Ape-ocalypse wow

INVITES A QUESTIONING OF HUMANITY Who are really the antagonists?

Dystopian film sagas like Planet of the Apes are always interesting. Underlying these tales is the clear message that humans have the ability to destroy, but we can falter just as easily.

The latest instalment of the Planet of the Apes prequel trilogy is an incredibly powerful story about humanity and a world where apes have become more human than us (the great apes in the film, except for two, rely on sign language to communicate). In a detailed and brilliant visual narrative, this powerful blockbuster is dark, vicious and visceral in the way it ends this chapter of films.

This year already served up a big budget Ape movie in the form of Kong: Skull Island, but War for the Planet of the Apes shows that blockbuster filmmaking doesn’t have to just be about car chases and sex scenes.

There is real character development, a clear focus on what makes each ape and each human tick. There is also a line between antagonist and protagonist, because who really is bad? The apes, fighting for their survival, or humans fighting for theirs?

Interspersed there is beautiful cinematography featuring jungles, snow-covered hills, beaches and deserts. There’s no doubt War will be in the running at the Oscars next year for technical achievements like sound editing and computer-generated imagery, and if you want to take full advantage of this cinematic experience, watch it in 3D or Imax. The details in the faces of the apes are so mesmerising, one could easily be fooled into thinking they’re in a National Geographic special.

In the film, Caesar is still protecting his herd from humans. As the human militia tries to smoke out the peaceful leader, the herd discovers there is a desert they can escape to where humans are scarce. But as their jungle hideout is surrounded by troops, the apes face great loss if they trek to the promised land. It’s not until the colonel (played by a rabid Woody Harrelson) kills Caesar’s family that the leader decides on revenge while the apes make a break for a new land.

Joined by his trusted court, Caesar starts to discover that humans are slowly losing their ability to speak, as the ‘ape dissease’ spreads among them. Those infected are culled, while some lucky ones escape. Caesar and his trusted friend, Maurice, eventually start to care for a little girl suffering from the disease. The girl ends up as part of the herd as she fights with the apes while tracking down the colonel. It turns out he has established himself at an abandoned military base and has captured Caesar’s entire herd, forcing them to work like slaves to build a giant wall around it. His plans go further than merely destroying the apes.

It gets a bit long-winded by the third act when Caesar loses the respect of his herd after leaving them to seek revenge against the colonel, but some fantastic escape sequences and a touching moment with the little girl followed by a slew of action scenes quickly shakes you out of your slumber. If you’ve had your fill of comic book heroes on the big screen, this is a welcome big-budget spectacle.

Unlike most other action blockbusters that aim to thrill, there’s a good chance War will make you question your own humanity. It’s close to brilliant.