Review of War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) by Zeroes_Or_Tens — 14 Jul 2017
Andy Serkis and Woody Harrelson are excellent and the CGI is solid. Those are the positives. The movie just doesn't add anything to the trilogy outside of providing an ending and even then it's just not satisfying.
The trailer, poster, and title are all misleading. They frame the story as Caeser seeking revenge, a mysterious young girl, and a desperate final battle between man and ape. That epic showdown between The Colonel's humans and Caeser's apes never comes.
The opening scene is strong and makes you think the war is raging, but about half an hour in the human/ape conflict seems to fall by the wayside. Yeah the humans still hate the apes, but the "War for the Planet of the Apes" for this movie is human vs.
human with apes around. There are a lot of tight, claustrophobic shots but as the lack of real conflict becomes more apparent, it just comes off as cheap tension. There are also a lot of awkwardly long shots of characters as they stare at each other and make "tough" decisions even though the audience knows exactly how each one will turn out.
They're meant to make it more dramatic but you just want it to be done already. Outside of Woody Harrelson's Colonel, the new characters aren't worth the time. The movie would be the same whether or not the little girl was there (minus some shallow philosophical questions) and Bad Ape brings plot holes and is just a groan to watch.
He's entertaining if you liked Jar Jar Binks. Very disappointing overall.
This review of War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) was written by Zeroes_Or_Tens on 14 Jul 2017.
War for the Planet of the Apes has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
