Is Dawn of the Planet of the Apes living up to the hype?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the follow up to 2011's successful box office hit, Rise of the Planet, is hitting theaters this week but does the movie do it's predecessor justice or is this an unnecessary sequel?

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a pretty terrific movie, full of great scenes, none more powerful than the first spoken words by Cesar who's bellowing voice echoed the quiet theater that I sat in in 2011. The sequel, Dawn of the planet of the apes takes place around a decade after the events of the first movie, looking at a dystopian future where the virus created by mankind that gave the apes the ability to learn language and far surpass their normal cognitive functions, turns on them and makes a majority of them sick, dwindling down the population dramatically. As a group of survivors go in search for a power source to keep their community lie and people alive, they stumble upon the Apes retreat in the forest where they butt heads but as Caesar attempts to help the humans in their plight,  not all apes on his side feel as compassionate. This movie, while having a few bits an pieces of slow moment (which I will say is more of me being nit-picky) is nothing short of an incredible follow up to a great sci-fi movie. I finally feel myself looking at these beautifully rendered CGI animals and making a connection with them, largely thanks to the motion capture genius himself, Andy Serkis. The movie's, which builds up to a brooding war between the apes and humans, lives up to the hype with some great cinematography and scenes that are unbelievable. There is a scene of an ape on top of a chimp that feels like for a moment you've been immersed in a video games. Aside from being completely immersed in the action, they're many moments between the apes as well as the human cast portrayed by Jason Clarke, Kerri Russel, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and supported by Gary Oldman, that lead to a handful of subtle and not over done but heartfelt moments. There's even a small moment that features McPhee's character reading to an orangutang, a small but endearing moment. All in all, the reviews are high and this movie is definitely on the upper tier of movies you have to catch this summer.