Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Rated T)
Cast: Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke
Genre: Science Fiction
Dwight's Rating: 3 1/2 stars

One of the year's greatest film performances comes from an ape!
Well, a computer-generated ape, patterned after a man who has made a career of what is called performance or motion-capture acting.
Andy Serkis plays the ape Caesar in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and in its prequel "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" of 2011. He also performed as the memorable Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", and as "King Kong" in the 2005 remake.
Serkis has for years, but especially here, delivered some award-worthy work. And if the Academy Awards aren't prepared to nominate him in any of the major acting categories, then it's definitely time to create a special category for performance or motion-capture acting and computer-generated characters. This is bound to become increasingly more common in this digital-obsessed era.
Many of you are probably wondering what I'm running on about --
a digital ape in an award-worthy performance? Trust me, few human actors so far this year, have had this kind of screen presence. In fact, all the digital apes in the movie do an amazing job, with the major ape characters being well defined (some might say even better than the humans). Nevertheless, Caesar is a revelation.
Caesar is charismatic and dynamic. He has warmth and is compassionate. He communicates powerfully through just his eyes. And while he's a man...err...ape of few words, when he does speak, he's a commanding presence with many of the characteristics many of us would like to see in our world leaders.
Picking up where "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" leaves off, Caesar is the leader of a growing nation of genetically-evolved apes, a number of whom are able to speak.
In the movie, the human population has been nearly wiped out by a devastating virus, unleashed a decade earlier. The apes find themselves threatened by a band of human survivors. And both sides are on the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.
In the brewing battle with the surviving humans, it's hard not to root for the apes. Those pesky humans are rightly portrayed as selfish, violent, gun-crazy, war-loving maniacs. And many of the older apes are still bitter after years of being kept in cages by humans or used in scientific experiments.
"Dawn" is much subtler than the original "Planet of the Apes" in its messages about racial prejudice and hatred. The focus here is more about avoiding the human predisposition toward violence.
Just by delving into all of these issues, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" proves that summer blockbusters don't have to be dumb, loud and unemotional. Writers Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and Director Matt Reeves, make some bold choices; the apes mainly communicate through sign language, and a good portion of the film has sub-titles (Don't forget your glasses!). A very bold summer blockbuster choice indeed!
But this is a total-package movie, with something for everyone. You want fighting and war and guns and explosions? Step right up! It is visually spectacular, building on the mind-blowing standards of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". Don't expect any humans in ape costumes here. These computer images are so life-like it's frightening. And the special effects are astounding.
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was a wonderfully enjoyable surprise. But "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" can be added to the growing list of sequels in the past few years that are actually better than their predecessors. And while the original "Planet of the Apes" of 1968 is regarded as a science fiction masterpiece, a case can be made that "Dawn" is the very best in this franchise.
In the same vein, few who've seen Charlton Heston as astronaut George Taylor in the original will ever forget his performance, and his classic lines. But ultimately, it's the ape Caesar that's proving to be the franchise's most compelling force and greatest hero!
o Dwight Strachan is the host/producer of " Morning Blend" on Guardian Radio. He is a television producer and writer, and an avid TV history and film buff. Email dwight@nasguard.com and follow him on twitter @morningblend969.

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