War for the Planet of the Apes Review
War for the Planet of the Apes features the acting talents of Andy Serkis, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Woody Harrelson, and Amiah Miller.
It may not have started out very violent, but being called "War", there are massive shootouts, apes and humans alike are killed/tortured, there's little-to-no blood/gore, but the bodies lie about with their wounds showing. As for profanity, there's name calling, but there's very few actual profanity spoken. Check out the Kids-In-Mind article for more details.
It Doesn't Fall Apart!
Hallelujah! For the first in a long time, the third installment of a trilogy isn't the worst/weakest of the trilogy. So many times, it peaks at number two and comes crashing down with three. I may be exaggerating, but a trilogy lives or dies by its third installment, because it's that installment which will affect how that trilogy is seen as a part of cinema history.
I am pleased to report that War may be the best of the three. In fact, I'm gonna do another versus battle and have Rise against Dawn against War and see which one I'm gonna crown the winner. I figured that'd be the perfect opportunity to do another versus battle. This movie absolutely floored me though. It's a near masterpiece. That's all thanks to this talented actor.
 |
| Look at that face. Andy Serkis for Best Actor Oscar 2018. |
Andy Serkis as Caesar
After seeing Andy Serkis in his first Apes film, Rise, I didn't quite feel the Oscar rage for his single performance. However, after seeing Dawn and War directly after, I immediately joined the "Give Andy Serkis an Oscar" craze. I believe that Andy Serkis gives his best performance of the three here. While his Gollum is a highlight of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Caesar is Andy Serkis's best role.
Even though he's fully brought to life with the effects, Andy Serkis is a special effect unto himself. He's able to convey every single emotion at a whim. Joy, sadness, anger, it's all there and it's stunning to behold. His Caesar is given a really compelling story in this third entry. I can't believe that he's yet to get the recognition he so clearly deserves. It's still acting even though he's wearing a motion capture suit. There's so many acting elements that Andy Serkis uses that any other actor does, which makes his exclusion all this time all the more frustrating and mind-boggling.
As for Caesar himself, I was surprised about how often Caesar spoke. For the first fifteen minutes of the film, he doesn't use sign language to communicate at all. It makes you recall how far the character has come from saying one sentence, to barely using sign language at all. It's still held back. Whenever he speaks, it's not as fluent as when a human speaks, so the filmmakers are able to keep Caesar from being a hairy human. He does use sign language when he can't speak and this is one of the films you want to have subtitles when watching it.
I found him to be quite good when it came to action sequences. He doesn't top his fight against Koba in Dawn, but because there wasn't a lot of action, there aren't many chances for him to top it. He was able to hold his own in the war of apes versus humans. It's because of Andy Serkis's Caesar that gets me to root for the Apes.
When I found out that Woody Harrelson was gonna be the antagonist for this film, I was nervous. I didn't believe that he had the level of edginess to portray a villain, because of the more comedic roles I've seen him in like the Hunger Games or the Now You See Me films.
Much to my surprise, Woody Harrelson made for a really good villain as a man simply known as the Colonel. Even though I would've liked to know his real name, I felt that keeping it a secret added to the character's lack of humanity. He may have valid reasons for what he does, but the film keeps you from rooting for the character, which is the point. You're not supposed to be rooting for this guy, because he does truly evil things. On screen and off. The humans angle is very Holocaust-like and some of the imagery fits that description. In that aspect, I enjoyed the realistic roots.
We didn't get to see this guy in any action scenes other than that brief sequence that you see in the trailers. I wish that he had more screen time in the film. The Colonel may have a larger presence in the film, but not a lot of him is seen in it. That's justified though, because this is the Apes's movie, not the Colonel's.
His soldiers are one of the few weak links in the film. They may be tough and with their own intimidating phrases, but they lack what makes them great soldiers. The ability to guard their prisoners. If guards were that oblivious in real life, we'd have a lot of escaped prisoners. That cliché may be defendable though as these are intelligent apes that can, use sign language, use guns, and occasionally, speak.
I found him to be quite good when it came to action sequences. He doesn't top his fight against Koba in Dawn, but because there wasn't a lot of action, there aren't many chances for him to top it. He was able to hold his own in the war of apes versus humans. It's because of Andy Serkis's Caesar that gets me to root for the Apes.
The Colonel and the Military
When I found out that Woody Harrelson was gonna be the antagonist for this film, I was nervous. I didn't believe that he had the level of edginess to portray a villain, because of the more comedic roles I've seen him in like the Hunger Games or the Now You See Me films.
We didn't get to see this guy in any action scenes other than that brief sequence that you see in the trailers. I wish that he had more screen time in the film. The Colonel may have a larger presence in the film, but not a lot of him is seen in it. That's justified though, because this is the Apes's movie, not the Colonel's.
His soldiers are one of the few weak links in the film. They may be tough and with their own intimidating phrases, but they lack what makes them great soldiers. The ability to guard their prisoners. If guards were that oblivious in real life, we'd have a lot of escaped prisoners. That cliché may be defendable though as these are intelligent apes that can, use sign language, use guns, and occasionally, speak.
Maurice
One of my favorite apes throughout this trilogy has been the Bornean orangutan, Maurice. I can't quite put my finger on why he's one of my favorite characters. Maybe it's the lack of words given from him, to his piercing eyes that can stare into your very soul. Either way, Maurice does both very well.
My favorite thing about Maurice was his interactions with Bad Ape and Nova. He didn't speak, but I laughed at some his scenes because of how funny they were. It's actually very surprising considering the ape doesn't talk. He did a few times, but not a lot. I could've used a few more lines from him.
