War of the Planet of the Apes Review: A near-perfect final act
After two very different sci-fi action movies, this movie had an arduous task to execute: to make the perfect conclusion to the trilogy. Taking inspiration from the conclusion of the original series and raising the stakes of the previous film, this certainly is an epic movie. But is it the best of the trilogy? That will be covered in today's article: a War of the Planet of the Apes Review: A near-perfect final act.
Five years into the interspecies war, Caesar and the apes are found by the humans with the help of traitorous, Koba-affiliated apes. The apes win that battle, but they decide they must migrate again to a new safe haven. However, they are raided in the middle of the night, and Caesar's most cherished loved ones are slaughtered. This inciting incident leads to the ape colony splitting into two. Caesar and his best, strongest allies go to infiltrate the humans and take out their leader.
In contrast, the remainder of the apes attempt to, yet again, find a new safe haven. This film is much more of an adventure film than the previous film. The first two films primarily take place between three to four set pieces, but this movie is constantly on the move and feels like it genuinely is the Planet of the Apes! It is not the city or country of the apes like most of the movies feel like, but truly an epic-scaled adventure. This adventurous aspect is one of the movie's greatest strengths, and it truly gives the movie a distinctive flair. The group stumbles upon an abandoned human girl—Nova. Unlike the original films, however, Nova actually has a couple of brain cells! She is genuinely one of the greatest strengths of the film, along with the newfound focus on the adorable and heroic orangutan and Caesar's trusted friend, Maurice. Nova and Maurice were my favorite parts of this movie, and they always stole the screen with their sympathy and empathy. Bad Ape was also a highlight, as he adds a layer of fun and levity missing from the previous two films.
After the gang is fully assembled, the group reaches the most mortifying set piece of the series—the human military base. From here on out, the movie was already quite epic from the get-go. From freeing the enslaved apes to an epic shootout, from Caesar enacting his revenge to an avalanche taking out the whole base, this movie is truly one of the greatest and most realistic blockbuster spectacles of all time.
However, while the movie has many of the saga's highest highs, it also has a couple of low lows that make me like it less than the three other films in the series. Firstly, the movie doesn't have nearly as much social commentary and intriguing subtext as the others, which has always been my favorite part of the series. While the spectacle almost makes up for it, it doesn't quite do it for me. And secondly? This film has one of the most lame movie endings of all time. For a somewhat believable sci-fi movie, this ending completely took me out of the film. Caesar literally dies from bleeding out from a crossbow bolt days after he is shot. How did nobody notice it was there but Maurice? How did the apes not have a way to heal a crossbow bolt? They are brilliant creatures, and they treated a gunshot wound in the previous movie. Everything about this ending left a sour taste in my mouth. The film utilizes stupid movie logic in this scene and is super unsatisfying. Having him die from the explosion or avalanche would've been more heroic, and having him survive to lead his kind would've been more satisfying. I'm all for tragic endings, but they have to be done well, and this is the textbook definition of an awful and unnecessary sad ending.
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 88%
Letter Score: A
Star Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Ultimately, while this film has some of the lowest lows since Beneath the Planet of the Apes, I can forgive this movie for its downfalls due to the fantastic action and lovable cast. I can't stress enough how great this movie is in terms of its choreography, cinematography, and character work. I recommend this film to anybody who loves sci-fi or action, and while it isn't perfect, it is still one of the best movies in the franchise.
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