War For The Planet Of The Apes

What a glorious world we live in where a scene in a movie involving apes riding on horses wielding machine guns in post-apocalyptic San Francisco can be part of a deeply insightful and thought-provoking series of films. With 2014's reboot of the cult sci-fi series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes brought the dormant franchise back to the saga's beginning, with an intelligent action film that explored the ramifications of experimentation and man's tenuous position as the dominant species. Of course, the break out element was Andy Serkis' Caeser, the central ape and leader of the uprising faction of sapiens, brought to life through incredible motion-capture technology. Rise took audiences by surprise with its tight script and heady sci-fi concepts that made the Apes franchise a viable, and importantly an exciting, returning franchise. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes somehow managed to surpass its predecessor, exploring the post-Rise world Caeser forged. More morally grey, Dawn explored the complications that arise from revolutions and the questions their leaders must face. Dawn effectively created a pressure boiler situation that was literate, beautifully constructed and incredibly exciting. With the arrival of War for the Planet of the Apes, the proposed final part of the trilogy, can the filmmakers even hope of topping the first two films?

Set a few years after after Dawn, War picks up with Caeser (Andy Serkis) and the gang in hiding, facing encroaching attacks by a mad military professional, simply known as The Colonel (Woody Harrelson). Caeser is still having to deal with the fallout of the rebellion led by Koba in the previous film. The tribe have almost become legendary, as both sides of the conflict desperately try to hold onto what is left behind. However, a terrible incident occurs that pushes Caeser over the edge. He breaks away from his tribe to traverse the post-apocalytic winter landscape to hunt down and kill this tyrant. Along the way, Caeser's beliefs and motives are questioned as he begins to learn what it means to seek revenge and fight for your survival.

Caeser is put to the ultimate test in War For the Planet of the Apes

For those in the know, War's launch point is Joeseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and its Vietnam-set adaptation Apocalypse Now (or Ape-pocalypse Now, if you will). With particular reference to the Francis Ford Coppola film, the story is a timeless parable of a character on a mission to hunt down a mysterious figure on the other side of an uninhabitable setting, whilst dealing with the trail left behind along the way. So with that in mind, Caeser's quest becomes traversing the bloody mess left behind by The Colonel and eventually encountering this man. The tone of the film is absolutely perfect - there's just this unavoidable sense of sadness to the whole proceedings in this morally grey desolate world. Everyone is given sufficient motivation, fighting for their own survival. The war element of the title is made very clear from the opening of the film, in which the camera pans over soldiers' helmets revealing their nicknames scrolled on the side. This is no Michael Bay take on war - director Matt Reeves clearly has a vision that he wants audiences to experience. The script focus is incredibly tight, only revealing the true appearance of the villain in the second half of the film. Other blockbusters would be quick to reveal its hand but War puts us on the journey with Caeser. A particular delight for me was spending more time with Caeser's comrades, including the incredibly loveable Maurice (Karin Konoval), who have thus far been back-ground characters in the trilogy. Some levity is also given with some not too over-the-top comedic relief with "Bad Ape' (Steve Reeves), giving something which the franchise has a lacked a little bit until now.

Caeser and the gang are on a quest into the true heart of darkness 

Despite its rich literate and cinematic foundation, War can't escape a slightly shaky first act, which employs a couple of tropes I'm not too fond of. The launch point to the story feels slightly rushed with, spoilers, Caeser's wife and son being murdered in order to give sufficient motivation to hunt down the Colonel. Now fortunately, this is still a Planet of the Apes film, so the subsequent exploration of grief and revenge are deftly handled but it's just a shame that they use a slightly tired trope to get the story moving. Along the way, they meet a little girl, who they name Nova, who has become infected with a new strain of the virus that wiped out most of the humans. The virus has now mutated to rob humans of the ability to talk. Again, I'm not terribly fond of the innocent caught up in the middle trope (its only ever worked for me in Deadwood...) but the film eventually finds ample things for her to do. Now these issues aside, the film does find time to explore some genuinely really interesting threads in its first half but it all just has a slightly rushed feel.

Woody Harrelson as the Colonel evokes Marlon Brando's performance in Apocalypse Now

Fortunately, the vast majority of the film is set in The Colonel's compound, in which Caeser is put to his ultimate test. This is easily the strongest section of the film. For the first time since Rise, he is imprisoned and made to feel like an animal. The imagery of the ape concentration camp is very evocative and grim. Fellow apes, who followed Koba and betrayed Caeser, work for the camp and are referred to as donkeys. Captured apes are put to manual labour, building a giant wall to keep someone out, serving as part of the Colonel's descent into madness. This is where the advancement in the motion capture technology becomes really clear. Andy Serkis is absolutely incredible in the role, with Caeser's quest being at the forefront of this film (Dawn split its narrative between arguably three characters). The best thing a special effect can do is make you forget that you watching a special effect and War accomplishes this flawlessly. All we can see are the characters.

All races' survival are now on the line

War feels smaller in scale than Dawn but I think this is actually to the film's benefit. The best thing this series does is not go overboard with the action scenes - they are used sparingly and, when they do occur, they're all the more satisfying.  A Great Escape style mission to get all the apes out of the camp is exciting and builds up the tension perfectly. The vast majority of the film really is Caeser exploring the heart of darkness and what creates a man like the Colonel, learning that maybe he has more in common with him than he realises. Even the epic action scenes that make up the finale of the film have this underpinning of sadness to them. It really does feel like this is a make or break situation for all the sides of the conflict. The incredible cinematography (shot by Prisoner of Azkaban cinematographer Michael Seresin), sound design and music all evoke a more subtle, non-Michael Bay, take on the nature of war. I just find it incredible that a film about talking apes manages to bring up all these heady themes and at the same time be an incredibly exciting action film.

Overall, while War does have a shaky first act (with a couple of tropes I'm not fond of), the film settles into a mournful tone that reminds audiences why they fell in love with these films in the first place. The film deftly explores how hatred, war and misunderstanding can lead to violence and trauma. War builds to a somber and epic finale with all races on the line in a mad dash for survival. The film caps off the trilogy in a satisfying way that ends on a very bittersweet note. Remakes and reboots get a very bad rep and, in most cases, deservedly so but in the right hands, older properties can find new life and angles. The trilogy of Ape films are solid gold proof of this; a shout out to Hollywood that audiences can enjoy intelligent films that also happen to be blockbusters. While War is not my favourite part of the trilogy, it's still one of the better films released this summer.  What we now have is a trilogy of incredibly smart science-fiction films that, I think, will continue to grow in people's estimations over the years and decades. Hail Caeser.