Set a full ten years after the events of its predecessor, the latest Apes picture has humanity near extinction while Caesar and his ever-expanding family have established a functional utopia amidst the desolation. Most of the first act is a simple, enveloping visual treat - establishing the world as it now stands and savoring the unique visuals of San Francisco (and the surrounding area) in the aftermath of a near-total human annihilation event. Crumbling cityscapes, creeping plant life, reverberations of a lost civilization... this story lends itself nicely to vivid, poignant splashes of scenery, and the effects team is more than up to that challenge.
In fact, moving on from that slow, thoughtful series of reflections is a feat the film struggles with. Though rich and layered in its own ways, the story plays second-fiddle to the mood at large, and often feels telegraphed by the events of the first film (not to mention the original series). It's a deep, thought provoking installment, with some lights-out physical acting from the entire motion-capture cast, but I couldn't shake the sense that it could have stretched itself much further than it did. When it came time for the parallel climactic face-offs amidst the fireworks of an unavoidable human/ape warzone, I kept thinking to myself, "Is this really all there is?"
Firm, fiery and intelligent, but perhaps a bit too safe, too happy to fall back on a set of standard action movie routines. Beautifully dark, it's also a decided step back from the promise seen in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Review by drqshadowBlockedParent2020-02-03T19:47:03Z
Set a full ten years after the events of its predecessor, the latest Apes picture has humanity near extinction while Caesar and his ever-expanding family have established a functional utopia amidst the desolation. Most of the first act is a simple, enveloping visual treat - establishing the world as it now stands and savoring the unique visuals of San Francisco (and the surrounding area) in the aftermath of a near-total human annihilation event. Crumbling cityscapes, creeping plant life, reverberations of a lost civilization... this story lends itself nicely to vivid, poignant splashes of scenery, and the effects team is more than up to that challenge.
In fact, moving on from that slow, thoughtful series of reflections is a feat the film struggles with. Though rich and layered in its own ways, the story plays second-fiddle to the mood at large, and often feels telegraphed by the events of the first film (not to mention the original series). It's a deep, thought provoking installment, with some lights-out physical acting from the entire motion-capture cast, but I couldn't shake the sense that it could have stretched itself much further than it did. When it came time for the parallel climactic face-offs amidst the fireworks of an unavoidable human/ape warzone, I kept thinking to myself, "Is this really all there is?"
Firm, fiery and intelligent, but perhaps a bit too safe, too happy to fall back on a set of standard action movie routines. Beautifully dark, it's also a decided step back from the promise seen in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.