Review of War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) by Richard E — 28 Jul 2017

Apes Together Strong.

I went into this film with high expectations, and despite that I was still shocked by this film.

The directing left a tiny bit to be desired, but that's literally the only thing I can fault. It wasn't even that bad, that's about the only thing I can find wrong with the film.

What took me by surprise with this film is I was expecting one of Michael Bay's dreams - a CGI explosion fest. Instead, I got a story rich, well written (yeah I know they're apes god damnit) and emotionally engaging story which from about 1/4-1/3 of a way through, had me barely blinking.

The film exceeded expectations in the philosophy department, as it demonstrated not only humans disgusting approach to animals (which we've come to expect of this franchise, with it being a continuous theme throughout), but also our approach to always seek conflict. A very simple disagreement which could be solved with very little compromise instead turns into a full blown Trump-v-Mexico (you'll see) conflict, the apes not even factoring into the conflict. Humans will always fight, and that's exactly the point this film gets across.

Really, if I had to describe this film in 3 words, it genuinely would be "Apes Together Strong". I'm sad that this will be the end of the trilogy, but in a way I couldn't be much more happy with the ending, which differs massively from the extreme frustration the initial franchise caused.

OH, almost forget: Andy Serkis did not disappoint. His performance as Caesar is oscar worthy. It puts Gollum to shame. It's important to remember that whilst he may be a CGI ape, he's having to express everything in a vastly different, much more complex and intricate way.