Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: July 11, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 48 Critic Reviews
Positive:
44
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 10, 2014
The film forges ahead, in vivid 3-D, with such energy, expertise and thunderous conviction that you readily accept its basic premise — the pell-mell emergence of great intelligence, plus moral awareness, in primitive bodies — and find yourself exactly where the filmmakers want you to be, swinging giddily between sympathy for the apes and the humans in what threatens to become all-out war. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJul 10, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is awe-inspiring. Read full review
100
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 9, 2014
Yet for all of the technological genius at work here, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes maintains a remarkably human core, even under digital makeup. Read full review
100
HitfixDrew McWeenyJun 29, 2014
"Dawn" is not just a good genre movie or a good summer movie. It's a great science-fiction film, full-stop, and one of the year's very best movies so far. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJun 29, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes manages to do at least three things exceptionally well that are hard enough to pull off individually: Maintain a simmering level of tension without let-up for two hours, seriously improve on a very good first entry in a franchise and produce a powerful humanistic statement using a significantly simian cast of characters. Read full review
100
VarietyGuy LodgeJun 29, 2014
An altogether smashing sequel to 2011′s better-than-expected “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” this vivid, violent extension of humanoid ape Caesar’s troubled quest for independence bests its predecessor in nearly every technical and conceptual department. Read full review
91
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanJul 10, 2014
Director Matt Reeves, working from a script by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Mark Bomback, elevates the apes to primary importance in this intelligent thriller. Read full review
91
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezJul 9, 2014
In truth, the deeply absorbing and thematically rich ‘Apes’ sequel is more akin to a drama than an action film, but it's one that still satisfies the desires and demands of big, blockbuster filmmaking. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJul 10, 2014
“Dawn” is more than a bunch of occasionally thrilling action sequences, emotional gut punches and throwaway jokes arranged in predictable sequence. It is technically impressive and viscerally exciting, for sure, but it also gives you a lot to think, and even to care, about. Read full review
90
Film.comJordan HoffmanJul 9, 2014
Serkis’ Caesar gets more than his fair share of rip-snortin’ badass moments. He’s arguably the finest leader of men we’ve seen on screen since “Lincoln.” Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzJul 10, 2014
Loud, smart and ferociously committed to its premise, and it leaves an intriguingly bitter aftertaste. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 10, 2014
This installment inches events closer to a merge point with 1968's "Planet of the Apes" while maintaining its own unique identity. It is in every way superior to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Dave McGinnJul 10, 2014
Good news – it’s incredible. It sets the standard for blockbuster action movies, and manages to be even better than its predecessor. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 10, 2014
This is an “Apes” for the ages. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia PuigJul 10, 2014
It's a provocative sci-fi action film with dynamite special effects, a powerful humanistic theme with echoes of real-life social conflicts, and a truly wondrous performance by Serkis. Read full review
88
New York PostKyle SmithJul 9, 2014
For two hours of breathless drama, you forget you’re watching actors grunting like chimps and hope two rival civilizations can work together. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJul 11, 2014
What’s striking about this new film is that it lays out the message-mongering in such a way that you can enjoy the movie equally well on a purely action level. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnJul 10, 2014
It speaks to the masses with some treats for the discerning types in the back. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJul 9, 2014
A sequel that easily tops its 2011 predecessor. Read full review
80
CineVueDaniel GreenJul 14, 2014
A satisfying balance of family drama, political intrigue and all-out action (an ape cavalry charge has to be seen to be believed) do, in truth, only constitute half of the story, as Reeves' sci-fi sequel is as much a technical triumph as a narrative one. Read full review
80
EmpireIan NathanJul 14, 2014
A superbly mounted, powerfully performed, if slightly underfed Apes sequel. That Reeves is set to direct Untitled Of The Planet Of The Apes next is cause for much celebration. This guy’s fur real. No pun intended. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 11, 2014
Even given the spate of post-apocalyptic and dystopian films that rule the multiplexes, this is the bleakest “franchise” in human history, and I’m curious if there will be any balm whatsoever in the next close encounter of the furred kind. Read full review
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJul 10, 2014
Makes for riveting viewing. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is among the more brisk 2 hours and 10 minutes I've spent in a theater in some time -- and it's easily the most rewarding of this year's summer tentpole films. Read full review
