Here we are, just six years after
the remarkable first film in these new reboots that has featured the most
incredible special effects in movie history.
Yes, War for the Planet of the Apes has arrived and what a feast for
the eyes and ears! Say what you will
about the Avatar films and how they’d
set the path for motion capture CGI, but these films have grown and secured
such a foothold within the special effects spectacles we see just about every
summer.
I’ve always been a fan—not a huge
fan, but a fan—of the Planet of the Apes series
of films. The first one, released in
1968, is still an amazing film despite the laughable costumes and masks that
the actors wear to depict the apes within that production. But the story is so captivating and
engrossing that you quickly forget about the cheesy makeup effects of that
time. I can accept it because I would
just imagine that the apes had evolved over the centuries to stand more upright
and to become taller, so it’s not too far gone of a conclusion. Where it’s ridiculous—and I can’t remember
which sequel it was—but there’s a film in the series where the apes end up back
in time and are captured and believed to be normal apes.
Back in 2011, ten years after the
flop that Burton’s film had been, I really had thought the Apes films had run their course and couldn’t possibly be able to
provide any more to the whole story. But
I was wrong. It had been the right time,
especially with the special effects technology, to start from the beginning and
render realistic-looking chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans to show exactly
how this all started. Rise played that out brilliantly and Dawn continued the story faultlessly.
So here we are with War for
the Planet of the Apes and I was chomping at the bit to go out to see
this flick. I say this with a bit of
chagrin, but I think I’d been looking forward to seeing this movie more so than
Spider-Man: Homecoming. Suffice it to say, I think War may
be the…
…well, let’s break down the plot
summary and go at this step-by-step…
After the apes suffer unimaginable
losses at the hands of a new enemy, The Colonel (Woody Harrelson), Caesar (Andy
Serkis) wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to
avenge his kind.
If you’ve seen the previous entry to
this franchise, Dawn of the Planet of the
Apes, then you know this story was coming.
At the end of the previous film, it was said through exposition that the
military was on its way to fight the supposed threat of the apes. In a way, the transition to this film is
seamless and we can go right into this plot without much thought of what had
happened beforehand. It’ll help to
refresh yourself with a viewing of the preceding two entries, however, just so
you don’t have to think much about some of the aspects of this film. Overall, we knew
this was coming, we knew this was going to be a culmination of Caesar’s
story—in one way or another—and we knew this would be an afflicting plight for
both the humans and the apes.
Although most of the audiences’
presumptions of what will happen are correct, there are still a few surprises
to be seen as well as a few connections to the original 1968 film. Along the way, the audience will see great
acting through the wonder of motion capture technology (and it is quite incredible this time
around—more on that later), a few heartbreaking moments, and some delightfully
humorous moments (mainly with the new character of “Bad Ape,” a
quickly-established crowd favorite, played by Steve Zahn).
When thinking of the special effects
used in this particular film, one can’t help but think back on the previous two
and know that War surpassed them both.
Don’t get me wrong, Rise had
some groundbreaking effects, especially with Andy Serkis’s Mo-Cap performances
as Caesar, and it improved quite a bit in the sequel, but there were some
scenes where the CGI was a bit spotty and obvious. In Rise,
the young Caesar wasn’t as realistic as the adult version and can take you out
of the movie when seeing it today. Dawn was better, but one scene in
particular wasn’t done well and that was when the special effects team rendered
the bear and elk during the hunting scene at the beginning of the film. Here, in War for the Planet of the Apes, I
didn’t notice any unrealistic execution of characters.
As for he humans in this story,
Woody Harrelson played the villain as well as he could. Though it was your typical cookie-cutter bad
guy, the point was made that he had a personal vendetta against the apes and
had no empathy for them whatsoever. You
learn early on that he’s the Colonel Kurtz (Apocalypse
Now reference) of the story who is going rogue with his platoon. Not only is he an enemy of the apes, but of
the remaining humans as well.
Harrelson’s Colonel is heartless and unlikable in this story, making his
character a perfect adversary to Caesar.
To add to the conversation of the
motion capture creature-rendering technology used this time around, I really
think the Academy Awards need to add a category for Mo-Cap performances,
because Andy Serkis is the best out there.
Either have that new grouping or include him in the competition for best
actor—his performances of Gollum in Lord
of the Rings, the title character in King
Kong, and Supreme Leader Snoke in Star
Wars: The Force Awakens are some of the most incredible accomplishments one
will ever see. Along those lines, and
seeing how well the effects crew was able to realistically render the apes, I’d
seen an interesting tweet from PETA the other day, where they’d mention how
this new Apes movie was proof
positive that filmmakers won’t ever have to use live animals again. I really wouldn’t go that far—it’s a bit
cheaper to hire a dog trainer to have a dog obey some simple commands than to
have a CGI-rendered dog that’ll cost quite a bit of money to showcase—but I see
what they’re getting at with that statement and that’s high praise to the
individuals who were able to bring Caesar and his apes to life.
My final “bit” on War
for the Planet of the Apes?
A stellar completion to the Caesar
arc of these new Apes films, but I
still hope we see more. Perhaps the
filmmakers can spin off or just keep going with this world to see how the apes
came to be in the original ’68 film. How
did they evolve to upright-walking apes?
When did they decide to wear clothing?
How did the Statue of Liberty get buried on the coastline? Even more, will 20th Century Fox
allow the original film to be remade/rebooted/reimagined? I wouldn’t mind and I would even welcome it
just so it fits in this string of films.
But War is a great conclusion to a fabulous trilogy of films
documenting Caesar’s rise to power, his leadership, and his legacy. Andy Serkis is awesome, as are all the motion
capture actors in this, and the box office success speaks volumes on that
fact. If you haven’t already, go see War
for the Planet of the Apes now.
Thanks for reading!
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