War for the Planet of
the Apes suffers from a misleading title as there’s not a whole lot of war to
go around. Actually, the big battle was
already fought in the last installment, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Even though there’s not much war to be found,
it’s still a lot of fun.
Echoes of the war movie
genre permeate the film, most notably, Apocalypse Now. (There’s even a graffiti tag that reads “APE-pocalype
Now” in case you didn’t get the hint.)
The villain, played by Woody Harrelson, is also a bald Colonel, just
like Marlon Brando in that film. He even
gets a lot of long, weird monologues like Brando did.
Basically though, the
film is really more in line with The Great Escape. (The Great Esc-APE? The Great APE-scape?) You see, the Ape leader Caesar (once again
wonderfully portrayed by Andy Serkis) winds up being captured along with his Ape
brethren by the Colonel, who forces them into slave labor. Eventually, Caesar and his loyal band of Ape
renegades plan a big bust-out.
Another unexpected
motif: The western. The early scenes in which Caesar saddles up
and goes out looking for the men who killed his family has a distinct John Ford
vibe to it. Think The Searchers, but
with Apes.
Serkis is great and
all, but it is Steve Zahn who steals the movie as “Bad Ape”. The film might have been a depressing slog if
it wasn’t for his character. He brings much
needed levity and warmth to the movie and he really makes you care about his
character. If Serkis is the soul of the
movie, Zahn is the heart.
The second act lacks
the punch of the early going. That’s because
these scenes are mostly a rehash of Rise of the Planet of the Apes as Caesar
leads another uprising of Apes. However,
the finale packs a wallop. If this is
indeed the end of the road for the new Apes series, it ends on a fitting note,
but there is still PLENTY of room to explore.
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