Bad Ape
Steve Zahn was probably the one area where I thought this movie was gonna fall apart. With such a serious and thought-provoking tone set, I thought that introducing an irreverent comedic relief character was gonna ruin the tone.
I was relieved to find that that was not the case with his character, Bad Ape. I didn't laugh at many of the jokes he delivered and I enjoyed him more in the few dramatic moments that he had. Like Woody Harrelson, I didn't believe that Steve Zahn could do the more dramatic moments of the film, due to his more comedic filmography. That's something new that I was glad do discover about the actor.
Where Caesar and his entourage were more ape-like, Steve Zahn's Bad Ape came dangerously close to being an ape running around like a human. That was due to him trying to be funny and those are the parts where I didn't laugh at his humor, because it was so human-like. As a character that could've brought the movie down, Bad Ape thankfully didn't do that and I was able to see Steve Zahn do a kind of acting that I haven't seen him do.
Where Caesar and his entourage were more ape-like, Steve Zahn's Bad Ape came dangerously close to being an ape running around like a human. That was due to him trying to be funny and those are the parts where I didn't laugh at his humor, because it was so human-like. As a character that could've brought the movie down, Bad Ape thankfully didn't do that and I was able to see Steve Zahn do a kind of acting that I haven't seen him do.
Nova
When watching this film, you'll find that this sets up quite a few character and story point that come to passin the 1968 original Planet of the Apes film. Nova is one of them.
Now of course, Nova is the character that is Charlton Heston's hlove interest in that classic. In this film, the character is far superior compar to that iteration. She's still mute, but the little girl who portrays her, Amiah Miller, is cute, funny, and surprisingly emotional. Those moments are what put this iteration far above what Linda Harrison did in that film.
For me, Linda Harrison's Nova felt like a dead weight that Charlton Heston carried with him throughout the film. Because of that, I wasn't optimistic about this Nova being any different. So imagine my surprise when I found that Amiah Miller's Nova not only wasn't a dead weight, but other than Caesar, she was my other favorite character. Caesar and her were the characters that made me cry in this film. She had a lot of scenes that, for a kid, are impressive. What a really great child actor that brought this character to life.
Now of course, Nova is the character that is Charlton Heston's hlove interest in that classic. In this film, the character is far superior compar to that iteration. She's still mute, but the little girl who portrays her, Amiah Miller, is cute, funny, and surprisingly emotional. Those moments are what put this iteration far above what Linda Harrison did in that film.
For me, Linda Harrison's Nova felt like a dead weight that Charlton Heston carried with him throughout the film. Because of that, I wasn't optimistic about this Nova being any different. So imagine my surprise when I found that Amiah Miller's Nova not only wasn't a dead weight, but other than Caesar, she was my other favorite character. Caesar and her were the characters that made me cry in this film. She had a lot of scenes that, for a kid, are impressive. What a really great child actor that brought this character to life.
Action, Effects, and Score
This movie may have the word "War" in its name, but if you're going into this film thinking it's gonna be one straight action sequence, you're gonna be disappointed. I wasn't disappointed at all. I knew that it wasn't gonna be one big action scene. In fact this is more a thought-provoking character study, than it is an action movie. There's several action scenes sprinkled throughout, but it doesn't overshadow the rest of the movie. I know that some of you will be disappointed, so that's why I'm letting you know, that way that disappointment won't taint your cinematic experience.
IT'S REAL! It's absolutely real. The VFX started very medium with Rise, but since then, they've gotten better and better to the point where it's real. The actors undoubtedly turn in phenomenal performances, but it must not go overlooked, the teams of people that helped create those groundbreaking special effects. The acting and VFX blend together to help create these wonderful characters. As a part of those key ingredients, there are no frames where the effects are terrible. It all flows together and it's beyond believable.
Michael Giacchino creates one his best scores with War for the Planet of the Apes. There's elements that continue from Dawn's score that mix with a wholly original score. When the film is quiet and epic in its various moments, the score's present and it helps with the impact that those moments have. It's absolutely stunning to listen to and I loved every second of it.
There was no time where I though that the score was underwhelming. I always thought the score was good. There were scenes where there was nothing but the score playing in the background and it works 100% of the time. Maybe one or two tracks aren't as good and it's not one of the greatest scores of all time, but it's a really powerful score that serves the film very well.
Check out this film. It does multiple things right and very little wrong. This is a fantastic film that you should definitely check out. However, make sure you see Rise and Dawn first, before you see War. This film builds off the events of those two films and you need to see them in order to understand what's going on in the film. This is not one of the trilogies where you go in at any installment without seeing the first one. I went to the Planet of the Apes Triple Feature at a theater near me so I had those films fresh in my mind and I suggest you see those two before you see this new film. Even if you've seen them already, it helps to have them fresh in your mind. It's absolutely crucial. I would also add the 1968 original film to your list if you want to catch the set ups that this film makes to that classic film, but it's less of a necessity.
Now at the Triple Feature that I attended, Rise was in 2D and Dawn and War were in 3D. Because of the spectacular action and effects, the 3D added another layer of enjoyment to my experience, but I don't think it's necessary to have in order to enjoy this film. You could see this in 2D and still have a great time.
So that's my review of War for the Planet of the Apes. Comment below what you thought of this film, if you saw it, and if you haven't, are you now going to watch or re-watch the first two films and see this? Let me know what film you want me to review next. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
Comments
Post a Comment