Line #6 YMMV/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes


1	* AlasPoorScrappy: [[spoiler:Carver, killed seconds after a genuine moment of happiness.]]
2	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Koba gets this the most:
3	** Was he always a selfish, bloodthirsty ape whose true colors were revealed by his encounters with the humans? Or was he a troubled, yet generally admirable ape who was tragically consumed by his pain, hatred and need for revenge? ''Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes'' implies Caesar believes the latter to be true.
4	** While his descent into villainy isn't in question, it's debated whether or not [[ItsAllAboutMe he privately admits to his own selfishness]] or if his behavior is a case of BelievingTheirOwnLies.
5	** It's also debated whether or not his ruthlessness towards his fellow apes was always deep inside of him, or was brought on by Koba [[BetrayalByInaction feeling betrayed by them not trying to help him when he was nearly killed by Caesar]].
6	** Was Koba's decision to keep the ape women and children safe by sending them to hide in the woods motivated by compassion, or just pragmatism?
7	* AngstAversion: The film begins with most of humanity wiped out, and the remnants struggling to survive. On top of that, any lighter moments are always immediately followed by things taking a horrific turn for the worse, and both species end up looking as bad as each other.
8	* AwardSnub: Creator/AndySerkis, though at this point it's no surprise. Though it's arguably made more noticeable by him [[AwardCategoryFraud not making the supporting categories he was campaigned for despite having a leading showcase]]. Some people also thought Creator/TobyKebbell (Koba) was equally deserving of recognition.
9	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
10	** Hey, nice use of Music/TheBand's "The Weight"!
11	** Koba's main {{leitmotif}} from [[https://youtu.be/k8MLkcoZbz4?t=193 Close Encounters Of The Furred Kind]].
12	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Koba: While most people agree that he is a very compelling and interesting villain, some people disagree on whether or not his sympathy holds up. Some argue that he is a mentally ill TragicVillain through and through because of his TraumaCongaLine, while others see him as a purely evil villain because of his selfishness and heinous actions.
13	* CatharsisFactor:
14	** Koba [[spoiler: falls to his death, but the filmmakers, seemingly with this trope in mind, don't make it that simple for him and also have him crash into various things and have debris collapse on top of him ''while'' he's falling.]]
15	** And also, [[spoiler:[[HateSink Carver]]'s [[AssholeVictim death,]]]] at least to those who don't see it as an AlasPoorScrappy moment.
16	* CompleteMonster: Prequel comic, by Michael Moreci et al.: [[TheSocialDarwinist Pope]] is a brutal chimpanzee and the commander of Caesar's ape soldiers. [[MightMakesRight Believing that Caesar's rule has made the ape society weak]], Pope desires to wrest power from the Ape King through any means necessary. Subjugating a tribe of primal apes by killing their alpha, Pope forces them to undergo vicious {{training\|From Hell}} to mold them into loyal soldiers with which to use to conquer Caesar's colony. Demonstrating his cruelty by having a dissenting ape tortured and [[FedToTheBeast fed to a polar bear]], Pope proceeds to have dozens of humans and apes alike rounded up and caged with the intention of using them as slave fodder. When confronted about his inhumane treatment towards his fellow apes, Pope [[NoTrueScotsman casually decries them as not apes]], but mere "dumb animals".
17	* CryForTheDevil: Many viewers felt sorry for Koba at the start of the movie, especially when he reminds Caesar that humans are the reason why he looks so disfigured after they experimented on and tortured him for years. For some people, this sympathy ends later on though due to his selfishness and blatant hypocrisy (using "human work" to achieve his means, including against his fellow apes).
18	** Though some people do still sympathize with him, especially those who have read the ''Firestorm'' prequel novel which shows his awful backstory of losing his mother and being an abused trained ape ''before'' becoming a tormented lab ape.
19	* DracoInLeatherPants:
20	** WebVideo/WatchMojo seems to give a lot of sympathy for Koba in spite of his actions throughout the film. They made Koba their #5 for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uup9oAfFHsg Top 10 sympathetic movie villains]], #8 for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWIfwryQ6f0 Top 10 characters with tragic backstories]], and #2 for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iosbgSqbInk top 10 movie villains who had justifiable motives.]] This in spite of the fact that Koba is clearly an AxCrazy ManipulativeBastard who [[{{Sadist}} revels in terrorizing and killing people]], ape and human alike, even those who are non-violent and want peace.
