Two years have passed since the events of Dawn of the planet of the Apes, a movie i reviewed HERE. Caesar is once again, fully entrenched as the leader of his ape colony (a shrewdness?). As mentioned near the end of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, human military forces are moving in, threatening the apes way of life. Well intentioned though he is, Caesar realizes that war with the humans is inevitable. He and his inner circle decide to proactively approach the human military forces; hoping to buy time for the rest of their ape colony to settle elsewhere.
War for the Planet of the Apes is the final act in a series that I have come to know as “the Caesar trilogy“. Along with its predecessors Rise… and Dawn…, War for the Planet of the Apes is a prequel to the events of the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes.
War… does a great job of moving the franchise ever-closer to the world of 1968’s original. There is a new variant of the simian flu. Humans who are infected now are losing the ability to speak; thus giving The Colonel justification of his war with the apes. While the apes are becoming more human-like, mankind is gradually becoming more animal-like.
In this war, neither apes nor humans are completely to blame; nor is either side completely innocent. This time, there is no doubt who the protagonist of the movie is. Andy Serkis shines once again as Caesar – and he has more to say and do than ever. There’s a scene where The Colonel (Woody Harrelson) looks at Caesar and says: “Look at your eyes. You’re almost human” and immediately dons a pair of sunglasses; highlighting the juxtaposition of man and ape in this story. And much like another popular sci-fi franchise, The Walking Dead, War… drives home the point that humans are the real bad guys. They are in the catalyst that has sent this entire story, this entire franchise, into motion.
On a technical level , I’m amazed at how well the special effects hold up, even after just a few years. I worry that 10 years from now, the “Caesar Trilogy” will look like we’re watching a cartoon. But for now, these CGI performances are truly something to behold. Granted, the credit needs to be shared jointly between the computer animators and the voice/motion capture actors like Andy Serkis, who bring the apes to life.
FINAL TAKE: recommended. Even if you want to fan of the 1968 original ..Apes or its subsequent sequels, the Caesar trilogy serves as a great entry point into this franchise. In both the original film and 2001 films, the world that we see is so completely different, so alien from our own world, but it is nice to see exactly how things went from the 21st century to what we see there in.
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:
- The One Where I Still Don’t Get It
- Suppositions of a Sleepless Knight
- Rob and the 100% Policy (Season 2 Premiere)
- 12 Years Later: The Low, Quiet Hum
- Season Two Trailer is Live!
The article: “Rob’s Retro Review: War for the Planet of the Apes” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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