War for the Planet of the Apes

As Caesar solemnly proclaimed at the end of Dawn, ‘war has already begun’. Now the pay-off to that portent of doom has arrived in War for the Planet of the Apes.

We pick up two years after the conclusion of Dawn. Caesar (portrayed once again through motion-capture performance by Andy Serkis) and his colony of apes have been fighting to survive the violent assaults of the human forces led by the merciless Colonel McCullough (Woody Harrelson). After a vicious skirmish, Caesar decides to end the fight once and for all. As he and his comrades Maurice (Karin Konoval), Luca (Michael Adamthwaite) and Rocket (Terry Notary) approach their goal, Caesar must contemplate the best way to protect his kind whilst also trying not to succumb to the darkness brewing within…

If you were to believe the marketing for War for the Planet of the Apes, you might go into the cinema expecting an epic war film. Well, for the first and last 15 minutes, that’s exactly what you get. Director/co-writer Matt Reeves and his technical crew craft some masterful, edge-of-the-seat battles which showcase the requisite fire-power for a summer blockbuster whilst also remaining coherently choreographed and never losing sight of the high stakes at hand. However, the rest of the film is an entirely different beast. War for the Planet of the Apes is a bleak, beautiful and gut-wrenching character study which uses its near-peerless technological poise to tell a thematically riveting and intensely moving tale.

It also doesn’t hurt that, in his third go-round in the role of Caesar, Andy Serkis deserves not only one of the most powerful performances of the year thus far, but one of the most accomplished turns of his career thus far. That’s not to say that the other cast members don’t deserve praise. Harrelson’s unrepentantly intense work makes the Colonel a chillingly striking foe, a man who would appear downright demonic if not for his twistedly understandable motivations. Notary and Adamthwaite are both superb as Caesar’s comrades, while Konoval is once again magnetically lovable and wise as Maurice. Ty Olssen delivers noteworthy work as Red, a gorilla who has an intriguing role in the human-ape conflict. New to the series, Amiah Miller is wonderfully sweet as a human child the apes find on their journey and Steve Zahn is a charming, quirky delight as ‘Bad Ape’, a lonely ape discovered by the group. The introduction of Miller’s character and ‘Bad Ape’ brings much-needed warmth and humour to a film which has plenty of darkness brewing in its heart, much like Caesar. And, circling back to Serkis, he flat-out owns this film. This prequel/reboot trilogy is ultimately Caesar’s story, and Serkis has been spectacular from the very beginning. However, he raises the bar here yet again for motion-capture performance. There are scenes where Serkis’ emotional power had me on the verge of tears. We have never seen the character this conflicted, and we feel all of the emotions through Serkis’ incredible expressiveness and raw reactions. The physicality brought to the roles by the motion-capture actors is exceptional, and Serkis brings a world-weary strength and determination to Caesar which marks him as a great leader with an edge. Serkis’ portrayal here is nothing short of faultless, staggeringly powerful to the point where he and the character meld together. Regardless of whether he receives the much-deserved award consideration, Serkis still delivers some of the best work that any actor is likely to give this year.

As much as the actors deserve a multitude of superlatives, the same should be said of the sensational animators and VFX artists who make these apes look so damn real. It’s the smaller details which impress the most, from the prominent blood vessel in an eye or the water-drenched fur of one ape glistening in the moonlight. The various individuals working on the apes have done something truly game-changing here. These don’t feel like constructs; they feel present in a way which only a few other CGI characters ever have, which is critical for the film in allowing the audience to successfully connect with them on an emotional level. As far as VFX go, it also doesn’t hurt that the digital implementations made to Michael Seresin’s breath-taking cinematography all feel rich and organic in adding further depth to the post-apocalyptic world on display.

Director Matt Reeves and his co-writer Mark Bomback aren’t afraid to explore some disturbing ideas here, and as such this is easily the grimmest entry in a trilogy which was never that light-hearted to begin with. The film pushes its rating (12A in the UK, PG-13 in the US) to the limit, but in doing so, it makes the tension more palpable and the threat more vicious. Reeves’ direction is confident and patient enough to allow the film’s themes to breathe and percolate throughout, while maintaining a purposeful pace (courtesy of unhurried yet constantly attentive editing from William Hoy and Stan Halfas) which never lets the menace dissipate. What’s more, Reeves proves that he knows how to capture some breath-taking imagery. Whether in a thunderous and fire-ridden ambush or a peaceful moment in the snow under a tree with blooming flowers, Reeves and Seresin make this a film of profound visual power and texture. Reeves and Bomback also tell a captivating story, one which works to great effect as both a final chapter in a trilogy and as its own tale. While there are ties back to Rise of the Planet of the Apes and over-arching themes and scenery (not to mention forged emotional connections from prior films which become pivotal in how the characters and events evolve here), the story here is clearly laid out in the opening act before progressing in ways which are not always expected and yet constantly enthralling. What’s more, War ties into the original 1968 Planet of the Apes beautifully with many clever nods, with one particular move being downright inspired.

Guided by an elegantly bittersweet and haunting score from Michael Giacchino which might rank amongst the finest of his work, War for the Planet of the Apes delivers an unapologetically intimate finale to the trilogy. I’ve read many online complaints that, for a film with ‘war’ in the title, there really isn’t much war. Well, to counter that, I’d say that not all war is gun-fire and flying fists. Wars can be both physical and psychological, taking the fight to the enemy by force or by challenging the enemy with your beliefs in simple yet charged conversation. Wars can be both external and internal, looking for someone to battle whilst becoming aware of the monster inside that you might have to confront with just as much ferocity. One of War’s greatest achievements is in exploring the depravity which is borne from a desperate conflict, a disconnected drive for victory which can corrupt your moral compass even as you tell yourself that your worst actions support your best hopes. To find this level of committed thoughtfulness in a summer blockbuster is a rarity, and War for the Planet of the Apes staggers with its unrelenting courage and depth. There are only a few moments where the thought-process can be found lacking, some smaller moments where things seem to fall into place too easily or conveniently. But I found those moments to be rare and, on top of that, there are two things I contemplate as both a critic and a film-goer; can I find a viable explanation for events and does my emotional investment allow me to overlook those where I can’t? Given how much intense dread I felt while watching those ‘too-easy’ moments, fearing that they could just as easily become ‘too-bad’ scenarios, I’m willing to accept them as very minor missteps. 

War for the Planet of the Apes is a sensational conclusion to one of the most surprisingly excellent trilogies in recent memory, a film which isn’t afraid to choose a quiet character moment over a loud action set-piece. Sure, those are present and they’re handled terrifically, but as the final scene plays out with richly poignant closure, you realise that the action has always been but a piece of what makes this trilogy so powerful. Everyone involved from Reeves to every single crew member (as well as Rise director Rupert Wyatt, who started this trilogy on a strong note) deserves immense credit, but what really makes this trilogy stick is the characters, both through the stunningly organic visual effects and through the unerringly compelling performances. And at the head of the pack is both Serkis and Caesar, a combination of performance and character which will go down as one of the most magnificently captivating accomplishments in film for quite some time. For that alone, the film earns high praise. For that and everything else surrounding it, I feel that War for the Planet of the Apes earns my highest praise and recommendation.  

Final Rating: 5 out of 5