Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
Country: US
Language: English
Loosely based on the 1963 French Novel La Planete Des Singes by Pierre Boulle, the original Planet of the Apes (1968) directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring Charlton Heston has become an American science fiction classic. In addition to being a critical and commercial success the film was known for its groundbreaking prosthetic makeup techniques by artist John Chambers.The picture was so influential that it launched a film franchise, a short-lived television show, comic books and an inumerable amount of merchandising.
The original film series had four film sequels running from 1970-1973, all with a varying degree of quality. I had seen all the original apes films as a child on a television network called Drive In Classics. Despite some sequels not resonating with me, they were infinitely better than Tim Burton's 2001 remake Planet of the Apes starring Mark Whalberg. Burton's version didn't even get the twist ending right, changing it to make no sense whatsoever.
As a result of Tim Burton's massive failure I became repulsed by anything associated with Planet of the Apes (and Tim Burton). When I first heard of this new trilogy (Rise, Dawn & War) in 2011 I was confident I'd never see it, even when Rise went on to great critical success. When Dawn was nominated for a Best Visual Effects Oscar at the Academy Awards I became intrigued, but refused to see it. When War gave way to talk about Andy Serkis (formerly Gollum in Lord of the Rings) winning an Oscar for Best Acting & gave discussion about "what is great acting?" this enticed me enough to at least give the first film in the trilogy a shot. Wow! I have been missing out!
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (4/5)
Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) creates a drug that is designed to help the brain repair itself, but instead it gives apes human-like intelligence. Cesar (Andy Serkis) lives his childhood in peace with Will, but is ultimately taken from the people he loves and imprisoned in an ape sanctuary.
Screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver tell the story from Caesar’s perspective more than the comparatively uninteresting humans, and therein force audiences to witness the lows of animal cruelty and in time cheer when Caesar exacts his thrilling revolt. In Andy Serkis' almost silent performance as Cesar there is more depth than most actors could ever achieve. The human performances, though adequate, cannot help be feel underwhelming compared to the motion capture animation acting of each CGI animal.
Rise is an engaging film that brilliantly plants the seeds for what is to come in the rest of the Apes Trilogy. Technically impressive and visually exciting, Rise gives you a lot to think about as it forces you into the perspective of animals you ought to care about but rarely have the time to think of. Lovers of action movies and lovers of PETA rejoice!
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (4.5/5)
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar (Andy Serkis) is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. In addition, another ape named Koba (Toby Kebell) is threatening Caesar's leadership and becoming dangerous in doing so. The Surviors, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), are equally threatened by the apes & are slowly loosing access to electricity.
Dawn is the most Shakespeare inspired film of the trilogy. Early on we see a survivor with a book of Julius Caesar in his hand and, although the foreshadowing is not subtle it all, it gives the audience just enough of a hint of the future that we are eagerly anticipating scene after scene. The writers also tap into elements of Romeo and Juliet ,with star-crossed lovers of sorts (friends Caesar and Malcolm) caught amid their species hatred for one another.
While the scales were tipped towards the apes in Rise, here we sympathize with the humans. Even Caesar acknowledges "I always think ape better than human… I see now how like them we are.” It's a complicated picture with a varying degree of themes such as environmentalism, gun control, democracy etc. It's quite shocking how good the visual effects are in this film; the apes look almost as realistic as the humans do. Certainly deserved to be nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards.
War for the Planet of the Apes (3.5/5)
Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.
While the last two installments of the trilogy seemed to be inspired by mostly original ideas War has Tarantino-d itself using an abundance of pop culture influences to move its story. War is part Schindler's List, The Searchers, Apocalypse Now (Ape-Pocalypse Now as scrolled on a wall by human survivors), Bridge on the River Kwai, and The Great Escape among others. In addition War is stuffed to the gills with not subtle-at-all religious context. The Colonel "Sacrificed his only son to save mankind." Caesar leads his apes, like Moses, to the promised land. Yesh.
War is a decent film on its own thanks to its technical achievements, tremendous acting and thrilling score, but lackluster compared to the rest of the trilogy due to its dependence on pop-culture and liberal heavy handed use of serious allegories. I must admit I do love the comic relief character Bad Ape (Steve Zahn) and I have re-watched some of the film already just to see his scenes.
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