Given the length of the series it’s associated to, and that it might still link into in due course, it can be easy to forget that War For the Planet of the Apes is still regarded as the third film in a trilogy, whether it’s fully rebooted or not, of which there aren’t many that are held in good or high regard. The first thing to note about this prequel/sequel/threequel is that the war monicker in the title is a bit of a misnomer, despite an opening conflict sequence that builds in atmosphere and volume from silence against blurred visuals into a man vs ape skirmish. Rather than featuring an ongoing series of pitched battles of numerically depleted but technologically more advanced humans against an ape population growing in numbers and intelligence, the story instead focusses on more of the internal and moral issues and battles that are now a part of both man and ape world.
Dawn shifted the focus onto Caesar as the central part of the story, a theme continued into War, whereas the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes story had him facing up to the challenges of being the leader of his new ape colony, aiming to keep them safe in their new home whilst hoping to keep the peace with the surviving humans they encountered whilst facing up to the opposing viewpoint of Koba and his followers who couldn’t trust or forgive humans for the abusive part they played in their past. Two years later, Caesar is still intent on a peaceful existence alongside the remains of humanity, not wanting to engage the armed forces that are tracking him into the first but preferring to show restraint and mercy where possible. He still carries the mental scars of his clash with Koba at the end of Dawn, and struggles to reconcile his desire for a lasting peace with how he couldn’t see Koba’s point of view or misconstruing how far that rage and hate could push someone who’s experiences with humans was so different to the point of having to break his rule of apes not killing apes.
The opening incursion of the human military only serves to create a situation in which Caesar’s own resolve and code is stretched and then pushed past breaking point when family members are assassinated in a second smaller raid, heralding the first face to face encounter with the otherwise nameless Colonel, in a role wisely taken up by Woody Harrelson in preference to appearing in Kong Skull Island. First impressions of the Colonel were that he might be similar in character or modelled on Marlon Brando’s rambling Colonel Kurtz however this is proved to not be the case, with the Colonel being glimpsed more for a start and not having the detachment that helped drive Kurt’z mental state – this is not to say though that when he is on screen there is a very real and defined sense of threat and determination to accomplish his self determined mission and goals, marking him more similar in outlook and character but a more far reaching militarist threat than Gary Oldman’s Dreyfus was in Dawn.
With the ape colony heading in on one path to seek a new home Caesar sets out on a mission to hunt down and kill the Colonel, with saga stalwarts Rocket, Maurice and Luca the gorilla in tow against his wishes. Rather than take that might be the more obvious or expected storytelling route with battle following battle, War is more fully focussed on the internal battle within Caesar’s soul, and whether the inherit good ape he was can overcome the darker thirst for revenge and mistrust that were the cornerstone of Koba’s view on the world and the humans in it. A chance encounter brings a seemingly mute young girl into the midst of the quartet, helping to empathise the story point of the newfound vengeful emotion raging within Caesar threatens to take away the more empathetic side towards the humans that was a core part of his character.
There will be many plaudits towards Andy Serkis for his performance and rightly so, as the saga has long rested fully on his shoulders (and, should there be future Oscar award winners for motion capture performance the debt they owe him will be massive), although once again he is supported by other great performances that are helped to photorealistic life by the effects crews behind the scenes. It’s one thing having the technology to make an ape or chimpanzee look real, and the level of artistry here is amazingly and lovingly done, but it depends much on the performer on set in the first instance too and as the story develops Serkis is equalled and almost upstaged at times by Maurice and new acquaintance Bad Ape. Long the conscience of the apes in the trilogy, Karin Konoval performance as the orang-utan Maurice almost steals the show during the film, with moments encompassing a gamut of emotions beautifully conveyed, belying any lingering fears over the ability of performance capture CGI to capture such moments or those characters looking dead eyed, whether it’s a sense of joy or deep sorrow at the events unfolding around her.
It’s also notable that it’s a third film in a trilogy that isn’t afraid to expand the world rather than restrict it or make it narrower as closing chapters of trilogies are want to do more often than not. War continues to expand the world in which the apes and humans exist and part of this is with the introduction of Steve Zahn‘s Bad Ape, a refuge from another zoo who brings respite and comedic moments to the proceedings but also a sense of empathy and sadness for the world that now exists as well las the one he escaped from. There are as expected a number of nods to the films of the previous series without ever being done in a way that’s too on the nose or winking out to the audience. Musically the film starts to feel like it is arcing towards the world found in the 1968 original, with more of a raw, near animalistic jungle soundtrack to much of the film that is done in a complimentary and satisfying way, again showing restraint in the themes which could have easily been played up too much. The story isn’t afraid to take a brave step in isolating and questioning the lead character for a large chunk of the running time, similar in a way to the chance that The Dark Knight Rises took in making that story/character choice, and question his beliefs and motives, if not the effect events and his own actions and events have had on his soul, and those around him, when the easier step would’ve been to present him as a near infallible leader who always makes the right choices whilst leading his charges to victory.
There might be an argument as to whether War For the Planet of the Apes tops it’s predecessor Dawn, but what it is is one of the more successful ends to a trilogy of films that there has been. It shows a sense of patience and unlike many other trilogy-cappers isn’t afraid to keep building on the strengths of it’s predecessors, which were it’s humanity and depth of characters, without trying to tie everything up or ditching the development and trials of the characters for the sake of more action. When the action points do come they are very well handled, carrying enough sense of drama and geography without the frame becoming overly clustered or losing track of what is going on to the characters involved. Though it starts out with the ape colony looking to find a home on screen, the new Planet of the Apes trilogy can be said to have found it’s home as one of the best trilogies of the 21st century so far, a trilogy that wasn’t afraid to have things to say about it’s main characters and the world and their approach and place in it, with a third entry that more than provides enough continued story, character and emotion that many contemporaries can learn a lot from.
The occasional design blog 