War For The Planet Of The Apes

This review may contain spoilers!

Not only have these Planet of the Apes films set the bar for motion capture and CGI effects but they've presented one of the best trilogies in recent years. I would give War For The Planet Of The Apes an 8.5/10.

This is a pretty powerful conclusion that brings humanity and apes into conflict one last time. Humans have truly descended into darker creatures, killing and battling their way across America and steadily becoming more savage. The apes on the other hand have built a remarkable civilisation that has been torn to pieces by the warring humans; a film led almost completely through the Ape perspective you grow to really empathise with these creatures as they struggle to keep their tribe together and alive. Caesar goes on a great vendetta over the course of this film too; he ventures out to get vengeance for his family by killing the Colonel and has to battle against falling down the dark path Koba couldn't escape from. It's post-apocalyptic at it's very best and the Planet of the Apes have delivered the perfect commentary upon the folly of mankind. The cinematography for this film is quite sharp and captures the stark landscapes extremely well; but I was also impressed with how intimate a lot of these shots got, really lending the film it's character-focused lens. The special effects are stunning and without a doubt the best I've seen out of any film so far this year, the amount of skill it must have taken to pull off this much motion capture is staggering to think about. The score for the film is a very clear and nostalgic throwback to the classic Planet of the Apes series, this adds a high emotional impact to the film and makes the film feel all the more powerful.

Steve Zahn, who played Bad Ape, adds a nice comedic quality to this film; Zahn's very eccentric ape appears quite haunted by the soldiers he's managed to avoid and Bad Ape is an exciting new addition to the cast of characters. Karin Konoval, who played Maurice, is a rather gentle character and is the conscience of this film; Konoval has a great chemistry with Serkis that really solidifies the bond between these two characters. Amiah Miller, who played Nova, is a very lost and wayward soul who fits in extremely well with the ragtag ape characters; Miller crafts a role who no longer knows who she is and finds her place in a rather heartwarming way amongst the apes. Terry Notary, who played Rocket, is quite a bravado-filled role; he's definitely cocky and one of the apes who's ready to take a few risks. Ty Olsson, who played Red Donkey, is the most interesting antagonist of the film; his inner conflict between overthrowing Caesar and maintaining his dignity as a free ape is one of the more interesting subplots of the feature. Michael Adamthwaite, who played Luca, is a gruff minor role that has a very gentle heart; his scenes with Miller are some of the nicer moments of the film. Toby Kebbell, who played Koba, is a great character to see returning; his dark moments as Caesar's inner demons are the perfect means of representing this. Sara Canning, who played Lake, develops an interesting relationship with Serkis as the pair try to get the best for their tribe; Canning's kind-hearted ape manages to put aside a lot of hurt in her efforts to keep the tribe together.

However the best performance came from Andy Serkis, who played Caesar. Serkis has played this character for a few years now and everytime he puts so much effort into this role; this outing is probably the most impressive yet. I was really impressed with the way in which Serkis can bring so much nuanced emotion to a character brought forth completely via motion capture. Serkis has a deep rage throughout the film, he;s visibly in pain and wants to lash out at something in retaliation for this. The way he grapples with this vendetta and his newfound hatred for humans is at the heart of the story and the conclusion of this emotional journey is really well portrayed. As Caesar, Serkis has created a truly heroic leader that stands apart as one of the more intriguing characters of the year.

The film is a slow one and the acts of the feature don't move exceptionally quickly in terms of pace; this definitely isn't an action feature so don't expect your usual blockbuster. The opening act of the film takes quite a while to get under way; Caesar's very quick turn into becoming like Koba could've been set up in a cleaner way. I also felt the human characters of the feature lacked a character who actually felt worth noting, excepting Nova.

Woody Harrelson, who played The Colonel, is quite a generic military leader as far as antagonists go; Harrelson never feels like he justifies his role's motivations as a vicious dictator and he's certainly one of the more disappointing aspects of the film. Gabriel Chavarria, who played Preacher, is a minor antagonist that often falls into the background of this film; Chavarria has some potential set up for him early in this film but it's never brought to fruition in a satisfying way. Judy Greer, who played Cornelia, doesn't really add much to the film; Greer's character really only exists to be killed off this time round. Aleks Paunovic, who played Winter, is a role that turns traitor in a twist that feels neither surprising nor important; it would have been much nicer if Paunovic's role had been developed a little more. Max Lloyd-Jones, who played Blue Eyes, has quite a disappointing presence in this film; Lloyd-Jones sadly follows Greer as one of the roles that is killed off shortly after reappearing in the film.