80
The DissolveKeith PhippsJul 9, 2014
Yet for all the heady ideas at play, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes remains a visceral film, one of movement, action, unexpected developments, and disarming poignance. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 9, 2014
Eschewing a tidy wrap-up, Reeves doesn't leave us feeling manipulated, as so often happens in films like this. Instead, we want to know where the story goes from here, and that's no small accomplishment. Read full review
80
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekJul 8, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a much better and far less silly movie than its predecessor. Read full review
80
Total FilmRichard JordanJul 3, 2014
Not quite the intimate parable of the first movie nor a balls-to-the-wall battlefield extravaganza, Dawn is pitched somewhere in the middle, with much of its two hour-plus running time powered by the simmering, expertly sustained tension both between and within the two species. Read full review
80
The GuardianSteve RoseJul 2, 2014
Just as 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes surpassed expectations, so this sequel delivers on its promise and leaves us wanting more – which we'll almost certainly get. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonJul 2, 2014
It may lack its predecessor’s lofty ambitions, but once the bullets, spears and hairy fists start flying you’ll be too wrapped up to care. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyJul 2, 2014
There's evident patience and intelligence to the filmmaking all over, as well as an engagement with genuine ideas about diplomacy, deterrence, law and leadership. However often it risks monkey-mad silliness, it's impressively un-stupid. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJul 9, 2014
The narrative and its attendant lessons about how one rotten ape and/or human can spoil the bunch are engaging, although I found myself drifting during the battle sequences. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianJeff BakerJul 11, 2014
The apes and the special effects team are the real stars of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 10, 2014
Visually, this movie is big, bold, often awe-inspiring. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJul 10, 2014
In one of the most wickedly funny scenes in sci-fi history, Koba uses monkeyshines to bamboozle some gun-toting yahoos and scuttle the peace treaty. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 10, 2014
Whatever audiences think of it, I'd say the latest "Apes" picture is just that: a solid success, sharing many of its predecessor's swift, exciting storytelling and motion-capture technology virtues. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 10, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes works both as allegory and action-adventure film. The internecine conflict between apes mirrors the troubled history of our own race. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 9, 2014
Dawn is dynamite entertainment, especially in the rousing first hour. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJul 9, 2014
An action-packed epic, a moving sci-fi allegory rendered in broad, lush strokes by the latest state of the computer animator’s art. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneJul 9, 2014
This is a summer blockbuster contingent on grand bargains, tactical retreats, and a ferocious, inevitable shock-and-awe campaign. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJul 14, 2014
What is missing from the film is wit—the deep wit that comes from playing off species and environments against each other. Read full review
70
TimeRichard CorlissJul 10, 2014
When it gets going, it’s a pretty fine movie. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 9, 2014
"Dawn's" vision of masses of intelligent apes swarming the screen as masters of all they survey is even more impressive than it was the last time around and reason enough to see the film all by itself. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jul 9, 2014
Yet for all the heart and soul the actor pours into his role, watching Dawn still feels a bit like seeing massive, expensive wheels spin in place. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJul 11, 2014
At a certain point in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, you expect Caesar to say, "Et tu, Koba?" Maybe a bit obvious, but it would have shown some wit. Read full review
60
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJul 9, 2014
For its few visual and many script flaws, however, director Matt Reeves (“Cloverfield,” “Let Me In”) balances the splashy set pieces with quieter moments (sullen teen Kodi Smit-McPhee gives a copy of Charles Burns’ “Black Hole” to a wise orangutan named after Maurice Evans!) in such a way that “Dawn” never feels dull or draggy. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 10, 2014
If you see the movie, notice how the ending is no ending, and the fact that it even feels like one is entirely a function of Michael Giacchino's musical score. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezJul 10, 2014
Watching an army of apes riding horses heading into battle is undeniably cool, but that’s the only thing the movie gives you: Neat eye candy. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is written at a level so low, even 8- year-olds will find it lacking. Read full review
40
SalonAndrew O'HehirJul 10, 2014
Any film that begins with one of those fake-news montages, where snippets of genuine CNN footage are stitched together to concoct a feeling of semi-urgency around its hackneyed apocalypse, already sucks even before it gets started. Read full review
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