The battle to survive and win supremacy
MONKEY business becomes deadly serious in the third chapter of the rebooted sci-fi franchise.
Matt Reeves, who directed 2014’s Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, retains his position at the helm of this cataclysmic showdown between the last remnants of mankind and genetically enhanced primates.
Much of the picture relies on the latest visual effects to translate a human cast’s performances into richly textured animal characters.
It’s a glittering showcase for Andy Serkis’ portrayal of the leader of the ape uprising, raising tantalising questions about where performance ends and state-of-the-art trickery begins.
The contemplative script corrupts characters on both sides of the conflict in the name of survival. The only winners, when the computerenhanced dust settles, are the audiences.
Twelve years after the Simian Flu outbreak, Caesar (Serkis), his wife Cornelia (Judy Greer) and their sons Blue Eyes (Max Lloyd-Jones) and Cornelius (Devyn Dalton) are living in exile in the woods with the other apes, including wise orang-utan Maurice (Karin Konoval), chimpanzee Rocket (Terry Notary) and brave gorilla Luca (Michael Adamthwaite).
Under the cover of darkness, Colonel McCullough (Woody Harrelson) and his sharpshooting soldiers stage an assault on the ape stronghold and kill most of Caesar’s family.
The grief-stricken leader orders the survivors to flee in search of a new home while he exacts revenge on the Colonel.
War For The Planet Of The Apes is a fitting conclusion to several key storylines. Serkis and Harrelson face off in a series of brutal set pieces that hammer home the senseless loss of life on both sides of the ideological divide.