This is one of those times I wish Peter and I had a chance to re-record our video blog prior to posting.  About two weeks ago, we were able to view an almost finished version of director Matt Reeves' Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  When I walked out of the screening on the Fox lot, I knew it was a special movie.  Reeves had created a "summer blockbuster" filled with nuance, great character moments, and incredible action.  However, Michael Giacchino's music and the visual effects weren't finished, and some last minute tweaks still had to be done.

Cut to two weeks later.  The other night, I was lucky enough to attend the world premiere and press junket in San Francisco and got to see the finished film.  It blew me away.  The finished effects, Giacchino's amazing score, and watching it for the second time… I left the theater stunned by what Reeves managed to accomplish in a huge budget studio film.  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes isn't some empty spectacle designed to sell toys and popcorn, it's a film about family and the choices you make when there is no easy decision.  It's loaded with the kinds of things you almost never see in a summer movie.  Dawn is also the rare film that tells a complete story but also opens the door for another sequel.  As I said, Reeves has hit a massive home-run with this film and I truly hope audiences and critics embrace this special movie.  Hit the jump for more.

Below is the video blog I recorded with Peter from /Film right after seeing the rough cut.  Like I said, I wish we could have done this one again so my praise of the film would go from an 8 to a 10, and I would talk about how AMAZING the motion capture work by Andy Serkis and the rest of the actors was, or how Weta Digital has raised their game to a new level that makes the effects on Rise of the Planet of the Apes look like they were done on an Atari 2600 (this is an exaggeration, but you get what I mean).

The most important thing I'll leave you with is I hope everyone that reads Collider turns out for this movie.  This is the kind of movie we all say that we want, but if you don't go to a theater and support it, the studios won't continue to invest in smart science fiction.

And while I rarely give out letter grades to a movie, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a solid A and the 3D is fantastic.  Worth the added ticket price.  For more on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, watch these clips and over ten minutes of behind-the-scenes video.