Review: WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES completes the hat trick

Most people are unaware that The Planet of the Apes was originally a science fiction novel. The 1968 movie that everyone assumes started it all was actually an adaptation of the 1963 French book “La Planète des Singes” (literally “Monkey Planet” or “The Planet of Monkeys”). In the book, a space-traveling husband and wife stumble upon an interstellar message in a bottle. The message records the journey of astronauts from earth who travel near the speed of light (thus rapidly moving forward in time by our reckoning) and come upon a planet orbiting a nearby star. The planet is much like earth, except simians have risen to dominate the world while men are primitive and kept as slaves. In the end, the astronauts escape the planet and return to earth where—centuries having passed since they left—apes have risen up to conquer the planet, in a twist of irony. At that point, the space-traveling husband and wife discard the message in a bottle, thinking it a silly story…far too silly for intelligent monkeys like themselves!

So there is a twist in the tale, but it was nothing like what happened in the 1968 film.

Rod Serling (mastermind of The Twilight Zone) drafted his own version of the story and ended it with one of the greatest twist-endings in cinema history. In hindsight of course Rod Serling went with the ending he did. He was the guru of science fiction short stories. He wasn’t a novelist, but the Twilight Zone show was nothing more than filmed sci-fi shorts, and the hallmark of every classic short is a twist ending of some kind. Making the “planet” ruled by apes our own planet not only simplified the story but gave the ending a much bigger bang. The French story ends like a punch-line; the movie ends like a gut-punch. My own mother recalled to me, years ago, how she watched the final scene in theaters, not knowing at first what the camera was focusing on (the crown of Lady Liberty), but when the final image came she was so terrified she nearly fainted…

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

It’s hard to appreciate it now, since it’s such a well-known ending and has been lampooned enough to have lost all its impact, but in an era when the USA and Soviet Union had enough nukes aimed at each other’s noses to blow the planet up, the ending works.

The movie scored huge at the box office and spawned four sequels in five years, but none were able to recapture the magic of the original. Those movies have their fans, but their support is built around “yes but…” and “nevertheless I…” and other excuse-making we give to justify liking poor movies. None of the sequels measured up to the first because the first, while good (maybe even very good) for the first 110 minutes is only today considered “great” because of those final 2 minutes. You can’t repeat a successful twist ending, so once the cat’s out of the bag you’re left with everything else in the film’s world, and everything else in that world was just “okay.”

So what can you do? If continuing the story, post-twist, doesn’t work, what’s left?

Fox tried to remake the 1968 movie in 2001 and offered up a different twist ending (one closer to the original’s “Sad Trombone” conclusion) but in so doing the failed to make even a passable film in the build up to the twist. Tim Burton never got a chance to continue the remake-series (much to his relief, apparently) and Fox was left thinking their franchise was dead.

And then a decade later a new movie based on the universe was released; this one set out to explore the origins of the Ape takeover of earth. It was followed by a sequel in 2014 and now a threequel hits theaters this weekend.

The trilogy has had everything working against it: Fox is not exactly the most well-run movie studio, the franchise had little interest from general audiences after Burton’s movie, the series was helmed by unproved directors, starred unproven dramatic leads and had at its center a fully-computer-rendered character). And yet, despite so many reasons for it to fail, it succeeded.

War for the Planet of the Apes concludes one of the most unlikely success stories in modern cinema. Ours is an era where every old property is rebooted, remade, quasi-sequeled and such like, often to middling reviews and box office disappointment. Mad Men’s Don Draper summed up the problem best in just five words…

Fans are tired of seeing the same old movies redone with just a new coat of paint or a hackneyed contrivance slapped onto it.

And yet, Fox’s 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes managed not only to put a fresh face on an old property, it managed to do so to great critical acclaim and box office success. And then, amazingly, Fox did it again, with 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes being an even bigger success with ticket buyers and an even better movie in the eyes of critics too. Do you know how hard it is to make a movie that fans and critics love? It’s hard. Doing it twice in a row is even harder.

