While I enjoyed Rise a little more, this was a competent and impressive film filled with big ideas and incredible acting, both in the flesh, and behind the "digital makeup". Once again Andy Serkis' Caesar steals the show, showing us what it really means to be human, through the eyes of an ape. The movie delicately threads the needle of how a war can start between two very different groups, who aren't really that different after all. Technically this film showcases the best special effects in film history, pushing motion-capture to a new limit and showing what a force it has become. At the end, as with many summer blockbusters, the intelligent story-driven film starts to devolve into a CG clusterfuck of action. It never gets too bad, and even has some interesting action set-pieces (the 360 degree tank shot comes to mind) but the last fifteen minutes of action come off as a little stiff.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)