War for the Planet of the Apes (July 2017)

Official Australian release date: 27/7/17. Viewed: 30/7/17.

Director: Matt Reeves

Actors: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary

Genre: Action / Drama

Rating: M

‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ is the eighth film in the franchise and does a great job of concluding the ‘Rise’/‘Dawn’/‘War’ trilogy of prequels, as well as linking this back to the original 1968 ‘Planet of the Apes’, via Caesar’s son being called Cornelius. Like ‘Dawn’, humans are almost secondary characters here, and when they are shown, they definitely make you back the apes, who have more humanity and compassion than the surviving humans.

The CGI is now so believable, it’s almost impossible to discern if there’s any real apes in among the CGI ones! Caesar (Serkis) is so realistic in close-ups, you’re basically looking at Serkis. He’s great, and it’s nice to see the added (digital) touch of grey to his coat. Caesar still has his three trusted right-hand apes with him, Maurice (Konoval), Rocket (Notary) and Luca (Adamthwaite). After the humans that have not been wiped out by the Simian flu, led by the Colonel (Harrelson), decide to attack the apes in the Californian forest, Caesar has to fight back to save all of ape-kind.

There’s a nice subplot with Nova (Miller), a young girl they protect, but the overall thrust is that the humans still think they’re better than the evolved apes and treat them like slaves. There’s a massive battle at the end and plenty of great action throughout. The overall pace is good, with it feeling a lot faster than 2 & ¼ hours. The addition of Bad Ape (Zahn) as some comedic relief is a masterstroke, but the film is so meaningful thanks to Caesar’s love for his kin and his determination for them to survive.

Overall: Very fitting finale to an underappreciated trilogy.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.