War for the Planet of the Apes is the third film in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise. Directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), War continues the saga of Caesar (Andy Serkis), a genetically-enhanced ape in a post-apocalyptic America. Picking up a few years after the previous film, this installment focuses on Caesar’s clash with a reckless human colonel (Woody Harrelson) on a campaign to eradicate the damn dirty apes for once and for all.
To add a bit of context to my thoughts on War, I thought I would explain my feelings towards Rise and Dawn. Having not been a die hard fan of the original Planet of the Apes and its numerous sequels, I went into Rise of the Planet of the Apes with fairly low expectations when it came out in 2011. For what it was, I found Rise very entertaining as a sci-fi outbreak thriller with a thin veneer of camp and self-awareness. The CG and motion capture was beyond anything I had seen at the time (and probably still have) and it was enthralling to see Serkis bring Caesar to life without falling too far into the uncanny valley. Unfortunately, for how much I enjoyed Rise, it would not be something I would ever have the urge to revisit.
Three years later and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is release. Pushing aside the fact that Dawn would’ve been a better title for the first film in the series, I went into part two with expectations a bit heightened due in part to tremendous hype surrounding it 2014. What I was met with was a very dour and self-serious but equally outlandish war movie starring CG apes against a small band of humans. All of the charm I found in Rise was gone and replaced with shades of brown and grey, angry shouting, and apes walking upright, wielding assault rifles (which in the correct context could’ve been great).
Because of my negative reaction to Dawn I was not at all looking forward to War. As the name suggests, this one would surely be darker and more tone deaf than the last, right? I think so.
My problems with this reboot franchise are evident just as clearly in this film as they were in the last. Even since the beginning, the focus has been on pushing forward the visual aspect of the medium while foregoing compelling storytelling. War wears its influences on its sleeve, clearly drawing from prisoner escape movies such as The Great Escape and The Bridge on the River Kwai but without really contributing anything more other than surface elements. The story feels paint-by-numbers, setting up characters, motivations and plot elements early on to very obviously pay off later in the film with little to no subversion of the obvious tropes it displays. Apart from one inexplicably matter-of-fact resolution to one of the main conflicts of the film, you know almost exactly where things are going but still have to weather the 140-minute ride to get there.
Lack of engaging narrative aside, the CG and motion capture has improved on itself since the last film and looks as good as it can against the typical muddied neutral color palette. One aspect I did find to stand out from the rest of the film was Michael Giacchino’s musical score which is surprisingly very fun and adds a bit of much-needed levity to the overbearing seriousness the rest of the film provides. Several times I found myself more engrossed in the music than what was actually happening on screen. It may not be something I’ll break out and listen to out-of-context, but worked amazingly well in its element.
War for the Planet of the Apes is fine. It’s a blockbuster visual spectacle with the differentiating factor that most of the cast is motion captured and digitally created. Much of its emotional weight is undermined by its inherently silly premise and its story is a stale take on a formula we have seen time and time again. Even with all of these criticisms, it is not an actively bad movie; just an bland and forgettable one.
B-