War for the Planet of the Apes

Film franchises usually experiences three levels of success. In the case of the first three “Star Wars” films, the Dark Knight Trilogy or “The Lord of the Rings” films, history is made with all three films. Then we have the scenario where, the first film is such a hit that the second film is good but can’t quite live up to the original. Then unfortunately, the third film blows it story-wise. Usually this happens because the filmmakers can get carried away with the world they have established such as with “The Matrix” trilogy and also in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films. In the final category, which examples include "The Mighty Ducks” and “Ocean’s” trilogy, the second film isn't as good as the first but the third film resolves things nicely. The reboot "Planet of the Apes" movies are all equal in terms of their entertainment value and that can sometimes happen. On first viewing, I thought "War for the Planet of the Apes" was better than its predecessors but it sort of lost its value and became just as good as the previous two films over time. Technology was improved with each new "Apes" film not just in terms of realism but also in the ability to translate the subtle performances each actor gave onto their digital counterpart. The story was powerful as well.

I love how the music for the 20th Century Fox logo is arranged as well as the opening text sequence. The "Apes" sequels of the 1970's became too focused on allegory and allusions to our own society. Such is the case with any "Apes" film but in the case of "War", the filmmakers were focused more on the relationships between and inner turmoil of the main characters and that kind of storytelling when done sincerely always breeds a well-made and entertaining film. The character development of the whole reboot franchise is noteworthy and Caesar in the third film experiences a very dramatic conflict within himself, as he must fight a war he didn't want and didn't start. He is out for revenge in this movie but Caesar knows that such a choice will make him no better than his traitorous comrade Koba, who died in the previous movie. Caesar's friends also know the danger of this dark path and the closer they get to the Colonel, the more Caesar's decisions become similar to Koba's from their perspective. Caesar's desire for revenge has consequences even before arriving at the Alpha-Omega facility. There is great irony with the adoption of the little girl because just as Caesar’s mother was killed when she tried to protect him at the start of the first film, Caesar has killed a man who was just trying to protect his daughter. There is a reference to "Star Wars" in another scene of great consequence and but this allusion did not take away from the drama of the moment. Another homage that provides drama is the scarecrows. The backdrop for this entire tale is well chosen and was filmed in British Colombia and Kananaskis, Alberta. The exposition provided by the Colonel is very well written. I personally believe however that the Simian Flu is not making humans primitive as the Colonel believes. It is just making them mute, which further connects this reboot franchise to the original 1968 film. Even if the virus is regressing humans, Nova's ability to learn sign language so quickly leads me to believe that the virus is not regressing as fast as the Colonel says it is. For the first time in the whole franchise, we get a truly resolved ending. I had a feeling as to how "War" would end and I guessed right. The filmmakers' decision in this final scene was I believe the right way to go. The smartest thing in the whole movie though was Chevy Nova.

Those behind the scenes deserve praise for how this show turned out. Matt Reeves is back in the director's chair and this time he was the film's co-writer with Mark Bomback. I believe a major reason why "War" is better than its two predecessors is because the production of "Dawn" was rushed to meet a release date. With this third film, Reeves and Bomback had plenty of time given them by Fox to create this show. Both writers decided to bring a fable of moviemaking to life during the writing phase. Many people think Hollywood writers binge watch other movies for inspiration. Both men asked Fox for a theater to do just that and it actually worked in this case. I believe the trick to great storytelling is not to replicate what has been done before but to borrow what works for your movie from a variety of different films and genres. Reeves and Bomback used elements from a variety of sources including but not limited to "Apocalypse Now", "The Ten Commandments" (staring Charlton Heston), "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (written by the same literary author as "Planet of the Apes") and "The Great Escape". Because of this inspiration, "War" was shot on film and not digitally. When I saw "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", I felt that Caesar was reminiscent of Benjamin Franklin. In "Dawn", it is hard for me to make a comparison for Caesar's story that the general public would be familiar with. But for "War", the filmmakers wanted to make Caesar into the Moses of Ape History. It seems like the more progress Weta Digital makes on motion capture, the more we get to see how talented Andy Serkis is. More importantly, he becomes inspired by the new technology to up his game even more. In "War", I could see Serkis' unique smile and eyes more so than the first two films combined. In my opinion, this movie contains Serkis' best performance in his career so far with the obvious exception of Gollum. Steve Zahn does what he does best and seems to have taken to the technology quite well himself. All the actors who provided motion capture should be applauded as well as Woody Harrelson. He was a fan of the reboot franchise from Day 1. I would go so far to say that the score that Oscar-winner Michael Giacchino wrote for "Dawn" and "War" are the most unique works of his career so far. The music doesn't sound like his usual work.

I was sure this would be the year that the reboot franchise would finally win the Oscar for visual effects after two previous nominations. The was the biggest dissapointment on Oscar night for me besides the political nature of the ceremony itself. "War for the Planet of the Apes" was the film that finally convinced me to buy the previous two films. I still value the original film from 1968 a bit more and "War" isn't as powerful when you see it the second time but no one can deny that the critical acclaim surrounding the reboot franchise has improved with each passing film and that is hard to accomplish. This third movie had a powerful story and great acting in addition to amazing special effects. These are qualities that all the reboot films have in common. With a fourth film is being discussed, I am worried. With how good the ending was to this third movie, why would you want to risk ruining the franchise? Now that Disney owns the franchise, I can't help but remember that their track record for carrying on an aquired franchise is hit and miss.

3.5 Stars out of 5