10 Hidden Details In Opening And Closing Movie Scenes You Completely Missed

10. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes - Caesar Has Changed Forever

The 2011-17 prequels to the classic 60s Planet of the Apes franchise have to be one of the most underrated film trilogies of recent times, particularly notable for Andy Serkis’s motion capture performance as the lead ape - Caesar.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (the middle film in the trilogy) centres on the inner conflict between Caesar and his tribe of apes, with a lot of debate rising between the naive idealist, Caesar, and his more brutal friend, Koba (Toby Kebbell).

The film begins with a brilliantly directed opening sequence, in which Caesar and his tribe go hunting, and starts with an extreme close-up of Caesar’s eyes. It closes in the exact same fashion, just after Caesar has been forced to kill Koba for the safety of his tribe and his family.

Oftentimes, the similarities between an opening and closing scene showcase that nothing at all has changed, however, with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, it is done to show exactly the opposite; Caesar has made a drastic transformation and one that he can never go back from. By breaking his forbidden rule of “ape not kill ape”, Caesar has officially hardened into a tougher leader, one that must be willing to take drastic actions to save himself and his family.