War for the Planet of the Apes Summary & Review
When humans are faced with an apocalyptic situation, the mindset is “survival of the fittest.” People usually attempt to get the better of other people to prove they are stronger and are going to survive longer. This leads to fights between the strong and the weak, or what people perceive as the strong and the weak. Those more desperate to survive are always willing to gang up against whom they see as a threat. In War for the Planet of the Apes, it’s apes vs. humans to determine which species will survive.
In the third outing for the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, Caesar (Andy Serkis) is facing an endless onslaught of human soldiers determined to wipe out his society. When the apes suffer tragic losses, Caesar and his associates journey to take revenge on the leader of the army, The Colonel (Woody Harrelson). Along the way, they rescue a mute girl named Nova (newcomer Amiah Miller) and hermit Bad Ape (Steve Zahn). Forced to confront his own inner demons, Caesar becomes the one who must decide who will control the planet: humans or apes.
I have been a huge fan of the new Planet of the Apes series. I love that they found a way to take a series in a successfully dramatic series, and this movie is no different. While It Comes at Night remains the best independent movie of the summer (and the year), War for the Planet of the Apes is the best mainstream movie of the summer. It’s so satisfying to having a studio movie this summer that is actually great.
First off, like in the rest of the series, the performances are fantastic. There is no better person out there that can portray Caesar as well as Andy Serkis. He has always been the only guy who could capture the role perfectly. I also thought Woody Harrelson was an awesome villain, and I really loved Amiah Miller’s portrayal of Nova. I think she has a future as an actress.
Also like the first two films, the visual effects were amazing. Unlike most summer movies with effects that are obviously fake, this movie looks like everything could be practical effects. The apes look like they are real and not people in ape makeup. I’ve always appreciated the look of these movies compared to what I’ve seen of the originals. I love how the apes look more realistic in these movies.
I also loved the story of the film. It was the perfect story to continue the story of this new series. It also tackles heavy themes such as loss and revenge. It handles these themes very well and offers a really good story about how some people deal with loss and whether it’s a good idea to take revenge.
The reason why the modern Planet of the Apes movies are so great is because they stand out from the rest of the blockbusters. When Rupert Wyatt stepped down as director and Matt Reeves came on board, they look of the movies changed. They didn’t have the same style as all the other movies. This movie was Reeves’s own style, and that really helped elevate it above the rest of the movies in the summer time.
Another thing that this movie did better than lots of movies from this year was tone. Most movies this year have been confused on whether they wanted to be serious or funny. This movie perfectly handled being both. It was fully serious with perfect bits of comic relief from Zahn’s Bad Ape character. That is how you put comic relief into a serious movie.
War for the Planet of the Apes is the best movie in this modern series yet. It has amazing performances and visuals, a great story, and a way to stand out from other summer movies. I hope the series continues after this (I won’t spoil the ending), because these movies stand out as the best of the summer season. Every time one of these movies are set to release, I am hopeful that the summer season won’t be entirely awful.
