War for the Planet of the Apes
Direction: Matt Reeves
Cast: Andy Serkis (Caesar), Woody Harrelson (The Colonel), Steve Zahn (Bad Ape), Amiah Miller (Nova), Karin Konoval (Maurice), Terry Notary (Rocket), Ty Olsson (Red), Judy Greer (Cornelia)
Ratings: 4.5/5
Insight:
War for the Planet of the Apes returns following the conflict between apes and humans for control over Earth. Caesar’s clan is at war with Alpha-Omega, the human military group headed by a Colonel. Various apes including Red have joined the humans. Caesar plans to take the apes across the desert away from the fight, but in an attack on the apes, Caesar’s wife and eldest son are killed. Caesar goes to confront the colonel but is captured. The Simian Flu virus has evolved and is causing the surviving humans to become mute and become primitive creatures. The colonel’s facility is attacked by rival militants and apes. In this fight for survival and dominance, who shall endure?
Buzz:
War for the Planet of the Apes is the ninth film in the Planet of the Apes movie series and the third film of the rebooted series. Following, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Caesar returns with Rocket and Maurice. Director Matt Reeves is the only director to have directed a second Planet of the Apes movie. Andy Serkis, Terry Notary, and Karin Konoval are the only actors to have worked in all the three installments of the rebooted trilogy.
What To Anticipate:
16 years ago, Caesar appeared on the screen, able to understand humans and speak the human language and today, Caesar is no less than a global icon now, the leader of the apes. Pressing on the conflict from its previous installment, War for the Planet of the Apes is an absolute entertainer. War for the Planet of the Apes is essentially not an all-action war-movie, but it does bring in twists and returns and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Over the years, the CGI effects have been so well developed and thanks to that, the apes seem at par with reality, which heightens the level of excitement.
The movie seems inspired by Apocalypse Now and Schindler’s List. Like Kurtz, we have a Colonel who has given up on humanity for the sake of the survival of mankind. Besides the character of Kurtz, themes like white supremacy, military approach and blind following have found their roots in this movie too. It’s not just the setting and the story that makes this a great movie. Stellar performances by Andy Serkis and Woody Harrelson make it an absolute blockbuster.
One cannot even imagine the great deal of hard work that Andy Serkis must have gone through to imagine the character of Caesar and bring him to life onscreen. The whole idea of humanizing these apes is a work of art and this has been amazingly executed by director Matt Reeves in the film. Taking his acting beyond the expressions and the body language, Andy Serkis has given an absolute Oscar-worthy performance. Woody Harrelson is equally good.
The plot of the story brings nothing new to the table, beside the already seen conflict between the apes and the humans. But, moving beyond the plot, the movie speaks on multifarious levels. Matt Reeves uses elements like silence and the little girl Nova, who lives with Maurice to build connections between ideas like the evolution of species and the survival of mankind. Everything works well – the characters, the motivation, the plot of the story, the twists, and turns. It’s a movie worth all the applause.
Verdict:
War For the Planet of the Apes is easily the best concluding movie of all the trilogies ever made. With a stellar performance by Andy Serkis and Woody Harrelson, it has the edge of the seat excitement. A must watch.
Trailer: