Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Grading & Discussion

[TV's Frank]

It'd been two years since the apes had last seen people.

It'd been 10 years since the events of previous film.

And? We had endless nitpicks about how the gasoline would have gone bad on TWD but people seem to be overlooking this huge plot hole in order to make the plot work.

Obviously that community lacks the resources to refine gasoline.

Oh no, believe me, it's a problem for me. Gasoline shouldn't have been useful to them and moreover considering the overgrowth of plant-life I doubt the power-grid would have been greatly intact. Nor do I even think the Golden Gate Bridge would have been standing after 10 years of no maintenance. There's a great number of problems with this post-apocalyptic premise.

Really? That's what you're going to get hung up on? It's so freaking minor. And you know, no one said anywhere that the GG bridge had no maintenance in 10 years, it's just been 10 years since the outbreak of the simian flu. For all we know, the GG bridge had maintenance up until 6 or 7 years before the events of the film. But hey, THAT'S NOT THE STORY OF THIS MOVIE! The movie is a speculative fiction about apes and mankind, not about whether the GG bridge would still be standing with no maintenance after a few years. If you can't enjoy the movie because of that, it's your problem, not the movie's.

 

[Trekker4747]

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the movie, I really enjoyed the movie. Right now it's probably my second-favorite movie of the year. But, still, that doesn't mean I can't nitpick things about it and one of those things is that GG Bridge would not be standing after not being maintained for even 5 or 6 years. It's over an ocean, an ocean being filled with salt water. Salt water not exactly being a good thing for metal. The bridge has to CONSTANTLY be maintained by workers to keep the paint on it that prevents corrosion, replacing corroded or damaged parts of it, hell to maintain the asphalt of it. And a suspension bridge is a very intricate thing that cannot survive losing a great many cable before failure.

Electrical grids are very intricate things that constantly need to be maintained and aren't going to survive not being maintained for a few years especially with the over-growth of plant life we see, that'd all quickly take down power lines, storms and winds in the area over the years would have damaged power lines. And the damaged, unmaintained, generator/power plant isn't likely to work by just swapping out some parts. Because, again, it's gone the better part of 10 years without running. We see a character pretty easily moving a valve to get it operating again. Valves aren't known to be very easy to move after sitting around unmoved for a decade.

Then there's the old gasoline issue where gasoline is no longer viable after a year or so. 10 years? It's going to be completely degraded to varnish, an unusable sludge.

But, there's these kinds of problems in pretty much every post-apocalyptic fiction.

Again, it's a good movie I really liked it and none of these things took away from the movie. They were sort of in the back of mind, largely the gas thing, but didn't bother me enough to not enjoy the movie.

The movie is great, but in thinking about aspects of it there are some nitpicks.

 

[Mr Light]

The first movie was already taking place in the future... a future where unexpirable gasoline and non-degradable bridges were invented!

 

[TheSeeker]

Saw it last night and really enjoyed it. Most of the great points and nitpicks have been covered already, but one thing that bugged me that I didn't see mentioned was that Ceasar's mate was magically cured by what could only have been one does of antibiotics. Granted I am no veterinarian, but are chimps really that much hardier than us that one dose is all it takes?

 

[marillion]

Saw it.. LOVED it... One of the best movies I've seen in a couple of years... Just to address the gas and bridge issue...

The GG Bridge would allow for viable transportation for years... Yes, the moisture and salt water would cause degradation, but don't forget, we're not talking about constant use... These folks obviously haven't ventured out much over the years beyond the city itself. Life after People says that the roadway could stand for decades before collapse. I'm sure it was maintained for at least some time after the simian flu took hold. The occasional passage of a vehicle or people on foot would not add much to the stress.

To the point of gasoline... We forget that the Walking Dead timeline has only been, what? a year? Gasoline will stay quite viable in a tank for months.. It may not be in very good shape, but you can run a car on it. Plus, I'm sure Rick and Co. have stopped at Autozone locations and raided supplies of STP or stabilizer fluid.

Properly stored and maintained, gasoline can be kept viable for years. There are numerous gas stabilizer additives that can be used to maintain it in vehicles and if a storage tank is kept air tight, there will be little to no condensation build up.
I would imagine that there are some pretty smart people in this group of survivors (doctors, scientists, mechanics, engineers) who have devised a way to eek out viability of their fuel supplies. Could be as simple as raiding Walmart and auto part stores for cases of Stabil...

As to why these issues aren't shown on film? Chalk it up to the Star Trek bathroom conundrum... We never get to see toilets on the Enterprise, but we know that the crew has to "go"... Therefore, we just assume that even if they are out of sight, the ship has bathrooms...

The issue of electricity? Yeah... You got me there.

 

[bigdaddy]

I agree Gary Oldman should have been used more. I found it funny that in 10 years so much as changed and the bridge stayed up. Only one in 500 people live so I doubt that someone was keeping up the bridge the last few years. However that didn't take away from how much I enjoyed the movie when when sitting next to racist assholes.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

What a great movie. Reminded me of the old Apes movies... ape colony, peace vs military apes, human colonies, etc... but very well done. Great great movie. So glad these movies are actually good!

 

[Tosk]

Ceasar's mate was magically cured by what could only have been one does of antibiotics.

