‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ review – Powerful story about humanity

Since there are no press screenings to review new releases, The Citizen thought looking back at some eerie films might be fun.

Dystopian film sagas like Planet of the Apes are always interesting. Underlying these tales is the clear message that humans have the ability to destroy, but we can falter just as easily.

The last instalment of the Planet of the Apes prequel trilogy (released in 2017) is an incredibly powerful story about humanity and a world where apes have become more human than us. (The great apes in the film, except for two, rely on sign language to communicate).

In a detailed and brilliant visual narrative, this powerful blockbuster is dark, vicious and visceral in the way it ends this chapter of films. Oh, and humanity is slowly dying from a virus that is contagious and causes people’s mind’s to turn to soup.

Picture: 20th Century Fox

War for the Planet of the Apes shows that blockbuster filmmaking doesn’t have to just be about car chases and sex scenes.

There is real character development, a clear focus on what makes each ape and each human tick. There is also a line between antagonist and protagonist, because who, really, is bad? The apes, fighting for their survival, or humans fighting for theirs?

Interspersed there is beautiful cinematography featuring jungles, snow-covered hills, beaches and deserts. It is still a shame War for the Planet of the Apes was not in the running at the Oscars in 2018 for technical achievements like sound editing and computer-generated imagery.

The details in the faces of the apes are so mesmerising, you could easily be fooled into thinking you’re in a National Geographic special.

Picture: 20th Century Fox

In the film, Caesar is still protecting his herd from humans. As the human militia tries to smoke out the peaceful leader, the herd discovers there is a desert they can escape to where humans are scarce.

But as their jungle hideout is surrounded by troops, the apes face great loss if they trek to the promised land. It’s not until the colonel (played by a rabid Woody Harrelson) kills Caesar’s family that the leader decides on revenge while the apes make a break for the new land.

Joined by his trusted court, Caesar starts to discover that humans are slowly losing their ability to speak, as the “ape disease” spreads among them.

Those infected are culled, while some lucky ones escape. Caesar and his trusted friend, Maurice, eventually start to care for a little girl suffering from the disease. The girl ends up as part of the herd as she fights with the apes while tracking down the colonel.

Picture: 20th Century Fox

It turns out he has established himself at an abandoned military base and has captured Caesar’s entire herd, forcing them to work like slaves to build a giant wall around it. His plans go further than merely destroying the apes.

It gets a bit long-winded by the third act when Caesar loses the respect of his herd after leaving them to seek revenge against the colonel, but some fantastic escape sequences and a touching moment with the little girl followed by a slew of action scenes quickly shakes you out of your slumber.

If you’ve had your fill of comic book heroes on the big screen, this is a welcome big-budget spectacle.

Info

Rating: ★★★★☆
Cast: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson and Judy Greer
Director: Matt Reeves
Classification: 13V

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