It's hard to believe that the Planet of the Apes movie franchise is fast approaching 50 years already, beginning with the apocalyptic original set in the future, followed by Tim Burton's odd reboot, and continuing on with yet another reboot with the surprisingly fresh take in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (itself another reboot). After Rise was rather well-received, a sequel was inevitable, this time under the direction of horror director Matt Reeves. Building on the emotional (Caesar home!) and disturbing (worldwide virus pandemic!) ending from Rise, will Dawn of the Planet of the Apes live up to the billing?

The film picks up ten years after the events in Rise, as the deadly virus introduced at the tail end of that movie spread across the world and pretty much destroying much of humanity. Caesar and the apes on the other hand have colonised within a San Francisco woodlands and are living in peace. Soon, a group of surviving humans, led by Jason Clarke's Malcolm and Gary Oldman's Dreyfus soon meet with Caesar's group, leading to a whole lot of conflict and trust issues between man and ape.

The story this time out is expansive and diverse, from the inner tensions within each colony, to the all-out war between the humans and horse-riding apes. This film also develops Caesar's story further from the last film by exploring the difficulties faced by Caesar when siding with the human protagonists or his brothers, which naturally brings about a rumblings within his species. The special effects too have also been met with improvements, which was important when it now involves a whole lot more apes. Kudos to WETA Digital (and mo-cap stalwart Andy Serkis) then, for supplying some of the most realistic motion captured special effects to rival even that of Avatar, with the actors every movement and expression captured perfectly in ape form.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (or Dawn for short) is not just a completely different beast from Rise story-wise, as it introduces a new set of characters. Even with all the changes, the heart of this rebooted franchise is still bestowed upon Serkis, who gives yet another stellar motion capture performance of Caesar. Also returning from the previous installments are a few important ape characters, namely Maurice the orang utan, Cornelia (now Caesar's wife), Koba and Rocket, whilst introducing newer apes like Caesar's son Blue Eyes (someones been busy). While it has been Serkis receiving much of the praise in the mo-cap department, due credit has to be given to Tony Kebbell, who performed a terrifying take on Koba, the scarred simian lab experiment from the first movie.

Gary Oldman, as overexposed in the promotional material, plays only a supporting role in this, but he makes his presence felt whenever he is onscreen. The real star of the humans is Jason Clarke, who takes the mantle from James Franco as Caesar's buddy and the link for peace. The human characters here feel more fleshed out that those seen in Godzilla and definitely Transformers, as internal and external conflicts reach explosive (literally) heights.

With a diverse plot and amazing effects that eclipses its already well-done predecessor, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of the best summer blockbusters so far this year, and can arguably be the best movie sequels alongside the likes of The Dark Knight and even Captain America: The Winter Soldier. With a sequel already announced months before Dawn's release, it will be interesting and exciting to see what Matt Reeves and Andy Serkis can again bring to the series which may eventually tie in to the 1968 original.