Isn't it a little hard to criticize that when we don't actually know what was wrong with her? And even then, we also don't know that she was cured, only that she felt better than before. [Her name was Cornelia, by the way.]

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I saw it today. I was not in love with it, mind kind of wandered off a lot. But I was impressed with the ending. I was really trying to wrap my head around how they were going to make peace because it seemed extremely unlikely and not ending it with some hope was great. The whole power thing, it just seems inevitable that the more powerful the humans get the worse it is going to be for the apes.

Extremely curious about the rest of the world though, I wonder if any groups anywhere of apes and humans are living side by side.

And despite being more meh than most I am super looking fwd to the next one, I think they have really set it up well. The lead human was excellent too.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Oh and my BIG CRITICISM.. what the heck is Maurice doing on a horse? HE WILL CRUSH IT!

 

[Tosk]

Oh and my BIG CRITICISM.. what the heck is Maurice doing on a horse? HE WILL CRUSH IT!

Apparently, adult orangutans usually weigh about 90kgs...that horse'd be just fine.

 

[Gaith]

The humans were walking through San Francisco's redwood forest in order to get to a hydroelectric damn in the hopes of repairing it and restore power to the city.

Confused, I am.

I'm pretty sure you mean the humans were walking through Marin. (Marin being the county directly north of SF.) So, even if there were a big enough river in southern Marin to power a dam (which: no), to have said dam power a colony in San Francisco, you'd need to wire said energy across the Golden Gate Brige, and, even if said electrical infrastructure did exist (which: ha ha ha, of course not), it'd take a heck of a lot of upkeep from being battered by all that sea air and fog.

Speaking of which, does anyone points out at any time how silly it'd be for post-apocalypse human survivors to set up shop in SF - it's dang chilly much of the time, and the fact that the whole city's a peninsula means there's very little natural fresh water flow to most of the city, and next to none to large swaths of it. The humans'd be much better off sticking to Berkeley. Or, you know, LA or San Diego. Not that I don't appreciate my hometown showing up in the movies, but, uh, huh?


(Also, I gather that at the end of Rise, the ape cohort hoofed it on foot from wherever their pens were to a cable car to the Golden Gate Bridge in a single day, which, while not impossible, requires a good level of fitness, and likely a good meal along the way...)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

So these humans are genetically immune to the simian virus, what about their kids? They will never make any kind of peace with apes if 4/5 of their kids keep getting the virus and dying.

 

[Mister Fandango]

So these humans are genetically immune to the simian virus, what about their kids? They will never make any kind of peace with apes if 4/5 of their kids keep getting the virus and dying.

Emphasis mine. And that same emphasis holds the answer to your question. (ie, since both parents share the same genetic code, chances are it's going to be passed on to their children. That's kinda what "genetic" means.)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

That's not necessarily automatic though, or with total coverage. There would still be kids that missed out I assume.

 

[Tyberius]

I figured it was bio-diesel.

I thought the movie itself was excellent, but as a part of a larger series, was a bit of a letdown. You could skip this story and only see the next installment and not need the information gained here.

 

[Relayer1]

A-

Well, I don't really like ape movies. I've seen quite a few and enjoyed them, it's just that there's something about them that 'isn't quite my thing'.

Having said that, the last one was very good, and this one was even better. Fantastic performances, digital fx that were incredible and a mature and intelligent script.

Excellent movie...

 

[Mister Fandango]

That's not necessarily automatic though, or with total coverage. There would still be kids that missed out I assume.

Not with a fatality rate of 4 out of every 5 as you presumed, though. If so, that likely would have been brought up at some point seeing as it's been more than long enough for new children to have been born.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Most of the great points and nitpicks have been covered already, but one thing that bugged me that I didn't see mentioned was that Ceasar's mate was magically cured by what could only have been one does of antibiotics. Granted I am no veterinarian, but are chimps really that much hardier than us that one dose is all it takes?

There are some infections (like MRSA, urinary tract infections, and some types of pneumonia and sinusitis) that can be treated with a single, high dose, and there are some antibiotics that work best as a single high dose, like Zithromax. Depends on what she had.

I'm pretty sure you mean the humans were walking through Marin. (Marin being the county directly north of SF.) So, even if there were a big enough river in southern Marin to power a dam (which: no), to have said dam power a colony in San Francisco, you'd need to wire said energy across the Golden Gate Brige, and, even if said electrical infrastructure did exist (which: ha ha ha, of course not), it'd take a heck of a lot of upkeep from being battered by all that sea air and fog.

There are multiple dams along Lagunitas Creek near Muir Woods, which is the ape's territory, including Alpine Dam (which is in my map below) which apparently does provide some power. Given the minimal power requirements of the Colony compared to San Francisco in its heyday, it might be enough to jury rig something.

Alpine Dam was constructed through the Lagunitas Creek in 1919 and is still utilized by the Marin Municipal Water District providing power to neighboring areas.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zach-dean/sf-biking-routes_b_2025521.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_Lake

Anyway, I just saw the movie yesterday, and it was excellent. Even better than the first film, which was a pleasant surprise itself. "A"

 

[Gaith]

^ I did say "southern Marin", and Alpine Lake is north of Larkspur, making that northern Marin in my book. Still, that's a quibble I'm willing to overlook. The absurdity of setting up a post-apocalyptic colony in SF is definitely the bigger stretch.