Evolution is a controversial topic, especially when those at the top of the food chain suddenly find themselves contending with an emerging alpha species that has previously been a peek into humanity’s past. And while we’ve seen plenty of films and TV shows in recent years about our near-future decline, they usually involve humans fighting for dominance against the undead, not monkeys and gorillas rapidly becoming the dominant species. In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, however, we see the remnants of humanity struggling to find some sort of balance to coexist with a nearby community of apes in a scenario that might otherwise look a lot like The Walking Dead or World War Z.

It is for this and many other reasons that Dawn is one of the most refreshing big-screen blockbusters to come along in quite some time. It’s a popular premise with a new twist and contemporary sociopolitical commentary, yet it’s all based on stories and films that began in the ’60s. So, in much the same way that evolution (or devolution) has come full circle within the film, things have oddly returned to their primal origins for the viewer as well. The stiff rubber monkey masks from the original Planet of the Apes films are obviously long gone. Instead, Dawn employs what I would guess is a combination of guys in gorilla suits, puppets and CGI. But all of it – from the detail seen in closeups of eyes and faces to massive battles between armies of humans and apes – is so incredibly realistic and seamless that it’s hard to tell where the makeup and costumes end and the computer-generated stuff begins.

But technological advances aren’t the only things to be impressed with in Dawn. As Malcolm, the leader of a group of humans that inadvertently discovers the apes’ village while trying to get a mountainside dam back in operating order before the surviving San Francisco humans run out of fuel and energy, Jason Clarke ably ascends from his standout supporting roles in films like Lawless and Zero Dark Thirty to leading-man status. His chimpanzee foil is the aptly-named Caesar, played by the unofficial king (Kong) of computer-animated characters Andy Serkis. While other members of each group are distrusting of the other, Malcolm and Caesar are able to see the best in each other, finding an unstable balance that seems to benefit both sides. But each leader is flanked by a dissenting sidekick: Carver (Kirk Acevedo) is an unforgiving man who has seen too many deaths at the hands of apes and Koba (Toby Kebbell) is a former lab monkey whose testing scars and torturous memories continue to fuel his hatred of humans. Both characters are somewhat sympathetic given their history with the opposing species, which adds depth to the overall issues at play.

It only takes one bad banana to spoil the bunch, though (awful pun, I know). So, despite the best efforts of Malcolm and Caesar, the ulterior motives of those close to them lead to an inevitable confrontation between the two species. It all makes for a constant struggle as each time it seems Malcolm and Caesar are making advances in how the two groups interact, some senseless act of conspiracy-fueled violence causes these relations to devolve once again. Throw in some mob mentality and the fear tactics of Kabo and Dreyfus (Gary Oldman, the unofficial leader of the human camp), and you have a recipe for post-apocalyptic disaster.

But it’s epic battles between apes and humans that viewers really want to see anyway, and Dawn certainly gets around to a final confrontation that satisfies on a carnal level even if the events leading up to it are agonizing on a humanitarian level. While the prevailing battle is between the now-warring factions of humans and primates, a sliver of hope remains as those looking for harmony recognize the absurd inevitability of this escalation. And it’s within this fragile friendship that Dawn really excels at juxtaposing the many facets of human nature, from aggressive dominance to peacekeeping pacifism.

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