If you haven't been followingthe Planet of the Apes timeline, itstarted with a James Franco-created super-ape named Caesar (played by theever-brilliant motion capture superstar Andy Serkis, whom you probably know betteras Gollum) who became extra-sentient, rounded up a bunch of other apes and thenmoved into the woods to ape it up and live peacefully. Humans, of course,couldn't jive with this plan, especially since the rise of apes brought with ita horrible virus called the Simian Flu. What few humans remained becameunderstandably bummed, and by the time we catch up with everyone in War for the Planet of the Apes, thingshave become pretty rough.
Caesar and his pals are holedup in a hidden fortress beneath a waterfall, but this doesn't sit well with TheColonel (Woody Harrelson), a Kurtz-esque army dude who's basically gone nuts,defected from the skeletal government and kills or imprisons any ape orvirus-victim he comes across. Caesar isn't down, but he's been through the shitalready and just kind of wants to move to the desert with his family … y'know,to find himself and maybe take up painting. But when The Colonel just won't letit go, Caesar and his ape pals Maurice, Rocket and Luca set out to even thescore and ensure the safety of their kind.
Serkis is, as always,fantastic, both as a voice and motion capture actor, and the CGI of Apes is so phenomenal it's practicallyindistinguishable from the real thing. Harrelson, however, is underused,showing up only to make jerkish comments and shoot apes now and then. Still,despite a clunky middle section that drags on entirely too long, the battlesequences and subtle nods to cinema do make for a riveting film. Steve Zahn asthe comedic Bad Ape kind of makes it worth it alone, even if he diffusesheavier moments before they've had a chance to land. Regardless, the series ofreboots (or is it prequels?) brings up some good points about the uglier partsof humanity and how fear can drive the worst of us to commit unspeakable acts. Apes indeed becomes better than onemight assume, though unless you were already planning on being there, you canprobably just wait and watch it at home.
- Lags in the middle, not enough Harrelson
War for the Planet of the Apes
Directed by Matt Reeves
With Serkis, Harrelson and Zahn
Regal, Violet Crown, PG-13, 140 min.
