WAR OF THE PLANET OF THE APES REVIEWED
“War of the Planet of the Apes” wasn’t much of a war. Hell, it played like “The Searchers” by way of “The Great Escape”. But, in this movie…John Wayne is hairy and he’s a Moses stand-in. The tone is amazing and the film wraps up a lot of plot points. But, it’s not a great movie. It’s just very good. So, what hobbled the conclusion to Caesar’s story?
Too often modern trilogies feel the need to wrap up a story fast. While Woody Harrelson gets to play a great villain, he doesn’t have the time to develop. He’s savage, he breaks into Ape compounds with ease and he brutalizes his family. What else could we need? By the time you start to get annoyed, Steve Zahn shows up as Bad Ape. He wears a hat and a blue vest. This upset some people online, but not for real reasons. People should be pissed that Bad Ape feels like a wannabe Gollum by way of Jar Jar Binks.
I didn’t hate Bad Ape, I just wondered why a non war film was wasting their time on a disposable character. That’s when the audience screams about the need for comic relief. Well, what about telling the third act of a trilogy? Fans know that Caesar has to lead his Apes to a new home. They have to find a sanctuary where they can eventually take over the Planet. The diseased lands of this movie will eventually become the desert wastes of the Forbidden Zone.
This is where I want to pat Matt Reeves on the shoulder. You got us this far, buddy. But, I need more than rejected member berries. The two things that the film does right is showing how the Ape Virus is devolving the humans and Andy Serkis. Serkis deserves an honorary Oscar at this point, as what he’s doing is as revolutionary as Burtt and Edlund’s work on Star Wars. While the literary saw Caesar’s end coming, Serkis sells every minute of the journey.
I just wish that the film was worthy of his efforts. Hell, this might be the only trilogy where it starts AMAZING and then peters off throughout the years. That being said, get out there and see the film. The world needs more Apes. Plus, we need to know what happened to the Icarus.
FILMÂ STATS
- PG-13
- 2 hrs and 20 mins
- 20th Century Fox
