>*"We both have families. You want to protect yours. I want to protect mine. It's our only chance for peace."*

Not as great as the first but still a good movie and follow up. I just think *Rise* had a better story, more complex characters and thought-provoking themes. ***Dawn*** is a bit more by the book and simple. There's more action and thrills though and the CGI looks even better, so much attention to detail and it's smooth. There's a fun score we only hear twice in the first half that elevates everything, a bit underused. The action set pieces are great and epic but nothing beats the red bridge in the first.

Not as emotionally poignant as *Rise* but we still get a few moments of greatness like the video camera scene, perfect nod to the first and a good reminder of what Caesar is fighting for. Caesar's arc is a bit underwhelming overall in this one compared to the first though, can't say he changed that much except for realizing apes are like humans. They could have added more to Maurice and Rocket. Koba has such a predictable character arc, foreseeable all the way in the first movie. I don't know why they made it so obvious from the get-go. In fact, a lot of this movie was predictable. The human sidekicks are forgettable and bland, they fit a steriotype and propel the plot but that's it.