21	** In a more specific example, a lot of viewers apparently respect Koba for [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen throwing away his gun as Caesar challenges him]], taking it as a sign of Koba being honorable. He is most certainly ''not'' that, and only does so because gunning Caesar down in cold blood would likely kill his (already tenuous) claim to the throne.
22	* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[GeniusBruiser Maurice]], even more so here than in the first film. ''No one'' gets the better of him, not even Koba.
23	* EvenBetterSequel: General consensus among critics and audiences is that the film is even better than [[Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes its predecessor]], currently holding a 90% score on Website/RottenTomatoes and 79 on Metacritic (versus the original's 82% and 68, respectively). Some have compared it to ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' and ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' in this regard. Others have even proclaimed it the best movie of the summer, if not the entire year.
24	* EvilIsCool: Koba has received universal acclaim for his role as the primary antagonist of the movie. He may become a ruthless and sadistic monster, but he is also a totally badass ape, with his tragic backstory making his actions understandable. Koba is widely considered one of the best movie villains of the 2010s.
25	* FanNickname: Many of the fans refer to Caesar's second son as River. ''Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes'' reveals his name is [[MythologyGag Cornelius.]]
26	* HarsherInHindsight:
27	** In a case of ''epic'' bad timing, ''Dawn'' premiered in the middle of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the deadliest Ebola epidemic to date. What's eerier, Ebola has similar symptoms to the fictional Simian Flu. To be fair, the premiere date was set long before the outbreak began.
28	** [[spoiler: Dreyfus blowing himself up believing that he is saving the human race]] is bad enough, but the prequel comic to the [[Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes next film]] shows that [[spoiler:the tower explosion was exactly what saved Preacher's life when he was in San Francisco]]. In short, [[spoiler:Dreyfus indirectly (and unknowingly) saved the person who would cause Caesar's death in ''War'']].
29	* HilariousInHindsight:
30	** Someone immune to the virus that killed off most of humanity is named Ellie, and she had a daughter named Sarah who died when the virus spread. [[VideoGame/TheLastOfUs Hmmm]]. Unintentional, given movie production time, but still amusing.
31	** Koba's chant of "Apes Together Strong" is very similar to the song "Lions Over All" in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard''. What just happens to be the name of one of the singers? [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride Zira]].
32	** The conflict between Caesar and Koba over whether to help the humans or to destroy them, with Caesar being motivated by compassion, and Koba being motivated by torture, along with Koba shooting Caesar and taking over the tribe, and Caesar having to defeat him in a confrontation invoking RightfulKingReturns, is later repeated again in ''Film/BlackPanther2018''. Which also happens to feature Andy Serkiss.
33	** This wasn't the first time that Creator/KirkAcevedo was involved in a [[Series/TheWalkingDead post-apocalyptic conflict that involved most of humanity being wiped out by a virus, the Earth is overrun with a non-human force,]] and [[Recap/TheWalkingDeadS04E08TooFarGone a battle sequence involving a tank breaching a barrier.]]
34	* HilariousInHindsight: Koba's bellicose nature seemed downright fanciful at the time the film was made, but a [[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/male-bonobos-close-human-relatives-long-thought-to-be-peaceful-are-actually-quite-aggressive-study-suggests-180984157/ 2023 study]] revealed Bonobos ''can'' be aggresive.
35	* JerkassWoobie:
36	** Carver, in a way. After insensitively brought up Malcolm's wife and Ellie's daughter's deaths from the Simian Flu, Foster tells him to shut up or he'll injure him. An upset Carver said "Oh sure, ''I'm'' the asshole!" and walks off. He also has an AlasPoorScrappy death scene, killed just after finally showing true happiness upon seeing the lights restored to the city.
37	** Dreyfus also counts, especially when he browses through the family photos on his tablet when the power is restored. He outright bursts out sobbing when he looks at the photo of his wife and children, showing that deep down, he is ultimately one of those who survived yet lost people they cared for in return. [[spoiler:Even when he finally jumps the slippery slope towards the finale, he literally had his community he had been working so hard to build overrun and ransacked by the apes. It's little surprise he refuses to believe Malcolm's claims and ultimately chooses to take his own life out of disbelief that he is doing the right thing]].
