Of all the reboots and or trilogies, the Planet of the Apes has surpassed all expectations and in my opinion is THE best that Hollywood has made, thus far. We could easily praise the trilogies, due to the amazing technical achievements of the motion capture technology that has given life to Caesar and the rest of the apes. Except, it’s the ability of everyone involved in the franchise, that has given movie audiences in general, characters that we can actually care about. It also makes these summer movies a leap above anything else in recent memory.
War for the Planet if the Apes continues the momentum started by the first two installments and delivers another truly amazing cinematic experience. The inter-species war continues to rage and Caesar(Andy Serkis) continues the fight against a rogue army, led by the Colonel (Woody Harrelson) who is hell bent on eliminating the apes; once and for all.
While Caesar is preparing for the apes to move to a safer location, Caesar’s wife and son are killed by the Colonel. As the apes head out to their new home, Caesar and a small party, head out to kill the Colonel under the guise of buying the apes more time, but those around him see this as a quest for revenge.
Once again, the creative team of Matt Reeves and Mark Bomback don’t take the easy road with this final instalment in Caesar’s journey. After the first two amazing instalments, it could have been forgivable or expected for Reeves and Bomback to simply sit back and end the franchise with a battle and lots of explosions. Thankfully, they didn’t and it makes this film so much more rewarding because of it. Not only is Caesar in a war for the very survival of the apes, but he is at war within himself. It’s Caesar’s internal struggle with revenge and his road to recovery that make the War for the Planet of the Apes all the more fulfilling.
This is one great trilogy and I believe it will gain more notoriety as time goes on. If this truly is the end of the franchise, then it is definitely going out with its head held high.
