A trilogy that will go down in history.
War for the Planet of the Apes is the third installment in a fantastic trilogy of films. It revolves around the story of Caeser, a hyper intelligent ape, who leads an entire civilization of smart apes.
If you are wondering how Caeser and his friends got so intelligent, then you need to go back and watch the first two films. The second film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is by far the best of the three, and I have no desire to ruin any of them for you. If you’ve already seen these though, then read on!
Evolution of the apes.
Caeser and his apes have grown even more intelligent, and Caeser even speaks fluent English. They ride horses, shoot weapons, and strategize in groups. The only downside to life for the apes is that human’s have become increasingly difficult to deal with. More and more soldiers keep coming into the forest where the apes live.
After a costly battle Caeser sends the surviving humans home on horseback as a peace offering. In response to his mercy though, special ops soldiers raid his cave and murder half of his family. Torn and distraught Caeser sends his apes on a journey to a new land and sets out to personally avenge his family.
I’m really not sure how this movie got made. It’s based around the audience rooting for a group of apes who are evolving to replace human kind. Humans are portrayed as aggressive and self destructive, and they never learn from their mistakes. The Apes are literally the good guys, and every scene is designed to encourage compassion for them.
A brilliant masterpiece!
I love the concept of it all. There are so many layers to this movie. Human’s experiment on apes, which causes the majority of human kind to die of disease carried by the apes. Humans then begin to fight each other instead of working together to solve the disease. Then to top it all off they turn the apes into enemies. It’s as if human kind is hell bent on destroying itself.
There’s also the story of Caeser. Caeser grows smarter with each passing film. He leads with compassion, wisdom, and mercy. He unites ape kind in an effort to build a great civilization. He slowly becomes more human than the humans themselves. Caeser represents all that is good. Not only does he lead by example, but he even recognizes his own faults. The film’s ending reveals why he becomes a legend to ape culture.
Survival of the fittest.
The whole trilogy showcases a very real irony. As humans become desperate to survive, they begin to lose what makes them human. Meanwhile the apes continuously become more and more human.
All three films are fantastic. The first and third films are unique and very creative, while the middle film really stands out as everything a Planet of the Apes movie should be. Out of all of the movies based on the original concept, these three are the best. They explore what it means to be human and provide a new perspective on a classic movie.
Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn
Rated: PG13
Runtime: 2Hr 20Min
HFR Rating:
