Stars Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Michael Adamthwaite, Gabriel Chavarria, Amiah Miller, and Toby Kebbell Directed by Matt Reeves From the Rise to the Dawn to the War, this has been a fairly good prequel trilogy to the 1968 Planet of The Apes (in a way) slowly building up the world our three astronauts (you see them launch in Rise of The Planet of The Apes) would return to way back in that first movie. The only discontinuing oddity is the use of the names such as Caesar or Cornelius. Otherwise, we have s reasonable progression of how the apes become intelligent, develop their civilisation and here, in War for The Planet of the Apes, we see the beginnings of humanity’s descent into savagery, albeit not entirely. Part of the plot within this entry is how the virus that had wiped out most of humanity (as seen in Rise of The Planet of The Apes) is now mutating within the remaining humans causing them to lose their ability to speak. Evidently, this does not mean they completely lose all higher brain functions as evident in a new character, a mute little girl (Amiah Miller) discovered by Caesar (Andy Serkis) and Maurice (Karin Konoval). While she isn’t able to speak vocally, she manages to learn the sign language used by the apes. She also becomes a link to the original 1968 film. Although it’s not entirely clear how much time has passed since the end of the previous film, the war between the humans and apes seems to be a status quo. Caesar’s fame on both sides has grown to legend. An assault by an elite team of soldiers led by a nameless Colonel (Woody Harrelson) leaves Caesar’s wife and son dead, and Caesar seeking vengeance. Not wanting to endanger the rest of his apes, Caesar sets out alone going after the Colonel only to be joined by the Orangutan, Maurice and a couple of soldier apes, Luca (Michael Adamthwaite) and Rocket (Terry Notary). Along the way, the find the mute girl who forms a bond with Maurice, and gradually with the other apes. She also intrigues Caesar. They soon find a chimpanzee who calls himself “Bad Ape” (Steve Zahn) who helps them find the Colonel and his base, and things don’t go well from there. Harrelson’s Colonel proves himself a dangerous and formidable opponent to Caesar, at which point the references and influences of many other movies fly by fast and furious. Director Matt Reeves manages to cherry pick his moments to build an impressive war / prisoner-of-war movie. The cast for the apes is remarkable, led by Andy Serkis, Karin Konoval and Terry Notary, the veterans of all three movies. It is Serkis’ show here and his performance is utterly captivating, especially knowing that everything he does from body movements to facial expression and line delivery all comes from his own performance, layered by the special effects to make him an alpha ape that is Caesar. Props, too, to newcomer of the Apes franchise, Steve Zahn, bringing some levity to the proceedings but not taking us completely out of the movie with his antics. And also to Amiah Miller and her angelic presence more in the second half of the movie. Because of the use of sign language for the apes to communicate, and the cross-country travelling, the music by Michael Giacchino soars throughout the movie, doing more than to simply underscore the emotions or the action set-pieces. The score is very prescient throughout the whole film, and Giacchino more than proves his versatility in delivering the goods, making the music a solid part of the movie’s story. Note that Giacchino also scored Spider-Man: Homecoming as well as Gifted, which might make him the hardest working and most sought after composer these days. Director Reeves has gone on record saying there could be more entries coming that would still lead up to the 1968 original, although if not, this would be a good capper to a prequel trilogy. Reeves pulls off some impressive stuff, dropping in references to the original Planet of the Apes movie series while creating his own world here without making it all look like some set where the action takes place. Aside from the effects work of putting the apes on screen, everything else looks very old-school and practical, and that’s alway a bonus on my end. Either that, or they’ve pushed the effects envelop again and nothing on screen is real but computer pixels all the time. Reeves has taken what he’s learnt from directing the previous instalments and managed to avoid the pitfalls. The grounding of the action and reliance on the performers, actors and stars elevates the movie above the norm of what you might expect, and the core stars deliver a depth to the performance that still shines through beneath the layers of effects. Caesar’s rage or depseration, and Maruice’s tenderness and compassion can be seen in their eyes and facial expression, and it works wonders for the story. Balancing that is Harrelson’s brutal and dispassionate Colonel who berates Caesar for his emotions. There are layers upon layers in the performances and in that, coupled with he action set-pieces, we have the makings of a movie that’s going to stand the test of time. Rating: **** / 5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here. Please Support.
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