Review of War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) by Tvjerry — 17 Jul 2017

You may recall that the last movie in this series was less an action film and more a political conflict. This one puts even more emphasis on the drama, almost to the exclusion of any big battles. Caesar fights back against a human army (led by Woody Harrelson), but there's more heart-felt conversation and sneaking around than full out fighting.

That being said, the animation of the apes is even more impressively effective in conveying emotions (led by another remarkable performance from Andy Serkis). While much of the interactions are compelling, almost every scene plays out too long.

Once again, Michael Seresin's cinematography turns some stunning locations into beautiful images and the simian characterizations are enthralling. While Matt Reeves' distinctive directorial vision is engrossing and at times unique, it's more about emotion than action.

(This much ape interaction means lots of subtitles to translate their hairy gestures.