Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2014
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Jul 14, 2017 · War for the Planet of the Apes combines breathtaking special effects and a powerful, poignant narrative to conclude this rebooted trilogy on a powerful -- and truly blockbuster -- note....
- Dawn of The Planet of The Apes
Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/07/24 Full...
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Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review. War for the Planet of the...
- Dawn of The Planet of The Apes
Jul 14, 2017 · Reviews. War for the Planet of the Apes. Brian Tallerico July 14, 2017. Tweet. Now streaming on: Powered by JustWatch. “War for the Planet of the Apes” is a film that unapologetically embraces the first word of its title.
Jul 12, 2017 · “War for the Planet of the Apes,” directed by Matt Reeves, is the grimmest episode so far, and also the strongest, a superb example — rare in this era of sloppily constructed,...
- Matt Reeves
- A.O. Scott
- 140 min
- A stunning victory.
- War for the Planet of the Apes Images
- Verdict
By Scott Collura
Updated: Aug 17, 2017 9:26 pm
Posted: Jun 26, 2017 1:00 pm
In one of the more unexpected Hollywood developments in recent years, 20th Century Fox’s dusty old Planet of the Apes series has blossomed once again as a viable big-screen franchise. Even more unexpectedly, with War for the Planet of the Apes it has now turned out to be perhaps the best big-budget trilogy we’ve gotten in some time. To use the parlance of main character Caesar: Apes together strong indeed.
As with its immediate predecessor, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, it’s War’s focus on Caesar and his fellow simians from both a character perspective as well as a technical one that drives the film to greatness. Whereas the performance-captured ape characters of the first two movies (Rise of the Planet of the Apes kicked off the rebooted series in 2011) were groundbreaking, here the work of visual effects powerhouse Weta Digital has finally reached the point where there’s never reason to question the “realness” of the characters onscreen at all. Ape or human, it makes no difference. This world simply exists.
But as recent effects-driven duds prove, none of that matters if the audience doesn’t care about the story and its players. Fortunately, Dawn director Matt Reeves has returned along with Dawn writer Mark Bomback to craft the further adventures of Andy Serkis’ Caesar. Two years have passed since the momentous events that plunged the apes into war with the humans, despite Caesar’s best efforts to avoid it, and now he and his followers have found themselves in a pitched battle with an army led by Woody Harrelson’s character, known only as The Colonel. This figure, with his shaved head, camouflage face paint, and shall we say less-than-Regular Army methods calls back to Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, although Reeves is self-aware enough to have some fun with such direct parallels; at one point, the camera holds on a patch of graffiti that reads “Ape-ocalypse Now.”
Meanwhile, Reeves fills his widescreen with some remarkable imagery, reaching for an epic feel whether it’s the peaceful sight of apes on horseback riding along a beach or huge scenes of carnage as man battles ape. Michael Giacchino’s score is also memorable, supporting the scope of Reeves’ vision while also imparting on War a slightly off-kilter feel that calls back to the original 1968 film – and supports the notion that the world has turned upside down in these movies.
There is some late second-act drag in War for the Planet of the Apes that slows things down too much, as an extended prison-break sequence eventually feels like it’s treading water. But otherwise the film is frequently gripping, due to either emotional moments or action scenes, and the callbacks to the classic series are also smartly achieved. While the circumstances of a mute human girl’s (Amiah Miller) inability to speak tie into the greater Apes mythos, her nickname is also a charming callback to the 1968 film. Elsewhere, The Colonel’s soldiers call themselves the Alpha Omega (the first and last Greek letters, signifying the beginning and the end), which doesn’t just refer to the particular existential crisis these men are living as they face the potential end of humankind as they know it, but also is a neat reference to 1970’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes. And so on.
War for the Planet of the Apes is an excellent closing act to this rebooted trilogy, but also one that does enough world-building that the series can potentially continue from here – and it’s a rare case where, after three movies, we’re left wanting more. Andy Serkis is once again outstanding as Caesar as he wrestles with the morality of inter-spec...
Jul 7, 2017 · Film review: War for the Planet of the Apes. 7 July 2017. By Nicholas Barber,Features correspondent. 20th Century Fox. The latest in the Planet of the Apes franchise is a...
Jun 26, 2017 · Film. Reviews. Jun 26, 2017 6:00am PT. Film Review: ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’. Like the apes it depicts, the technology behind the 'Planet of the Apes' prequels has...
