As trilogies go, the modern Planet of the Apes series is the cream of the crop. Aside from Richard Linklater's "Sunset/Sunrise" series, one with slightly smaller ambitions, nothing acutely nails the Beginning, Middle, and End of an arc as well as this series. The story of Caesar and his family/army of apes comes to a fulfilling and powerful end in Matt Reeves' beautiful and emotional tale. While it really doesn't succeed as a war film and though there are a few moments that seem undercooked, the overwhelming result of this capper to the series is one of pure cinematic joy.
Where Rise of the Planet of the Apes established a realistic backdrop for the somewhat far fetched conceit of the series and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes turned its leading simian into a legendary cinematic character, War has two apparent missions. The first is to complete Caesar's story in an exciting and rewarding way. The second, and most interesting, is to take this rather intimate series of blockbusters and create a backdrop where the original Planet of the Apes stories could feasibly follow in an organic manner. While that future relies on ticket sales and a commitment from the studio, it showcases how much attention this series has paid to the pitfalls and successes of what came before as well as what modern audiences need.
There's a specter hanging over the proceedings of the story here, the betrayal and fate of Koba (Toby Kebbel). Caesar feels that loss and what it changed about his policy of leadership. It's interesting to see so many human flaws and failures have seeped into the ape world. As they evolve as a dominant species so too do their ideals. As a result, the lofty aspirations the leader has come up against jagged reality. The apes crave peace as the film begins. They want their forest and freedom and are content to avoid conflict. Unfortunately, mankind isn't as amenable. The Colonel (Woody Harrelson, in no small way echoing Apocalypse Now's enigmatic military man) has specific reasons for wanting the apes destroyed. A new plague is affecting humans and as the entire ape "outbreak" is tied to viral contamination, so too is this new development. The Colonel believes that this new development could turn the tide and result in mankind's extinction. It's not an airtight plot point, but indecision and madness is a throughline on both sides of the war. Caesar's not immune to impulse either, and though his motives may be pure, he too makes some very bad choices which lead the story to a messy and bloody conclusion.
Structurally this film has the least replay value in the series. A large portion of the running time has a prison escape element to it. While thrilling, it's more "on rails" than the earlier films. As a result, there are less of the golden character moments that made the series special. Luckily, the special effects are astonishing. These are living, breathing creations. The performances are real, with Andy Serkis (Caesar), Steve Zahn (Bad Ape), and Karin Konoval (Maurice) really connecting.
As the series has progressed the balance between the human and ape characters has shifted, and though humanity isn't painted with the "black hat" brush the fact the species is backed against the wall forces them into a creative corner. There's no Jason Clarke or James Franco surrogate here. Sadly, Harrelson's character is rather simplistic in execution. With that in mind, there are still quite a few moments that carry significance in today's odd political climate.
Ultimately the story lives and dies with Caesar and the character is as exciting, cool, and conflicted as a great leading "man" should be. The introduction of a mute human child (Amiah Miller) gives him a new perspective and parallel for his species' own concerns and the losses in his own family force him to make decisions in a very human, and emotion-driven way. Andy Serkis completely owns the role and coupled with Reeves and cinematographer Michael Seresin's solemn and postcard-beautiful lensing, cuts a haunting and powerful place in film history.
The result is terrific, though a notch below its predecessors in terms of overall quality. The entire series viewed as a three act story, however, is majestic and as good as it's going to get for a long time. It's a lock for "top five of the summer" and a shoo-in for all the technical (and possibly that deserved acting nomination for Serkis) awards at the end of the year.
Do not miss it.
Artwork by Simon O. Wright