accidentally contracted the virus, leading to its spread to humans. The virus proved harmful to humans, causing numerous deaths. The virus has devastated human populations and depleted many essential resources. Many humans have run out of supplies, including a colony near the Golden Bridge, which has been using diesel to power their electrical equipment. With their diesel supply dwindling, they plan to start a dam in the forest where the Ape colony resides.
How did the humans anger the apes?
The movie begins with news channels reporting on the havoc caused by the disease. It then shifts to the apes hunting for food in the forest. Two apes encounter a man and panic, leading the man to shoot one of them. Hearing the gunshot, other humans arrive. At the same time, Caesar and his group also arrive at the scene. Koba, an ape bearing string strong hatred for humans, becomes enraged because of the intrusion, but Malcolm, one of the humans, approaches with peace and apologizes for his friend’s actions. Caesar, who already has a soft spot for humans, decides to let them go.
But Malcolm leaves his bag behind, which catches Caesar’s attention. He orders some apes to follow the humans. The apes track the humans to their colony, and later, Caesar and his entire colony visit the human settlement to issue a warning. Caesar warns the humans to stay out of the forest and returns Malcolm’s bag. However, Malcolm doesn’t listen and once again visits the ape colony.
Why are the Apes helping the humans?
When Malcolm reaches Caesar’s colony, he is attacked by a group of angry apes who drag him to Caesar. Malcolm surrenders and offers to show Caesar the dam and explain their intentions. Caesar agrees and, along with some apes, visits the dam. He allows the humans to proceed with fixing the dam on the condition that they do not bring any guns.
The following morning, the apes supervise the humans as they detonate the blocked waterway for the dam. However, after the explosion, Malcolm and two of his associates become trapped in the debris. Caesar and his apes quickly clear the debris and help them out. Cornelius, Caesar’s son, playfully interacts with Ellie and her son Alexander. However, Cornelius finds a gun in their belongings. This infuriates Caesar, and he throws the gun into the river and tells the humans to leave at once.
While Malcolm and Ellie are packing, they plead with Caesar to let them stay. However, Caesar is upset because his wife, Lisa, is sick, and he yells at them. Ellie offers to help Lisa with some antibiotics, and in return, Caesar allows them to stay for the day. They agree to finish their work within a day and for safety reasons even lock the man who brought a gun into the car. Seeing this, Caesar offers to help them complete their work. Later, when the apes help humans, Koba attacks Alexander. Maurice defends Alexander, leading Koba to accuse Caesar of loving humans more than apes, sparking a fight between them. Caesar overpowers Koba, forcing him to bow and accept his mistake.
How did a war break between Apes and Humans?
A still from “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)Later, Koba and some other apes attack and kill a couple of humans. After shooting the humans, Koba takes their guns and returns to his colony. Meanwhile, Caesar leads the humans to his colony to show them the lights from the human settlement. While everyone is celebrating, Koba shoots Caesar and announces himself as the new leader of the whole colony. Koba orders the colony to attack humans, but in the ensuing chaos, Malcolm and his family manage to escape. Koba orders the apes to be as brutal as possible to humans, and those who disagree are also chained alongside humans. As for Cesar, Ellie finds him while she is looking for her car.
The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Movie Ending Explained:
Did Caesar manage to make peace with Humans?
Caesar is injured and needs an operation. When Malcolm and the group approach their colony, they find it burning. Caesar decides to take them to Will’s house, where Ellie tells Malcolm that they need to operate on Caesar. However, the surgical kit is in their colony, now controlled by Koba. Malcolm goes to retrieve the kit. While his entry is uneventful, on his way back, he meets Blue Eyes.
Malcolm informs Blue Eyes that his father is alive. Malcolm returns to the house with Blue Eyes in tow, and the latter apologizes to his father and updates him on the situation in the human colony. He insists that once everyone knows that Caesar is alive, they will turn against Koba, as many follow just Koba out of fear since he has developed a habit of killing those who disobey him.
Caesar is worried about leading the apes in his weakened state, as he believes nobody will follow a weak leader. Meanwhile, Blue Eyes releases the chained apes and spreads the news about Caesar being alive. The apes then free the trapped humans and head to meet Caesar, who has now recovered thanks to the surgery. The group, consisting of the apes Malcolm and Caesar, reaches the human colony through the subway. Caesar confronts Koba, and as Blue Eyes predicted, everyone turns against Koba.
A fierce fight ensues between Koba and Caesar while Malcolm deals with some humans planning to detonate the tower with all the apes. However, the humans end up bombing the tower, causing it to catch fire. Koba falls into the fire and dies, while Caesar reunites with the remaining community members, including Cornelius and Lisa. Malcolm informs the apes that soldiers will soon arrive, signaling the start of a war, to which Cesar explains that the war has already begun.
The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Movie Theme Analysis:
The movie explores the conflicts and coexistence between humans and apes in a post-apocalyptic setting. As both groups compete for territory, tensions rise, highlighting the challenges of overcoming fear, mistrust, and past conflicts to achieve peaceful coexistence. The film also delves into themes of power and leadership through Caesar, the leader of the ape community. In the film, we see Cesar navigating internal dissent and external threats, which shows that leadership is pivotal during times of crisis.
In this film, nature and civilization are two polar opposites. The apes desire a simple life far away from the encroaching human society. On the flip side, the human survivors are hanging on to the last shreds of civilization, trying to make sense of the chaos around them. The film dives into the clash between these two worlds, showing us the dangers of trying to play with nature. But that’s not all! The movie also takes a deep dive into the themes of legacy and memory. The characters are haunted, not just by memories, but by spirits that also torment them. It’s not just humans; even apes deal with the baggage of their past, which influences how they act in the present.
