By Nadia Ranaputri
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Andy Serkis, Woody Harelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller.
Rise, Dawn, and the finality: War. Matt Reeves returns to helm the closing of the beloved Planet of the Apes trilogy that culminates all three films. As humans begin to wage war by the end of Dawn, War for the Planet of the Apes begins with a bang.
Having already found new civilization, Caesar and his colony are attacked by the millitary group that were sent in to wipe them off their base. As Caesar discovers that they are being hunted by the military and their ruthless leader The Colonel, Caesar takes it upon himself to plot revenge against The Colonel and end the war once and for all.
The most powerful aspect of War are the performances, particularly of Andy Serkis as Caesar. He’s become more intelligent and more human than the previous films. He speaks more than he gestures when it comes to communicating, and he’s more emotionally driven as ever. Caesar’s development comes full circle, as he becomes as human as he is an ape. Even a character comments on how Caesar’s eyes are almost human. But it’s where his motivations, determination, and anger that brings an emotional charge to Caesar, and brings out a spectacular performance from Serkis, quite possibly his best one of the three Apes films.
There’s a saying that a hero is only as good as their villain, and that was exactly what War, and the previous two installments; did so masterfully. They capture both sides of the conflict, the apes and the humans; without emphasizing that one side is the good and one is the bad. Rise showed that the humans were the ones who started the whole fiasco, but it's the apes that finish it. Dawn showed that an ape can wage war against humans while they were in the midst of peace. War shows that misjudgement that led to an act of war on both sides have consequences. The villains are only villains in the eyes of one side, but to us, they’re people trying to survive and preserve what’s left of their race: the human race, just as much as Caesar is trying to save his.
In a movie about apes evolving, the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise has had plenty of seamless cinematography, one of the prime examples being from Dawn, where a continuous shot sees Malcom running through corridors and rooms, trying to escape a fleet of apes. War has just as great of a cinematography as the other installments. War has seamless camera work that fully invests themselves on one standout aspect: emotion. It gets you up close and personal with the characters, particularly the apes; cutting through more than just admiring the impressive visuals, but also their facial expressions that are performed so brilliantly by the actors, that it's so close, yet still so far from becoming fully human.
War packs as much action as Dawn, ranging their sequences from contained to big scale action; but it settles for more character moments and room to breathe. War takes its time brilliantly to get us invested into its world and the characters that live in it. Between those incredible action scenes, new friends are made, established relationships are forged even deeper and stronger than ever. War digs within the internal conflict of Caesar and his colony, especially Caesar's own internal conflicts. Plagued by hallucinations of his former friend turned enemy Koba, Caesar is haunted by the fact that he is slowly turning into a darker route. It's as big of an affair inside as it is outside. War is also a testament of conflicting power, flipping the table over from Dawn, whose position of power was gripped by Koba; to the humans snatching that position of power like a runner snatching a batton from another during physical exercise. But even then, War has its share of lighthearted moments between all the darkness, particularly from Steve Zahn's former zoo ape who provides much needed humor, something that lacked in the previous films.
Tapped as the closing of the franchise, War provides a satisfying close that feels so much like a finality, but opens up to some possibilities of something new, like a closed door that hasn't been locked yet. It's a journey of conflict, of anger, and most of all, compassion. War is a rivetting ride from start to finish, providing a balanced share of action and character moments. It knows when to raise the stakes, and when to take a breath. It doesn't stand above, but rather among Rise and Dawn. War for the Planet of the Apes can be many things, and masterful is one of them.
Stars: 4.4/5
Trailer
 |
| Source: IGN |
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Andy Serkis, Woody Harelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller.
Rise, Dawn, and the finality: War. Matt Reeves returns to helm the closing of the beloved Planet of the Apes trilogy that culminates all three films. As humans begin to wage war by the end of Dawn, War for the Planet of the Apes begins with a bang.
Having already found new civilization, Caesar and his colony are attacked by the millitary group that were sent in to wipe them off their base. As Caesar discovers that they are being hunted by the military and their ruthless leader The Colonel, Caesar takes it upon himself to plot revenge against The Colonel and end the war once and for all.
The most powerful aspect of War are the performances, particularly of Andy Serkis as Caesar. He’s become more intelligent and more human than the previous films. He speaks more than he gestures when it comes to communicating, and he’s more emotionally driven as ever. Caesar’s development comes full circle, as he becomes as human as he is an ape. Even a character comments on how Caesar’s eyes are almost human. But it’s where his motivations, determination, and anger that brings an emotional charge to Caesar, and brings out a spectacular performance from Serkis, quite possibly his best one of the three Apes films.
 |
| Source: Moviefone |
There’s a saying that a hero is only as good as their villain, and that was exactly what War, and the previous two installments; did so masterfully. They capture both sides of the conflict, the apes and the humans; without emphasizing that one side is the good and one is the bad. Rise showed that the humans were the ones who started the whole fiasco, but it's the apes that finish it. Dawn showed that an ape can wage war against humans while they were in the midst of peace. War shows that misjudgement that led to an act of war on both sides have consequences. The villains are only villains in the eyes of one side, but to us, they’re people trying to survive and preserve what’s left of their race: the human race, just as much as Caesar is trying to save his.
In a movie about apes evolving, the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise has had plenty of seamless cinematography, one of the prime examples being from Dawn, where a continuous shot sees Malcom running through corridors and rooms, trying to escape a fleet of apes. War has just as great of a cinematography as the other installments. War has seamless camera work that fully invests themselves on one standout aspect: emotion. It gets you up close and personal with the characters, particularly the apes; cutting through more than just admiring the impressive visuals, but also their facial expressions that are performed so brilliantly by the actors, that it's so close, yet still so far from becoming fully human.
 |
| Source: 20th Century Fox/comicbook.com |
War packs as much action as Dawn, ranging their sequences from contained to big scale action; but it settles for more character moments and room to breathe. War takes its time brilliantly to get us invested into its world and the characters that live in it. Between those incredible action scenes, new friends are made, established relationships are forged even deeper and stronger than ever. War digs within the internal conflict of Caesar and his colony, especially Caesar's own internal conflicts. Plagued by hallucinations of his former friend turned enemy Koba, Caesar is haunted by the fact that he is slowly turning into a darker route. It's as big of an affair inside as it is outside. War is also a testament of conflicting power, flipping the table over from Dawn, whose position of power was gripped by Koba; to the humans snatching that position of power like a runner snatching a batton from another during physical exercise. But even then, War has its share of lighthearted moments between all the darkness, particularly from Steve Zahn's former zoo ape who provides much needed humor, something that lacked in the previous films.
Tapped as the closing of the franchise, War provides a satisfying close that feels so much like a finality, but opens up to some possibilities of something new, like a closed door that hasn't been locked yet. It's a journey of conflict, of anger, and most of all, compassion. War is a rivetting ride from start to finish, providing a balanced share of action and character moments. It knows when to raise the stakes, and when to take a breath. It doesn't stand above, but rather among Rise and Dawn. War for the Planet of the Apes can be many things, and masterful is one of them.
Stars: 4.4/5
Trailer
