*Directed by Matt Reeves
*Starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Amiah Miller, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Michael Adamthwaite, Judy Greer, Sara Canning, and Devyn Dalton
The Plot:
*I really don't want to explain the plot even with the littlest details because judging from the trailers that don't give any story away I feel it's best to go into this film knowing very little about the plot, but to really sum things up:
Caesar and his fellow apes are dealing with repercussions and conflicts caused by Koba in the last film between apes and humans, but then as certain events go down they lead to Caesar trying to fulfill an objective that will end said conflict, so that his apes are able to find a place of sanctuary.
I'm a big fan of blockbuster movies and even though I have an appreciation for all cinema made in this day and age whether it's a big budget movie or an original independent film, to me there will still be those blockbuster movies that have greatness to them and not only made for the success of gaining a profit for a major studio. To me great examples of blockbusters films that are still successful, but still have something great to them artistically is without a doubt the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise. I don't really have a history with the original series having only seen the first 1968 film, which I highly recommend, but these previous 2 films absolutely delivered. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a big surprise for me in 2011 and 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was even better.
I loved both those movies, so with the release of this new film there was no doubt I was excited to see the next chapter in this trilogy. I loved that director Matt Reeves would return coming off of Dawn and I loved how he set the tone for the future of this franchise. I was definitely curious to see how this next film would pan out and now I can finally say that he absolutely delivered with this new film! War for the Planet of the Apes is the best of this trilogy and no doubt one of the best films I've seen all year. In fact after processing it may be one of the best sequels of all time. I'm dead serious.
The grittiness of this film found in Reeve's directing from Dawn is still there and it really makes you feel the emotion in just every single shot of this movie. The motivations behind every character felt so believable and this environment, this atmosphere where it all took place felt so tangible. There is so much gorgeous winter scenery in this movie and that called for some really great cinematography work throughout. Not to mention the CGI in this movie is by far some of the best visual effects work I've ever seen.
The motion capture for these apes was so perfect in this film, but don't get me wrong they looked impressive in Rise and Dawn. No doubt about that, but something tells me they upped the game this time around because I forgot the entire time that I was watching CG effects. Not only are the natural locations great with limited production design, but the film does such a great job of incorporating such lifelike CGI in these real locations. As pretentious as this might sound, I was truly watching the story come to life just by the way the visuals, the real environments and the actors were orchestrated. I was amazed by how visually immersive this film was.
From a visual perspective the film never lost me and the emotion found in its direction I felt was very strong as well. Right from when the opening scene hits, which I won't spoil, I couldn't believe how emotionally invested I was in the grand scheme of things. Not only was what I was watching a scene that was very entertaining to look at, but the emotional stakes that were involved and how the scene was directed had me on the edge of my seat. The entire film had me emotionally enraptured and the drive was there to really make me feel for these conflicts. There was some devastating stuff happening and I was so hooked and there was never an instance where I could predict the next event. Every scene flowed nicely because of such flawless pacing. There was never a moment that took me out of it where I felt a scene was too quick or overstayed its welcome.
As if I didn't give this film enough high praise by far another one of my favorite aspects was the character of Caesar. I just loved to see how his character arc progressed in this movie from what I saw in the previous two films. This character arc might be one of my favorite arcs of all time. Andy Serkis does fabulous motion capture work to give this character the emotional drive it deserves. It would be nonsensical to not at least consider this performance for an Academy Award nomination. It's foolish that such a deal might not happen, but man do I hope I'm wrong.
All of the other supporting characters were just as interesting and the major stand outs for me were Nova, a mute little girl who joins the apes on their journey. Amiah Miller portrays this character and does such an amazing job capturing the naivety and innocent nature of this child. Woody Harrelson as the Colonel was also fantastic and portrayed a villain whose motives and actions were very well realized and felt so natural. Also, I had to save the best for last because Steve Zahn's motion capture performance as Bad Ape was so awesome and is probably one of my new favorite side characters. The best way I can describe him is if you're watching a live action Curious George. Oh yeah he's that lovable and has an intriguing backstory as well.
Honestly, as soon as I left that theater and as I'm still processing it now I cannot think of one single flaw I had with this film because this was one of the most gripping blockbuster films I've ever seen and a sequel no less. This turned out to be everything this movie should've been on an emotional level and I'm still jazzed thinking about it. War for the Planet of the Apes is one of the best sequels of all time and will no doubt stand out as being a part of one of the best trilogies of all time. It was quiet, brutal, and emotionally liberating. In a way it wasn't the blockbuster film I was expecting and it's never an issue to be artistically different than any other hit film out there.
Verdict: A+
This year continues to impress me and I really hope those of you reading will get a chance to see this movie as soon as possible. As if this week couldn't get more exciting, my 2nd most anticipated film of the year, Dunkirk, is releasing this weekend and I hope to get a review up by then. But in preparation for that film be on the lookout for my "Christopher Nolan Ranked" editorial where I'll be discussing and ranking every film he's directed, so similar to the post I wrote about M. Night Shyamalan's filmography back when Split released. For more updates be sure to follow me in the social media links below:
Twitter and Instagram: @alexjcorey
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this review. I wish you all the best and be sure to see some movies!
Take care. :-)
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