Three in a row is almost unheard of.

Almost every trilogy there has ever been has stumbled in its third film. Many times a series peaks with the second installment and it just can’t duplicate the magic in part three. Return of the Jedi couldn’t compare to Empire Strikes Back. Godfather III might as well have been an entirely different movie from the two-parter that preceded it.

Sometimes a trilogy starts off with a banging opening chapter, and parts two and three are never able to live up to its beginning. The Back to the Future series had this problem, so did The Matrix trilogy. Even Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade just missed the mark of perfection that Raiders of the Lost Ark enjoys.

It’s remarkable—and something that we’ll look back on for years—how the “Apes” trilogy managed to avoid the mistakes so many “part threes” before it fell into.

It doesn’t “go bigger” for the sake of it. It doesn’t try to take its principle lead into left field storytelling territory. It doesn’t forget what made its predecessors work. It doesn’t try to repeat the success of the second (more successful) installment, nor does it go for the lazy “circular” approach of retelling the first story for “poetic” purposes. War works because it, like its previous movies, is a character-focused drama.

That the “character” in question is (1) an ape that is (2) entirely digitally-created is no longer worth even discussing, except to continue the crusade to see that Andy Serkis gets an Oscar. Caesar is so much more than a “CG character.” He’s a fully-realized, thinking, feeling, emoting lead actor. The fact that Serkis’ acting hiding behind a digital creation is irrelevant: That’s his performance; those are his “motions” being “captured” and repurposed onto the digitally-created body of an ape. When Caesar weeps, it’s Serkis weeping. When Caesar bears his teeth in rage, it’s Serkis. When Caesar grimices in pain or sighs with relief, it’s Serkis bringing it to life. It’s no different than an actor 50 years ago putting on heavy makeup and costume to “become” another character. In 1932 Fredric March won the Best Actor Academy Award for his dual-portrayal of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the latter role he performed under state of the art (at the time) makeup. CGI is just the modern-day equivalent. Absolutely Serkis deserves to be recognized by the Academy, and not in some “Special Achievement” way either.

Built around Serkis’ performance is a grounded, small-in-scope film that sees Caesar’s habitat of intelligent apes come under attack by a ruthless US Military Colonel, played by Woody Harrelson. There’s an intense action sequence early on before the film slows down, but never becomes boring. Instead it becomes almost Bridge on the River Kwai. And even though the trilogy ends with a decisive conclusion, it doesn’t—as many fans speculated—take the viewer right up to the beginning of the 1968 film. Even though this series began as a prequel, it has gone its own way and, if Fox wants, could be an effective set up to a new telling of the original story (not a re-telling).

Probably the only criticism I can think to level against it is that it never truly lives up to its title (a running gag in this trilogy). You get the feeling that there is a war going on in other places and certainly in the future, but this movie is not about big battle scenes or epic fights between heroes and villains. It’s personal. It’s introspective. It’s character-driven. In that sense it’s true to the movies which came before it and gives fans of the first two movies a satisfying ending to the story of Caesar and the beginning of Apes’ dominance. It even manages, in the opening minute, to reconcile the silly titles of the previous two movies (Why “Rise” before “Dawn“?).

10/10 – A stellar movie made even more impressive by how it managed to complete a trilogy without any missteps along the way. Serkis’ performance in all three movies has been nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Amazing.

COMMENTS

Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

1 Comment

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

CultAddicted

3 years ago

I haven’t watched this yet but am looking forward to it due to this review. The trailer looked good, though, and makes you want to see it. The old ones, especially the one with Charlton Heston, was a goodie at the time but lacked the realism that the new one is sure to bring.

