( EW ) -- There 's a good chance you never knew you needed to witness the sight of an angry ape charging on horseback , double-fisting a pair of machine guns . But trust me , you do . Although Jane Goodall might disagree , that showstopping sequence of lead-spraying primate mayhem is just one of the many giddy pleasures in Matt Reeves ' surprisingly rollicking and resonant `` Dawn of the Planet of the Apes '' â€ ” a sequel that easily tops its 2011 predecessor . Picking up 10 incident-stuffed years after the James Franco-led first film left off , `` Dawn '' sets the stage as most post-apocalyptic movies do nowadays : with a helter-skelter montage of dire news reports informing us that humanity has been nearly decimated by a virulent strain of simian flu , and that cities such as San Francisco , where the film is set , have been reduced to overgrown piles of rubble and ruin . Critical Mass : Hail , Caesar and 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ' But while Earth 's human population is n't doing so hot , the apes are thriving . Caesar , the cute chimp raised by Franco in the franchise opener , is now the wise and benevolent leader of his species . He and his gang all live in Muir Woods just north of the city , where they 've not only learned to read , write , and speak ( English , naturally ) , they 've also nurtured a healthy distrust of humankind . That 's probably smart , considering that the humans have crowned a Caesar of their own ( actually , more like a Nero ) in Gary Oldman 's Dreyfus , a tin-badge fascist whose mantra seems to be `` the only good ape is a dead ape . '' Needing electricity to power their shantytown , Oldman dispatches a group of outdoorsy human ambassadors ( including the chimp-athetic Jason Clarke and Keri Russell ) to strike a deal with Caesar to let them repair a hydroelectric dam on ape turf . Andy Serkis : Hollywood 's most bankable invisible actor . Wariness on both sides leads to betrayal and war , and the movie 's off to the Uzi-toting-ape-on-horseback races . Reeves , whose previous films `` Cloverfield '' and `` Let Me In '' were stronger on promise than payoff , stages these battles with amazing technical skill and a real painter 's eye . His images , as undeniably silly as they are , are so striking they stick with you â€ ” especially a beaut in which a ticked-off ape mans the rat-a-tat turret of a tank . If only as much care were put into the film 's human characters . Oldman nearly pops a hernia from hamming it up so hard , and Clarke 's melancholy eyes are so perpetually moist in his admiration of the apes , you want to offer a tissue . The one truly great performance belongs to Andy Serkis , whose Caesar is his most soulful motion-capture creation yet . Despite all the obscuring layers of digital trickery , the actor manages to convey an impressive physicality and array of emotions , from hope to grief to rage . I wo n't spoil which side wins the interspecies showdown , but when it comes to who does the better acting , the apes carry the day , ( hairy ) hands down . Grade : B+ . See the original story at EW.com . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
` ` Dawn of the Planet of the Dead '' s things that stick with you . " Lucas ' film is his most soulful motion - capture creation yet . The human characters are n't as well - developed .