Now this is the stuff. Even with all the great things I heard, this exceeded expectations. A rejection of the apolitical approach of Abrams’ Trek and most of the MCU, this is a blockbuster concerned with themes foremost, and everything- even the exciting and jaw dropping spectacle- is in service of it. The CGI holds up even now, letting the actors’ performances shine. Serkis nails it, of course, every word carrying rumbling emotion and every movement purposeful. I’d die for Maurice. And Koba is the best antagonist yet. Tragic, deep, sympathetic until he crosses the line to monstrous in a way that feels earned and from his point of view even rational. Kebell gives him so much character, and the betrayal in his eyes after the beat down and none of the other apes step in or help him up… you can understand how that is the last straw for him, why he gives up on his fellow ape and only fights for himself, even while he’s being a terrifying villain that must be stopped. The bit where he acts stupid to fool the humans is so well acted, so funny and yet tense at the same time because you know what he’s about to do, so when he does it’s such a release.
Dreyfuss is a great counterpoint too. He’s ultimately in the wrong but pushed to that point by circumstances that he couldn’t control. He made the right call, he let Malcolm try for peace, and it’s no wonder that when that peace is shattered right after it seems like they finally have the security and happiness they worked so card for that he gives up on the notion entirely. Oldman gives him gravitas and conviction, but heart as well. He’s a flawed man doing his best doomed by something bigger than him. Clarke, Russell, and McPhee get moments to shine without drawing attention away from the apes. Clarke in particular is great in that ending scene, you can see the pain all over his face.
It’s a pain carried throughout the movie. This movie holds that what ultimately dooms people- ape and man alike- is pain. The pain of human families lost in the plague, the very first thing the film starts with. Kobu’s pain from his abuse. Ultimately neither side is able to let go of that pain, and will continue to fail to do so. Tragedy bleeds through the film as Kobu loses his way, Caesar loses a brother and his faith in apekind, and the humans lose their home. And all it results in is more humans, hurting, on their way for vengeance. Even the battle sequences stand out in this. The gorilla distressingly pulling fallen comrades away even as it’s getting shot, and Dreyfus’s staring in the eyes of the dead young man he just had a small moment with are moments that stick with me. There’s no real glory here. And it didn’t have to be this way. The last words of this film sums it up.
“I thought we had a chance.
“I did too.”
They did. They were so close, but their natures doomed them. So is the story of the Planet of the Apes, and never better exemplified than here. War has a lot to follow, but with Reeves directing that one too I have high hopes.
Review by JCVIP 4BlockedParent2024-04-28T04:24:34Z
Now this is the stuff. Even with all the great things I heard, this exceeded expectations. A rejection of the apolitical approach of Abrams’ Trek and most of the MCU, this is a blockbuster concerned with themes foremost, and everything- even the exciting and jaw dropping spectacle- is in service of it. The CGI holds up even now, letting the actors’ performances shine. Serkis nails it, of course, every word carrying rumbling emotion and every movement purposeful. I’d die for Maurice. And Koba is the best antagonist yet. Tragic, deep, sympathetic until he crosses the line to monstrous in a way that feels earned and from his point of view even rational. Kebell gives him so much character, and the betrayal in his eyes after the beat down and none of the other apes step in or help him up… you can understand how that is the last straw for him, why he gives up on his fellow ape and only fights for himself, even while he’s being a terrifying villain that must be stopped. The bit where he acts stupid to fool the humans is so well acted, so funny and yet tense at the same time because you know what he’s about to do, so when he does it’s such a release.
Dreyfuss is a great counterpoint too. He’s ultimately in the wrong but pushed to that point by circumstances that he couldn’t control. He made the right call, he let Malcolm try for peace, and it’s no wonder that when that peace is shattered right after it seems like they finally have the security and happiness they worked so card for that he gives up on the notion entirely. Oldman gives him gravitas and conviction, but heart as well. He’s a flawed man doing his best doomed by something bigger than him. Clarke, Russell, and McPhee get moments to shine without drawing attention away from the apes. Clarke in particular is great in that ending scene, you can see the pain all over his face.
It’s a pain carried throughout the movie. This movie holds that what ultimately dooms people- ape and man alike- is pain. The pain of human families lost in the plague, the very first thing the film starts with. Kobu’s pain from his abuse. Ultimately neither side is able to let go of that pain, and will continue to fail to do so. Tragedy bleeds through the film as Kobu loses his way, Caesar loses a brother and his faith in apekind, and the humans lose their home. And all it results in is more humans, hurting, on their way for vengeance. Even the battle sequences stand out in this. The gorilla distressingly pulling fallen comrades away even as it’s getting shot, and Dreyfus’s staring in the eyes of the dead young man he just had a small moment with are moments that stick with me. There’s no real glory here. And it didn’t have to be this way. The last words of this film sums it up.
“I thought we had a chance.
“I did too.”
They did. They were so close, but their natures doomed them. So is the story of the Planet of the Apes, and never better exemplified than here. War has a lot to follow, but with Reeves directing that one too I have high hopes.