The end is here... and it’s Apetastic
Brando-inspired manic turn; The Colonel could easily be a distant relative of Brando’s Colonel Kurtz and the build to Caesar’s showdown with his adversary sees the ape leader and his comrades channel Martin Sheen’s Captain Willard and crew’s Vietnam river ride from hell in Apocalypse.
Like its cinematic inspiration, however, War isn’t all about gunfire and bloodshed as it takes its time before getting to the meaty action beats – and builds some of the finest non-human character development you’ll ever find in a bigbudget movie.
Caesar’s journey across this trilogy has been masterfully conveyed; this is a flawed but fullyfleshed hero whose desperate attempts to live a life of peace are constantly put to the test.
It has been said before that Serkis’ performance should be under consideration for awards attention and it’s easy to see why. The Londoner brings soul, depth, courage Andy Serkis’ Caesar heads for battle and rage to a layered dynamite display that’s so good you easily forget this is actually a man scurrying around wearing lycra covered in dots in a motion-capture gig.
Weta’s digital effects are as world class as ever throughout and Reeves juxtaposes them well with wintry backdrops.
When the action does arrive, the director never loses sight of keeping the audience emotionally invested, culminating in a touching gut punch.
In this era of spin-offs and extended universes it’s hard to accept the Apes are gone for good, but taken on its own merits, this is a stellar conclusion to one of the best trilogies of all time.