Cookie	Description
_pxvid	This cookie is used for detection of the browser and distinguishing whether it is a real user or malicious bot.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	This cookies is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	This cookie is used to keep track of which cookies the user have approved for this site.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-preferences	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Preferences".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-uncategorized	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Uncategorized".
CraftSessionId	This cookie name is associated with the Craft web content management system, where is functions as an anonymous session identifier.
csrftoken	This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
DSID	To note specific user identity. Contains hashed/encrypted unique ID.
JSESSIONID	Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests.
PHPSESSID	This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Description
b30msc
btc
CMST
cref
d
gpl
i
icts
ig_did
mdata
na_rn
na_sc_e
na_sr
na_srp
session_depth
visitor-id

Cookie	Description
__gads	This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites.
__stid	The cookie is set by ShareThis. The cookie is used for site analytics to determine the pages visited, the amount of time spent, etc.
_ga	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, camapign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assigns a randoly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_60765351_1	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
ad-id	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content
demdex	This cookie is set under the domain demdex.net and is used by Adobe Audience Manager to help identify a unique visitor across domains.
DigiTrust.v1.identity	Registers data on visitors’ website-behaviour. This is used for internal analysis and website optimization.
dmvk	This cookie is set by DailyMotion who display videos, it registers statistical data of visitors' behaviour on the website.
gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
GPS	This cookie is set by Youtube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
is_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
sc_is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
v1st	This is set by DailyMotion to display videos.

Cookie	Description
__asc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__auc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__qca	This cookie is associated with Quantcast and is used for collecting anonymized data to analyze log data from different websites to create reports that enables the website owners and advertisers provide ads for the appropriate audience segments.
_cc_aud	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_cc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_dc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_id	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_kuid_	The cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising.
_px2	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxff_tm	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxhd	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
ab	This cookie is generally provided by agkn.com and is used for advertising purposes.
ad-privacy	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content to the users.
ayl_visitor	This cookie registers data on the visitor. The information is used to optimize advertisement relevance.
bafp	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bafp_t	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_pl	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rf_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rt_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_t_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_td_2d31c94105a0aa6d1ceaea0c86c6b656	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bito	This cookie is generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bitoIsSecure	This cookies are generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bsc	The cookies is set by ownerIQ for the purpose of providing relevant advertisement
CMID	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPRO	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPS	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
dc_id	This cookie is used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator's permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers.
did	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
didts	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
dpm	The cookie is set by demdex.net. This cookie assigns a unique ID to each visiting user that allows third-party advertisers target that users with relevant ads.
eud	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
euds	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
everest_g_v2	The cookie is set under eversttech.net domain. The purpose of the cookie is to map clicks to other events on the client's website.
evo5_popin_instance	Prevents an interaction from reoccurring for visitors not accepting 3rd party cookies.
id	This cookie is set by DoubleClick (which is owned by Google) to build a profile of the website visitor's interests and show relevant ads on other sites.
IDE	Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
io.narrative.guid.v2	This cookie is generally provided by io.narrative.io and is used for advertising purposes.
KADUSERCOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
KTPCACOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
matchliveramp	This cookie is provided by w55c.net and is used for advertising purposes.
mc	This cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.
mxpim	This cookie is generally provided by mxptint.net for advertising purposes.
na_tc	This is a Social Media sharing tracking cookie.
NID	This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.
nnls	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxrc	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxvid	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
rlas3	The cookie is set by rlcdn.com. The cookie is used to serve relevant ads to the visitor as well as limit the time the visitor sees an and also measure the effectiveness of the campaign.

Cookie	Description
__jid	Cookies set on the website by the third-party commenting platform Disqus.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
disqus_unique	These cookies are set by Disqus so that users can comment on website/platform.
G_ENABLED_IDPS	The cookie is used by Google and is used for Google Single Sign On.
mid	The cookie is set by Instagram. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security.
na_id	This cookie is set by Addthis.com to enable sharing of links on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
ouid	The cookie is set by Addthis which enables the content of the website to be shared across different networking and social sharing websites.
ov	This is a generic functional cookie that provides enhanced functionality and personalisation.
ts	This cookie is generally provided by PayPal and supports payment services in the website.
vuid	These cookies are used by the Vimeo video player on websites.

You might also like

FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

Recommended for you