Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Picking up a few years after Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Cesar and his monkey friends have taken over the redwoods of Marin county (north of San Francisco). They have not seen people for years and believe them to be extinct. In fact, most people have died out, but there is a small colony surviving in San Francisco. The virus has burnt itself out and the remaining people are starting to work at rebuilding civilization. The first step to rebuilding civilization is electricity, so a team of explorers travels north to see if the hydroelectric plant there can be fixed to provide power to SF. People, meet Apes. Of course there is tension, and fear, and racism (Apeism?). But quality leadership leads us past all that, working toward a better life for everyone. Kind of fun to see ideas of racism and pacifism and nationalism portrayed in such an extreme environment that it really becomes obvious what the thinking about these ideologies is. Well done. Entertaining and a bit of thinking.
4 stars (out of 5)