38	** Koba could be considered this in spite of [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope the cruel, sadistic, violent, treacherous, bloodthirsty, hypocritical tyrant he becomes.]] Whatever he has done, Koba is [[TragicMonster a broken ape traumatized by a lifetime of abuse, torture and heartbreak]] as shown in the ''Firestorm'' prequel novel. The loss of his beloved mother, his time as an abused trained ape, and his years as a tormented, isolated lab ape, all of which eventually causes him to turn on his fellow apes to avenge his past, are all downright depressing. [[spoiler:After his [[ThePowerOfHate insatiable hatred of humans]] has become so strong that he came to view Caesar and any other ape that might not want to wage war on humanity as being little to no better than humans, his own actions cause Caesar, who was once like a brother to him, to think similarly of Koba, stating to his face "You are ''not ape''" before dropping him to a CruelAndUnusualDeath - a painful end to a life filled with pain.]]
39	* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Carver is more loathed then the film's BigBad Koba, lacking the latter's tragic backstory and EvilIsCool aspects and instead coming off as a whiny, xenophobic jackass who contributed to [[spoiler:the Ape-Human war starting up]]. Unwittingly, yes, but still...
40	* LoveToHate: Koba. He's easily the film's most frightening and monstrous character, with the sheer extent of his villainy making him a fascinating and intriguing character played excellently by Creator/TobyKebbell. Adding onto this is that he's not ''completely'' wrong or without sympathy and when push comes to shove he backs up his deplorable actions by proving himself to be a highly competent threat.
41	* MoralEventHorizon: Koba has two major points where the audience can say he crossed the line. The first is this when [[spoiler:he shoots Caesar, lies about his death and frames the humans for it along with setting fire to the apes' camp]]. If anyone still had sympathy for him at that point, then he definitely crosses this when he [[spoiler:executes the young Ash just for refusing to follow his orders to kill an unarmed man]].
42	* {{Narm}}: Most of the film's trailers edit the order of exchanges during the humans' talk around the campfire. In the trailer, Carver shows prejudice towards the apes for the Simian Flu. Ellie points out that the virus was created by scientists in a lab, and Carver can't blame the apes. Carver says "who else am I gonna blame?" Uh... how about the scientists in the lab she just mentioned, Carver?[[note]]In the actual film, Ellie's line is her answer to Carver's rather than the other way around.[[/note]]
43	* NarmCharm: You would think that, given that all of the Apes's spoken dialogue is HulkSpeak delivered with NoIndoorVoice, the film would be hard to take seriously. However, the actors deliver it so effectively that it's convincing, and at times, terrifying.
44	* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: Played with. A deal between 20th Century Fox and Ndemic Creations, AKA the creators of VideoGame/PlagueInc (which, interestingly, whose creator took inspiration from this reboot), resulted in the film's signature Simian Flu [[GuestFighter being used in said game]], effectively making it into sort of a licensed game. And since Plague Inc is considered a good game already...
45	* OutgrowTheTrope: Never brought up but so far it seems like cats and dogs were wiped out by Simian Flu much like in the original series.
46	* SignatureScene:
47	** "Human work?"
48	** "APES DO NOT WANT WAR!"
49	** Koba [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretending to be stupid]] for the [[TooDumbToLive two idiots with guns.]]
50	** The battle between [[spoiler: Koba and the colony.]]
51	** Caesar visiting his old home.
52	** [[spoiler:"You...are...NOT ape."]]
53	* SpecialEffectsFailure:
54	** The film packs truly incredible special effects. With that being said, a digital grizzly bear at the beginning of the film looks quite bad.
55	%%** Koba's tank attack against the human compound from Koba's perspective looks awful.
56	* SpiritualAdaptation: Several people noticed the very strong [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespearean tragedy]] with several critics labeling it as a science fiction adaptation of ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar''.
57	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: It's very easy to miss Rocket's existence in this film given how hard he got DemotedToExtra after he was basically Caesar's NumberTwo in ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes''. Thankfully, he returns to having some of the spotlight in ''War for the Planet of the Apes''.
58	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: According to [[WordOfGod the director, Matt Reeves]], [[https://www.mtv.com/news/1920387/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-sequel-koba/ Koba]] was made to be a TragicVillain, which the movie and corresponding books clearly try to make him by showing his [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil horrific past]] and inner suffering. However, while [[IntendedAudienceReaction some people do view Koba as tragic]], many others lose all sympathy for him due to his selfishness, ruthless savagery, and [[{{Hypocrite}} blatant hypocrisy]] toward the end of the film, and the fact that in this film itself there is not a single moment where he expresses any conflicting feelings or remorse for any of it despite Caesar and the other apes having been family to him.
59	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome:
60	** Aside from the above, the rest of the film's effects are absolutely fantastic, with the apes being that much more lifelike than the original film.
61	** If you didn't think the Koba-POV tank shot looked awful, then you thought it looked awesome.

Context YMMV / DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes