Saw “War For The Planet of The Apes” yesterday and it was very, very good. I was worried that it would be an all-out ‘war’ movie with big action set-pieces, but despite that it has a bit of that, it focused much more on the ongoing development of Caesar and his development as a leader and as a moral being who’s desperate to do what’s right. This trilogy has been absolutely wonderful in all respects. My only point of conflict with the movie is with the introduction of one ape who’s essentially there to provide the movie with what some might consider a welcome bit of comic relief. It’s not bad, but I could’ve done without it, and it didn’t add much to me.
Regarding the graphics and the acting – whereas you could tell in the first movie (Rise) that you were watching CGI, and you could sometimes tell in the second (Dawn) – the graphics in War are just about impeccable. You KNOW you’re watching graphics, but goddamn, those apes look incredible, and Andy Serkis continues to do a mind-blowing job with Caesar, who is incredibly well modeled and incredibly well-acted. Every single time Caesar is in the frame, you’re absolutely captivated by his performance. Wonderful, wonderful work.
I checked reviews after I saw it (never before, since I had been waiting to see this since the second movie) and found one that nails it – here’s the best part:
“That this is a more introspective journey than advertised will frustrate those expecting to see an army of irate bonobos rain death upon their human oppressors. That’s not to say there isn’t excitement, nor that the finale lacks fire and brimstone, but the war of the title is primarily one of the soul. Even Caesar’s revenge, when it comes, is told with poignant restraint. The conflict here is one of morality, identity and the boundaries of humanity; all the guns and napalm, while present, are secondary to War’s purpose.” – James Dyer at Empire.
Just see the damn thing, and if you haven’t seen the first two, catch up on them before you see this. You’ll be doing yourself a favor 🙂
