Movie Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I'm a big Planet of the Apes guy.  Growing up as a kid in the 70's reruns of the movies and TV series made me a fan and kept me hooked.  I've enjoyed all the Planet of the Ape movies to include the Mark Wahlberg's Planet of the Apes from 2001 and the start of the latest take in 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  That brings us to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes which is out in theaters now.  I watched it yesterday with my 20 something daughter. 

<<<SPOILERS AHEAD>>>  We both really enjoyed the movie.  Set 10 years after Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the apes are living peacefully in the woods across the San Francisco bay from humans who are trying to survive after a flu has decimated the earth's population.  A chance encounter then puts the two at odds.  Ceasar tries to keep the peace while dealing with those within the ape community who remember well how they were treated by humans.  Those apes would have Ceasar lead the apes against humans before they can again become strong enough to challenge the apes.  From there the apes are in conflict with humans.  I won't ruin all the major plot points but I thought they did a great job of making the movie a very realistic scenario.  I believe you can understand the actions by both sides.  The movie is paced very well and I can't wait to see where the next movie goes.  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a great sequel which I recommend to everyone.