War for the Planet of the Apes Review

    In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.
  
   I do think it's necessary to be upfront in saying that the title of the movie is a little misleading. This third film is not about the grand showdown between Man and Ape that began back in 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes and exploded into conflict in 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. What director Matt Reeves (also wrote/directed the incredible Dawn film) does instead is create a pseudo-Biblical film in a more apocalyptic way, with a tale of the old world (Jewish slavery) dying out and being replaced with something different (reaching the promised land). I honestly think a better title of the film would have been Exodus of the Apes. While I don't necessarily think this is a downfall of the film, not having this knowledge ahead of time can leave some viewers underwhelmed who were expecting this great battle. The film does kind of drag on at times and the story doesn't fully live up to the greatness setup in the first two movies of the series.
   
   However, taking out the expectations of the great battle and taking the movie for what it is, I can honestly say this trilogy belongs in the discussion as one of the greats. Andy Serkis' performance throughout these three movies, and especially this film where the story completely revolves around his character Caesar, has easily put him in the discussion as needing a special Academy Award. Serkis has perfected the art of motion capture and shows just how in-depth he has to go to fully become Caesar as he does in the films. The supporting characters throughout the movie are exceptional as well whether you are talking about Woody Harrelson as the "villainous" Colonel, Steve Zahn's performance as the funny Bad Ape, Karin Konoval as the trusty sidekick orangutan Maurice, and Terry Notary as warrior ape Rocket.
  
   I really enjoyed the movie, and while I will say that Dawn is still my favorite of the franchise, this is a great conclusion to the trilogy and really shows why in the original Planet of the Apes film the apes worshiped Caesar the way they did. Andy Serkis brought this character to life in a way that only he could and made people around the world want the apes to defeat the humans. Definitely worth checking this one out in theaters and if you haven't seen the first two movies you should really watch them first or make a marathon out of them. I promise you will not be disappointed.

8.5/10