War for the Planet of the Apes

War for the Planet of the Apes

Starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval

Directed by Matt Reeves

The Story:
Taking place after the previous movie, Caesar (Andy Serkis) - the genetically enhanced, highly intelligent ape - is in hiding in the woods with the rest of the apes when they're ambushed by a government army known as Alpha-Omega.  Even though he shows mercy, the Colonel (Woody Harrelson) returns with more men and cause Caesar to battle his basic instincts for revenge.

While he sends his other apes away, Caesar embarks on a one-ape mission of vengeance against the Colonel, but his right hand orangutan Maurice (Karin Konoval), Luca the gorilla, and Rocket the chimpanzee refuse to leave him.  Through their trek they come upon a young girl (Amiah Miller) who cannot speak, and Maurice takes her as his own.  Thanks to another talking ape named Bad Ape (Steve Zahn), they find the Colonel's base, where a final battle between men and ape takes place, sealing both their fates forever.

The Synopsis:
Without a doubt, if "War for the Planet of the Apes" featured actual men instead of motion-captured apes, there's no doubt Andy Serkis would receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.  However, since his body was digitally replaced with an ape, it looks like that possibility is without reach.  "War" is the perfect ending for a prequel trilogy that encompassed everything it means to be human - through the eyes of an ape.

Caesar is content with living in the woods with his fellow intellectual apes, but the government keeps pursuing them, relying on the old mantra of "survival of the fittest."  As the Colonel said himself, "No matter what you say, eventually you'd replace us. That's the law of nature."  Is it a possibility that could've happened if the army never intervened?  We'll never know, but we do know the results of "War" as it ties almost directly to Charlton Heston's classic 1968 "Planet of the Apes."  All the questions we had since "Rise" has finally been answered in this film, and it sets the original up as perfectly as "Rogue One" set up "A New Hope."

In "Rise," the apes began learning to unite and fight to survive.  In "Dawn," they learned to adapt to their situation and grow and mature.  With "War," they're full-blown adults and ready to fight to the end for their species, and we've also seen this evolution in Caesar.  From a baby ape to learning human speak and actions, to now being a true leader with full intellectual faculties and human speech.  In "Dawn," he took down the rebel leader Koba, but now he fears he's becoming just like him, which is an interesting take of evolution for the ape we've known for years.  He's really becoming human, in pretty much every sense of the word.

For those who think "War" is going to be nothing more than just intense action and no real story, you'd be sorely mistaken.  Sure, there's some epic fights and exciting action, but there's a deeply nuanced, truly moving story about Caesar and his quest for revenge, and whether or not it will turn him more into a man or an animal.  We feel for these apes in ways we'd feel for humans, because they have so many aspects that make us who we are, and we feel for them because they just want to survive.  There's a lot of character growth, emotional moments and deeply profound dialogue that you'd find in any Academy Award movie.

Director Matt Reeves (who also directed "Dawn") takes obvious references from other war movies - most notably "Apocalypse Now" and "The Great Escape" - to make a wholly exciting film from start to finish, and casts an impressive array of actors both seen and heard.  Woody Harrelson plays the Colonel as a true lunatic, a man with a god complex who feels he is the only way humanity can survive, and is deeply evil in his presentation.  Yet its Andy Serkis - one of the most underrated actors of our time - who truly shines as Caesar, the role he's played since the beginning.  He fully encompasses Caesar's journey to where he's at now, struggling with his quest for revenge against being a leader for his apes, and we see this struggle affecting his judgments and actions.  He has terrifying visions of Koba, and fears that he's becoming just like him, and along with the Colonel we see a god complex in Caesar, but through the eyes of his followers and the events he goes through, not because Caesar thinks himself a god.  It's interesting how Reeves blends the religious undertones with the aspects of war and vengeance, and how he does so in a way that doesn't end up too preachy, but just enough for us as viewers to understand.

The Summary:Symmetrically blending action, character development, a thought-provoking script and an outstanding performance by Andy Serkis, "War for the Planet of the Apes" is a more than fitting conclusion to a prequel trilogy that has been grossly underestimated and underappreciated.

The Score: A+