War for the Planet of the Apes

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. (07/13/2017)

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. (07/12/2017)

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. (10/14/2017)

So, first things first. War for the Planet of the Apes is not the blockbuster of the decade I was hoping for thanks to the emotionally draining trailers and the enthusiastic foreign reviews, it has plenty of logical flaws and especially slow spots where, for example, Rise of the Planet of the Apes didn't have a single one. That said, this is an immensely refreshing and narratively unorthodox tentpole film by Hollywood standards, managing to both comprehensively conclude the overarching storyline regarding the character development of the leader Caesar, as well as bolt on a new series of events to his development, wrapped up in a grimly escalating and quite thoughtful cycle. The western-like first act, which stirs the vengeful appetites of the hitherto valiant Caesar, is absolutely fantastic in its contemplative atmosphere. In the rest, Reeves decently develops and concludes the internal (love vs hate) and external (apes vs humans) conflicts, delivering beautiful visuals and unconventional endings that don't affect the characters, but Mother Nature herself (which nicely underlines what it was about all along), but at the same time the narrative runs out of ammo in places and the prison break, for example, while not losing its fatalism, struggles with logic and believability. To praise the visual effects would be like taking nerds to an IT competition, so I will at least praise the tragicomic character of Bad Ape and the associated voice acting of Steven Zahn, and the casting of a little girl whose every look is worth a thousand words. A worthy conclusion to a great trilogy, although expectations were a bit higher after the deceptive trailers. (07/14/2017)

Four stars out of love for Caesar and out of respect for Matt Reeves' courage to make a film that is largely based on silence, gestures and slowness. Unfortunately, the attempt not to rush the culmination of the trilogy leads to the film completely sleeping through it. A strong opponent such as Koby is missing (and therefore the film must also evoke him at certain points, at least as a phantasm), and Woody Harrelson is very doll-like. It’s a bit of an easy template, a light version of Colonel Kurtz deprived of real demons. The introductory part is also captivating thanks to the inventive minimalism of Michael Giacchino and Seresin's detailed camera with variable depth of field. Unfortunately, the prison break in the second half drags on - it lacks energy and the supporting dilemma. The unraveling itself is imaginative and in the key of the entire trilogy, but the promised ape-apocalypse is not nearly as fatal and overwhelming as the trilogy imaginatively transmitting humanity to the monkeys deserves. The triumph is the incredibly detailed and precise animation and the acting of everyone involved. A slight disappointment. [70%] (07/12/2017)