July 10, 2017 2 min to read

War for the Planet of the Apes

In a million years I never thought anyone could make me care about CGI monkeys the way Matt Reeves and Mark Bomback did for two hours.

by Zach Saul

Although I haven’t seen the first two movies in the trilogy, I found myself holding back tears as I watched War for the Planet of the Apes. In a million years I never thought anyone could make me care about CGI monkeys the way Matt Reeves and Mark Bomback did for two hours, on a Tuesday night. I found myself engrossed in the Apes’ characters, and taken aback by their humanity. Those looking for an action movie should probably steer clear of this one, as this movie is definitely about the emotional consequences and psychology of war as opposed to the mechanics of it. War for the Planet of the Apes is beautifully shot and edited and contains just the appropriate amount of comic relief to prevent the viewer from leaving the theatre depressed and melancholy. The way the filmmakers played with Speech was fascinating to me: the various apes had different speech patterns and cadences depending on whether or not they were born in human captivity or exposed to the “Alzheimer’s cure/disease” that made them hyper-intelligent. Although light on traditional battle scenes this movie is incredibly graphic and isn’t for the faint of heart. Underneath its sci-fi premise, it’s a very complex and nuanced meditation on humanity, power, control, and even prejudice.

The Good: War for the Planet of the Apes like most top tier sci-fi movies has a ton beneath the surface, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I left the theatre. Ceasar’s plight to get revenge on his family’s murderers is a really interesting exploration of how and when we can “let go”, and what someone goes through when they consider swallowing their pride. My favorite character was “Maurice” who acts as the gentile, docile voice of reason - and even in the moments when Ceaser’s vengeful feelings make you cringe Maurice’s wisdom and charisma creates an emotional balance.

The Bad: Aside from a brilliant performance by Woody Harrelson as the “Colonel”, none of the human characters are particularly well drawn. The filmmakers would probably say that this choice was intentional, as it’s clear from the onset this story’s protagonist is going to be an ape and not a human.