Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

PG-13

2014

2h 10m

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

317 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Ten years after simian flu wiped out much of the world's homosapiens, genetically enhanced chimpanzee Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his ever-growing band of followers have established a thriving colony just outside San Francisco in Muir Woods. Meanwhile, a small band of human survivors emerges, which forces Caesar -- as leader -- to grapple with the dual challenge of protecting his people and re-establishing a relationship with the remaining human population -- the latter being Caesar's secret wish.

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Critics Consensus

With intelligence and emotional resonance to match its stunning special effects, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes expands on its predecessor with an exciting and ambitious burst of sci-fi achievement.

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Shadow and Act Staff

Shadow and Act

The fact that “Dawn of The Planet of The Apes” is a summer tent-pole with a brain and a conscience shouldn’t be this refreshing...

Sep 14, 2022

Full Review

Dwight Brown

National Newspaper Publishers Association

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is still the best big budget summer movie of 2014.

Mar 21, 2017

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David Sims

AV Club

Dawn is not interested in staging conflict for the sake of it, and the misunderstandings and tensions that drive the plot don't always feel like contrivances.

Sep 22, 2016

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JD Duran

InSession Film

While Dawn of the Planet of the Apes can certainly stand on it's own two legs, the character building and set-up from Rise, makes Dawn a little bit more potent.

Rated: A

Aug 19, 2024

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Benjamin Wiebe

InSession Film

Positive, nuanced, and brilliant.

Rated: A-

Jul 25, 2024

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" maintains a credible tone of seriousness over farce while operating as evocative post-apocalyptic science fiction.

Rated: 5/5

Apr 7, 2024

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Jorge R

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is Thrilling, Intense and Emotional. My favorite movie of all time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/10/25

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Jace T

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is an excellent follow up to Rise of the the Planet of the Apes. It is a great allegory for he fallacy of man, and how they will stab themselves in their own back for power, but told through a tale of apes. The villain, Koba, played by Toby Kebbell, is a fantastic antagonist, and Andy Serkis, as Caeser, is always incredible. The CGI in this franchise is top tier, and better than a lot of modern CGI. This is a Dystopian Sci-Fi world in which man is barely hanging on to survive after a Simian Flu ravaged their world. Towards the end of this film there is tons of Action, with some spread throughout. A group of the human characters go on an Adventure to restore power for their people. There is Drama between humans on humans, apes on apes, and humans on apes. There is nothing crazy Sci-Fi other than the enhanced human-like apes. This Thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat to see what happens next, and has you wanting for the next film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/05/25

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Daniel N

Solid action building well on the foundations laid by ‘rise’.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/19/25

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D K

Stunning CGI. Gripping tension. Devious machinations. Heartbreaking betrayals. Rousing heroics. Ingenious intricacies. A masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/08/25

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Flynn S

Amazing effects and awesome action packed story, this film is almost perfection and better than its predecessor.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/04/25

Full Review

Omid S.

These are all absolutely amazing. Very unique way better than the original one from dozens of years ago. I would watch every single one with the family.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/15/25

Full Review

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Matt Reeves

Director

Andy Serkis

Caesar

Jason Clarke

Malcolm

Gary Oldman

Dreyfus

Keri Russell

Ellie

Toby Kebbell

Koba

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Trailer 3

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Trailer 1

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Teaser Trailer 1

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Trailer 2

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Synopsis

Ten years after simian flu wiped out much of the world's homosapiens, genetically enhanced chimpanzee Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his ever-growing band of followers have established a thriving colony just outside San Francisco in Muir Woods. Meanwhile, a small band of human survivors emerges, which forces Caesar -- as leader -- to grapple with the dual challenge of protecting his people and re-establishing a relationship with the remaining human population -- the latter being Caesar's secret wish.

Director: Matt Reeves
Producer: Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Screenwriter: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Mark Bomback
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Chernin Entertainment, Ingenious Media
Rating: PG-13 (Intense Sci-Fi Action/Violence|Brief Strong Language)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 11, 2014, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $208.5M
Runtime: 2h 10m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos

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