A rather shaky third installment, especially considering it closing the trilogy.
The promotional materials - trailers, posters, etc - are rather deceiving. This is not a war for the planet. This is a quest of the apes to survive, mixed with hope and revenge. The only armed combatant are the humans, who actively seek apes to kill. So if you're expecting a war movie, no, this film doesn't do it.
Even when you're expecting an emotional drama, like its two fantastic film before, War for the Planet of the Apes still doesn't quite cut it. The plot in the first 15 minutes moves rather fast, but after that, for quite a bit the story feels a little dragging, from one point to another to another one. Important characters just get killed off without significant impact. Perhaps, to the main character Caesar , it was indeed a huge impact, but we don't get to see it is portrayed pretty well.
I was under the impression the fast-paced beginning were to build up a huge momentum in the climax with a little shaky transition, but near the end the plot introduces a third party, another human faction, which makes the tension between Caesar (Andy Serkis)/the Apes and The Colonel (Woody Harrelson)/Alpha-Omega human army kinda lost its focus for some moments. Especially so this third party got killed rather easily in the end, reducing it to nothing but filler.
The film still attempts to raise important themes: humanity, complex emotions, the will to survive, etc. Those elements from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are still intact, but with less focus than its predecessor. It doesn't grip to the plot from start to finish; instead the story seems to try to tell something else along the lines. New characters, like Bad Ape (Steve Zahn) and Nova (Amiah Miller), are not utilized to maximum potential with them just drifting around here and there.
It's still pretty decent though. Andy Serkis' performance is perfect as always. And you can always have good allegory from the Apes, with the story of Colonel's armies and Caesar's personal dilemma bring a rather interesting twist to the shaky plot. However it could've been better, especially seeing this as a closing to the trilogy.
Review by Pradipa PRBlockedParent2017-08-08T13:44:03Z
A rather shaky third installment, especially considering it closing the trilogy.
The promotional materials - trailers, posters, etc - are rather deceiving. This is not a war for the planet. This is a quest of the apes to survive, mixed with hope and revenge. The only armed combatant are the humans, who actively seek apes to kill. So if you're expecting a war movie, no, this film doesn't do it.
Even when you're expecting an emotional drama, like its two fantastic film before, War for the Planet of the Apes still doesn't quite cut it. The plot in the first 15 minutes moves rather fast, but after that, for quite a bit the story feels a little dragging, from one point to another to another one. Important characters just get killed off without significant impact. Perhaps, to the main character Caesar , it was indeed a huge impact, but we don't get to see it is portrayed pretty well.
I was under the impression the fast-paced beginning were to build up a huge momentum in the climax with a little shaky transition, but near the end the plot introduces a third party, another human faction, which makes the tension between Caesar (Andy Serkis)/the Apes and The Colonel (Woody Harrelson)/Alpha-Omega human army kinda lost its focus for some moments. Especially so this third party got killed rather easily in the end, reducing it to nothing but filler.
The film still attempts to raise important themes: humanity, complex emotions, the will to survive, etc. Those elements from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are still intact, but with less focus than its predecessor. It doesn't grip to the plot from start to finish; instead the story seems to try to tell something else along the lines. New characters, like Bad Ape (Steve Zahn) and Nova (Amiah Miller), are not utilized to maximum potential with them just drifting around here and there.
It's still pretty decent though. Andy Serkis' performance is perfect as always. And you can always have good allegory from the Apes, with the story of Colonel's armies and Caesar's personal dilemma bring a rather interesting twist to the shaky plot. However it could've been better, especially seeing this as a closing to the trilogy.