After thinking about it, I think this is probably because most of the CG characters in the movies I have seen before are fictional fantasy characters, such as the Na'vi in "Avatar" and Yoda in "Star Wars". The master and Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, I have drawn a line in my heart before watching this kind of film, one half of the line is the real world, and the other half is the fantasy world, and nothing that appears in the fantasy world is not. would surprise me. But this orangutan named Caesar crossed this line and blurred my judgment of reality and virtuality (another same movie viewing experience in memory, from the pair of broken legs of Captain Taylor in "Forrest Gump" ), until the end credits appeared, and I stepped on the air like a half-awake person and fell back to reality from San Francisco on the other side of the screen.
Then there is the "Rise of the Apes 2" that has been waiting for three years. Compared with the first film, the motion capture technology of the second film has been further improved. Caesar is almost like a Shakespeare tragedy in a British stage play from beginning to end. In fact, the screenwriter also shaped it into a movie. A tragic hero in the classical sense: the conflict between humans and apes is irreconcilable, and Caesar, who stands between the two races and tries to balance his inner dual morality, finally has to decide to sacrifice one of them. Since the birth of the art form of storytelling, the moral dilemma has been one of the eternal tragic motifs. With the addition of technology, for the first time, the audience saw such a rich, nuanced and meaningful expression on the face of a virtual character, which is not inferior to that of a human actor. When the first movie was released 3 years ago, there was a fuss over whether Andy Serkis (Caesar's motion-capture actor) would be nominated for Best Actor, and it looks like it's going to happen again this year.
However, despite the unparalleled visual impact created by technology, in my opinion, the second film is still not as good as the first one, for two reasons:
the first point is the flattening of the characters, and the first film is good-looking, Not only because of the most realistic orangutan in history created by the powerful motion capture technology and CG technology, but also because of the excellent plot, this orangutan has sufficient performance space. Guevara Caesar's growth history has a complete character arc, from innocent and clear at the beginning to wise and profound in the later period, and it is also dotted with countless moving details and bridges (protecting the male protagonist's demented father, turning it to the father). The direction of the spoon, holding the chain around the neck in a daze in the woods, the orangutan of the Zhidou Animal Sanctuary). The role of Caesar is like a flower that gradually blooms. Every time the plot advances, the orangutan shows a new side of himself. In the process of deepening our understanding, we finally reach "empathy" for Caesar. So when the "NO!!!!" shouted out, it had the lethality comparable to the "Freedom!!!" in "Braveheart". In the second part, even those who haven't watched the first part, have basically understood all of Caesar's character in the first half hour, and the rest of the admiration is basically "Fuck, this expression is so awesome", "Fuck orangutan" To be able to make such an expression," and so on. For the first part of the promotion, you can organize the wonderful passages of Caesar and make a micro-movie compilation of "How Guevara Made It", and the second part is estimated to be only Caesar's QQ emoji package.
The other characters aren't much better. The male protagonist Malcolm is a standard character to promote the plot, with the words "mutual understanding" on his forehead from beginning to end. The first male protagonist is Caesar's father anyway, so it is understandable that he is deeply emotional. Malcolm's sympathy for the orangutan is rather abrupt, especially when the war between the orangutans has fully erupted in the later period, he still stands with a gun on the orangutan's side, missing the opportunity to annihilate the ape family in one fell swoop, which directly leads to countless future It should not be an exaggeration to give him a qualitative chandelier of "human traitor, ape undercover" for human sacrifice. When Uncle Gary Oldman appeared, I was looking forward to his outburst. In my imagination, I thought he should be a human character with a similar role to Koba, but he disappeared shortly after his debut, except for watching the photo stream in the middle. After a few drops of tears, and then holding a gun, I just waited for the final self-destruction declaration of "I am here to save mankind". Director, that's Gary Oldman, don't you think it's too reckless? The role of Koba is a standard villain configuration, and it did not bring any surprises.
The second point is that the plot is routine. I won’t say much about this. From the beginning to the end, all the plots are expected. What’s worse is the lack of a climax of emotional catharsis, the kind that can hold you to death. In the movie theater seat, the paragraph that dare not blink for a second. Whether it's the final bombing of the tower or Caesar's battle with Coba, it can only make me "oh" in my heart, far less than the battle of the San Francisco Bridge at the end of the first part.
But even if there are such and such shortcomings, it is worth spending 50 yuan to enjoy the most awesome motion capture special effects in the history of the film industry. Besides, many of the action scenes and soundtracks in this film are quite good, not to mention that there is a third part to look forward to in the future, isn't it?
PS. Is there anyone like me who has the urge to insert their nostrils every time they see a close-up of the orangutan's facial expressions?
PS2. The 3D movie "specially provided by China" that was converted later is a cancer! The effect is really not as good as watching Blu-ray!
View more about Dawn of the Planet of the Apes reviews
