War for the Planet of the Apes

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SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     If you can get over the inherent ridiculousness of its sci-fi premise, War for the Planet of the Apes is actually quite good. Through no fault of its own, it inherits a B-movie setup from the 1968 original, but War, which acts as the third film in a prequel trilogy, does its best to echo the most admirable qualities of franchise-past. Like Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes before it, War for the Planet of the Apes succeeds because it uses its premise to explore topics of emotional consequence—even if this time around the proceedings are not always terribly exciting.

     The previous installments in the prequel trilogy have seen the release of a deadly virus take the world by storm, devastating the human population and granting apes human-level intelligence. Hunted by the remnant of the army, Caesar (the first intelligent ape, played by Andy Serkis) attempts to lead his community of apes to safety. A debilitating blow dealt by the ruthless Colonel (Woody Harrelson) leaves Caesar blinded with rage, threatening to undo the lofty ideals the apes have worked to achieve.  

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     War for the Planet of the Apes is far more thoughtful than it has any right to be. Contrary to what the title (and trailers) might lead you to believe, this is not your typical end-of-trilogy, explosion-ridden battle for the ages. This is a movie that follows its characters closely and relates themes that resonate beyond its limited context. In fact, War might actually go too far the other way, leaning heavily into the meditative, self-serious zone for a movie that is ultimately about talking apes who take over the world. Apart from Bad Ape’s (Steve Zahn) welcome comedic relief, it’s a markedly solemn affair.

     War distills the strengths of previous prequel films to great effect. It boasts impressive CGI and motion capture work, convincingly turning Andy Serkis into an ape who can bear the weight of the protagonist role and convey enough emotion to carry close-ups. It also includes several well-executed, highly suspenseful action set pieces. Most importantly, it tells a compelling story—although the pace will be a bit too slow for some viewers this time around.

photo courtesy of foxmovies.com

     As a whole, the prequel trilogy (and the 1968 original, of course) has challenged our notions of what it means to be human and confronted the arrogance of trying to conquer nature. War for the Planet of the Apes deals with those subjects but also adds a new host of themes to the list: the tension between mercy and vengeance, the cost of survival, and the value of life and dignity. Along the way, the film consciously echoes Apocalypse Now with (less and less subtle) thematic and visual cues—the most significant being Harrelson’s bald Colonel, who strongly evokes memories of Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz.

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     At the heart of this third film is Caesar, who finds his commitment to peace tested by the relentless violence of the human factions. The way War for the Planet of the Apes frames the action, the prequel trilogy becomes Caesar’s story: the story of the leader who brought the apes together. It does, however, widen out to appreciate the ways in which the apes rely on each other to survive, so that even Caesar (who has cult-like status among the apes) is strongest when he allows himself to accept help.

SPOILERY DELICIOUSNESS

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     The death of Caesar at the conclusion of the film confirms that this prequel trilogy has been, at the core, a story about Caesar’s journey. The actual rise of the apes as earth’s dominant species takes a back seat to the story of one ape, whose early life among humans allowed him to see both their capacity for mercy and their tendency toward violence. It’s fitting that Caesar’s story ends at this point, now that the apes have found (relative) peace and freedom from humanity’s violent struggle.

     It is the humans, the movie tells us, who really ought to be pitied. Contrary to the imagery of the film’s marketing, the actual war for the planet is not between apes and humans but between humans and humans. Their cycle of violence never ends; even as the “good guys” win the day, they begin to turn their guns on Caesar before an avalanche destroys them all. As Caesar looks out on the white slopes after the snow settles—an honest-to-goodness blank slate—the message couldn’t be clearer: perpetual violence destroys those who participate.

photo courtesy of denofgeek.com

     Caesar, on the other hand, is the symbol of mercy. Against all odds, he’s capable of sparing the Colonel, whose bizarre, cultish ideas have so wounded the apes. The trend toward mercy, the film says, is also a perpetual cycle: Caesar inspires another, traitorous ape to save Caesar at that crucial moment during the film’s one major action set piece. Having been told earlier that there might not be anything “left of” him to save, the ape decides to act for the group and not out of destructive self-interest. The film leaves the audience with reason to believe that a planet of the apes—that is, a planet without the controlling influence of humans—might be the most “humane” society the planet has ever seen.