Directed by:
Matt ReevesCinematography:
Michael SeresinComposer:
Michael GiacchinoCast:
Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer, Steve Zahn, Gabriel Chavarria, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Sara Canning, Max Lloyd-Jones, Alessandro Juliani (more)VOD (4)
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In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet. (20th Century Fox)
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They weren't kidding overseas, the third Planet of the Apes is another great spectacle. Matt Reeves continues the tone set by the previous installments and delivers a film that, while nearly two and a half hours long, isn't afraid to slow down and make time for scenes where the characters just sit around, talk, and you find out little details about them that make you worry about them instead of just waiting for the final set-piece. While last time the apes and humans were given similar space, this time it's almost all about Caesar, but Woody Harrelson has enough space to shine next to the digital (and of course amazing-looking) animal characters. I can imagine that the finale, with its slightly unexpected concept, won't quite suit some people, but paradoxically it makes all the ideas that have been hinted at several times throughout the film come through. Overall, War for the Planet of the Apes is exactly what we expected and hoped for. Plus, it confidently references the Charlton Heston version more than once, giving answers to questions one might not have thought to ask. A good and clever blockbuster. There's bloody little of that in cinemas..
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I'm struck by how many people complain that there is “not enough war" in War for the Planet of the Apes. I, on the other hand, am glad there isn’t. The war scenes that are there are enough for me - they are so suggestive and gritty that I most definitely didn't need more. I am so pleased that the unimaginably cutting-edge effects serve mainly to create 100% believable characters and we can follow their story - especially Caesar's. A story that shows us one of the most heroic film characters of all time (I mean that, deadly serious), deals with humanity and inhumanity, skillfully develops the ideas of the 2011 film (who would have expected it back then?) and gets closer and closer to the 1968 film. I don't have a single reservation about the directing and its atmospheric scenes, I didn't really expect so much emotion from start to finish, in terms of acting it’s top notch (the Colonel and Nova are the only interesting humans, and that is the way it should be) and most importantly, it's still interesting and engaging and epic, though at the same time intimate. And that Michael Giacchino music!
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My disappointment with the last film was so great that I avoided the trailers for the third one, feeling their uselessness. However, Reeves was either kept sedated or some brave producer really believed him, and I can hardly resist getting excited about arguably the boldest summer blockbuster in years. The opening action is still very forced, but then for the next hour, four monkeys, whose CGI rendering is a CGI reality approaching perfection, track a military unit through a snowy landscape at a slow but cinematically precise and deliberate pace. All the while, they are driven by the best possible cinematic engine, i.e., the desire for revenge. It was clear that all would be forgiven and I just prayed that it would keep going like this, as Michael Giacchino conducts the minimalist retro score and the cinematography flirts with the turn of the sixth and seventh decades of the last century. And that’s not all. Woody Harrelson varies the best possible creation of khaki madness spewed from the heart of darkness, and after the famous dialogue with Caesar, the film jumps on the dark wave of the erratic nature of desired good and the lure of ambiguous evil to bring it to an epic end. Even amidst the cheesy interludes and pathos of heroic self-sacrifice, it still keeps a grim face that relies on heroes who are no longer amusing apes who can do funny gestures, but solid figures whose emerging evolutionary supremacy is not to be doubted.
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The initial draw into the action with a chilling forest scene is still fine, but as soon as the generic piano motif trying to mine the viewer for emotion kicks in, it was clear that it was over and the third time was definitely not going to be the charm. This is a film that could have been anything: a war apocalypse to save the world, an ape odyssey, a grim post-apocalyptic ape drama. Unfortunately, however, it’s a bit of a patchwork of everything and as a result, it lacks a strong theme, something fatal compared to the previous episodes, especially the first one, which also had a nice "realistic natural disaster" feel to it. The acting of the rendered apes is a class above that of any real actors. Unfortunately, even Woody Harrelson picked a weaker moment and an absolutely bad movie. Two stars for the visual effects and (digital) expressions of the apes, which ironically were the only tangible, real ones.
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An apocalypse (in terms of structure and "the negative character" and even annoyingly frequent visual references) incorporated into the ending of the trilogy, which in turn is incorporated into all the story lines, characters and themes based on the original Monkey Planet through a torn inner struggle for Caesar's soul. Yes, it's overcomplicated, and despite it´s not the Conrad´s Heart of Darkness in apes version, the resulting "Ape-pocalypse Now / ape Logan" is a surprisingly faded, free from any action (there's no war, and even taking about talking about fight or dispute would be an exaggeration. This is the Bridge on the River Kw... Planet of the Apes), whose many obvious drawbacks "but" (all humans are stupid, unreasonably long footage, unbalanced pace, deus ex machine ending) don´t really matter thanks to emotions, captivating Serkis, enchanting first half and "invisible" CGI effects, which are not here to impress.
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Gallery (86)
Photo © 20th Century Fox
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