Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Most people think so. 77% of audiences gave it a thumbs up, by Google's archived audience score. Critics agree, scoring it 85%.

A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes. Wikipedia ↗

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a 2014 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves, the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Set ten years after the simian flu has devastated human civilization, the film depicts the fragile first contact between a colony of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar, once again performed through motion-capture by Andy Serkis, and a group of human survivors in San Francisco led by Malcolm, played by Jason Clarke, who need to access a hydroelectric dam in ape territory to restore power to their settlement. As both sides attempt diplomacy, extremists on each side — the militant ape Koba, who bears the scars of human experimentation, and a trigger-happy human named Dreyfus played by Gary Oldman — push toward war.

Matt Reeves crafted what many consider the finest film in the rebooted franchise, creating a Shakespearean tragedy about the impossibility of peace when fear and trauma drive both sides toward violence. Andy Serkis's Caesar evolved into one of cinema's most complex digital characters — a leader torn between his love for humans who raised him and his responsibility to protect his people. Koba, performed by Toby Kebbell, was a genuinely tragic villain whose rage was entirely understandable given his history of abuse.

The visual effects by WETA Digital set new standards for digital character work, with the apes' performances capturing subtle emotional nuances that were indistinguishable from live-action acting. Dawn earned $710 million worldwide.