Since it began in 2011 with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", the Apes' reboot film series have carried a certain amount of fanfare and weight in chronicling the eventual ascension of intelligent apes in a world that is slowly making humanity the minority. 2014's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" showed how the devastation caused by the "Simian Flu" reduced the human population to a low point, while Apes affected by the same virus have become smarter and sought to build a new civilization for themselves. Unfortunately the fragile bonds of peace broke as tensions and conflict caused both sides to declare war on one another, leading to the current and what is possibly the final installment of the "Prequel Series" with this year's "War for the Planet of the Apes".
Thanks to 20th Century Fox Philippines, I was able to see this pretty EPIC yet bold and darker entry into the series the day before it opened in theaters through a special advanced screening. I won't go into detail much for this review and keep it brief and simple, but I'll add a considerate SPOILER WARNING in any case since I may mention some things that are pretty revealing to the plot. Other than that, the film is now playing in theaters - so catch it now!
Once again directed by Matt Reeves and picking up two years after the events of the last film, War for the Planet of the Apes follows Caesar as his efforts to save his people by relocating them to a new home and avoiding war with humanity at all costs proves costly yet bears some fruit. Unfortunately their presence and rise in ranks has gotten the attention of a ruthless military commander known only as "The Colonel" - who will stop at nothing to defeat the apes and prove that humanity is still the dominant species of the planet. After suffering considerable losses that make him turn darker than he should be as the leader of his species, Caesar and a select few embark on a journey to confront The Colonel's army which leads to new allies and revelations that will change everything as they know it.
Since beginning the reboot franchise with "Rise", these modern Apes films have done their best to answer the big question of how Caesar and his species ultimately rose to become the intelligent primates we saw in the original 1968 Charlton Heston film. Dawn and now War for the Planet of the Apes have done a grand job of detailing that dystopian future well that is slowly shaping humanity's downfall, and this new film also shows the devastating results of the Simian Flu mutating and sealing humanity's fate as seen in "Planet of the Apes". Andy Serkis of course returns to play and motion capture Caesar - whose story ultimately comes to ahead with the challenges seen in this third entry of the reboot series. Challenging him with no compassion is Woody Harrelson - who plays the ruthless antagonist in The Colonel and tests Caesar to his limits with his all out assault and torture of his ape family. There is also the young and talented Amiah Miller who plays "Nova" -a young war orphan whom Apes fans will quickly know as the future female love interest of Charlton Heston's George Taylor.
For all its action and post-apocalyptic storytelling, War for the Planet of the Apes is actually pretty intense and darker than its predecessors in exploring the limits of Caesar's compassion and willingness to take revenge on humanity even with his background of being raised by a loving human family. His experiences come to a head in War, and its mirrored by his main adversary's own willingness to do whatever is necessary to save humanity even at great cost. While certainly not as fresh as Rise, it is equally as daring as Dawn and has its own lesson come the end of things. This is a thinking man's film, and if you've seen the rest of the Ape reboot series films, then you owe it to yourselves to finish the trilogy and watch this as it finally brings things full circle... And opens the door to more possibilities for future films
Rating - 4/5
War for the Planet of the Apes is now showing in theaters c/o 20th Century Fox Philippines.
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