Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Review: 10 Awesome Moments

8. Electricity Returns

Another great moment of brief relief occurs when Caesar grants Malcolm (Jason Clarke) and a small group of humans access to the hydroelectric dam the apes are stationed near, in order to return electricity to at least a small portion of the city. The plan works and power is restored, causing The Band's tune The Weight to begin blaring out from an abandoned gas station, as the humans find themselves savouring music for the first time in presumably years, while the Apes appear to be at once confused and intrigued. This also leads to Gary Oldman's finest moment in the movie, as his character Dreyfus re-gains access to his iPad and is able to look at pictures of his two sons, who were presumably wiped out by the Simian Flu. Dreyfus breaks down, and this helps humanise a character who in lesser hands would be a black-and-white villain rather than a sympathetic human being simply trying to do what he thinks is best. Some may argue that Oldman was somewhat underserved in the movie as his character takes a backseat to so much going on around him, but this scene is nothing short of marvelous.