Film Review - War for the Planet of the Apes (12A)

Apes together strong!

The new Planet of the Apes trilogy has been one of the most welcome blockbuster surprises of recent years. When Rise of came out, I was asking 'Why?', but the film stomped on my question with its intelligent storytelling and sheer craft. Then Dawn of broadened the canvas and upped the stakes to magnificent effect. As often with film trilogies the question then became 'Will the final part (War for) let the whole thing down?' 

The answer, happily, is no. In fact it cements the trilogy's stature. Breathe out and relax.

War for the Planet of the Apes completes the story of noble ape Caesar and his efforts to establish a safe haven for his band of newly evolved primates. The remnants of humanity are now reeling from their self-inflicted wounds and lashing out militarily at ape-kind. Woody Harrelson plays an army Colonel on a very personal mission to deal with what he perceives as the ape threat. The consequences of his actions set Caesar on an uncharacteristically vengeful quest, one which threatens to put everything for which the apes have struggled at risk. The tale that unfolds is powerful and dark, full of resonances with the modern era and recent history, and with a strong nod to Apocalypse Now.

War is not the full-on ape-versus-human combat story you might expect. While there are superbly realised action sequences, they by no means dominate what is ultimately a moving (if not always very subtle) character piece. The genius of this trilogy is to make the ape leader our protagonist, so that our sympathies rest squarely with Caesar and his extended primate family. Yes the movies have a scattering of likeable human characters and not all the apes are paragons of nobility, but as a trio these films serve to critique the darker aspects of human behaviour. To act with cruelty as an ape, as Caesar's orangutan mentor Maurice might point out, is to mirror humanity at its worst.

As ever it's the story's stunning visuals that really sell it. Each of these films tops the previous in spectacle, but it's the sheer photo-realism of the ape community that impresses most. Actor is rendered into ape via the ever more precise art of motion capture, the bodily and facial performances reproduced in formidable detail. Just look at Andy Serkis (very possibly my all-time acting hero) as Caesar. He's played this character from baby to mature ape over three films and in War every flicker of conflicting emotion plays out in his eyes as surely as if it were a non-animated human on camera. 

There's excellent work too from Karin Konoval as the empathetic Maurice and Steve Zahn as a wide-eyed and lovably funny chimp called Bad Ape. (And well done also to little Amiah Miller, the human child in one very touching subplot.) This is Serkis' show, however, and it's a testament to both him and the animators that Caesar is the most 'human' character in the series.

Congratulations are due then to director Matt Reeves and a superb production team for a gloriously realised final chapter in the modern Apes saga. It has the scope of a David Lean epic and in its central performance the weight of a Shakespearean tragedy. They brought it home - not necessarily as I'd expected, but in a way that's almost perfect.

Ed's Verdict: They could have dropped the ball on this one, but instead - touchdown! War is full of terrible beauty and stands as a fitting end to a magnificent trilogy.