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War for the Planet of the Apes |OT| And for the last Twinkie too. [SPOILERS]

T

Toothless

Member
War for the Planet of the Apes completes the story of Serkis's greatest creation, Caesar, in the epic he has always deserved. Seeping with ambition and emotion, Reeves refines his direction in a way that is both stylish and invisible. He doesn't draw attention to his own direction, letting the story of the apes never be distracted by needless flash. The story here is breathtaking, a riveting tale about the dueling forces of humanity and savagery. Giacchino's score matches the story, being truly exceptional in how it builds from previous films and also feels like its own beast.

Serkis delivers his strongest performance yet, deftly applying raw emotion and true understanding to Caesar. You never once think you are watching a CGI-creation. Harrelson and Miller both deliver the first memorable human characters in this franchise, and the rest of the apes all stand out in ways never before. The effects have never been better, and although the third act might get a bit over-the-top, the distinctly subdued nature of the film is a relief compared to other recent blockbusters.

War for the Planet of the Apes concludes the most underrated blockbuster trilogy of this century in spectacular fashion, delivering the best film yet thanks to the strong emotion and startling setpieces all anchored by Andy Serkis's marvelous acting prowess. A stunning achievement in today's blockbuster landscape.
 
T

The Leewit

Neo Member
This movie has surpassed my expectations, and they were already high. Caesar's journey and myth is complete, from humble beginnings to a bittersweet ending, confronting his own inner demons and what it means to be human and ape. And the endearing cast, Maurice, Rocket, Nova, Bad Ape, Lake, and Cornelius, all shape the narrative, tone, and story. Even the Colonel's controversial perspective adds gravitas to Caesar's soul-searching.

This movie, if anyone were already inclined, could be pitched as the predecessor of the original Planet of the Apes film. It works for me. All the pieces align and fit, more or less.
 
C

Crimson_Echidna

Banned
Definitely my favorite film series of the past decade. If I had one complaint it was that
the amount of near deaths that Caesar kept walking away from in the third act
but the end rectified that. 5 stars.
 
Monocle

Monocle

Member
DirtyLarry said:
I need to preface this statement with the following...

I am 42 years old and the original 1968 movies is one of my favorite movies of all time. I first saw it when I was around 5 and I was immediately hooked. But then at around 15 I realized it was a much deeper movie than I first recognized. At around the same time I found out the screenplay was actually written by Rod Serling, the creator of the Twilight Zone, and that was all she wrote. I made it a point to really pay attention and that led me to realize it's absolute brilliance.

So I have actually loved these prequels. Even the Franco one. As such a big fan of the original, I felt they were doing that movie justice while modernizing it but making it something new as well. With that said, I was super, super interested in seeing how they would wrap this reboot up and lead to the original and was super curious as to just how many easter eggs/references they would include. And I have to say I am super pleased and 110% okay with how they chose to do so.

In fact I am so pleased with this movie, I would say it has the potential to become one of my favorite movies ever made. That is how much I enjoyed it. There are just so many subliminal and blatant messages about humanity contained within these movies and I respect the hell out of that. They have made a movie that can be completely enjoyed without trying to read into the message at all, but if you do take the time to do so, you are rewarded with a pretty deep message about man overall. That is no easy task to pull off with a "summer blockbuster."

This is why I have such reverence for these prequel reboots. They could have taken the easy way out and just went for entertainment and not much else, but they truly kept the essence of the original alive and did Mr. Serling justice.

And since this thread contains spoilers, I will end by saying the comedic relief of Bad Ape was fucking flawless.
Click to expand...
Good post. The movie really is an exceptional commentary on human nature.
 
N

neverknowsbest

Member
Saw it this afternoon and loved it. Caesar is one of the best characters in an action movie or series ever. His journey was driven by a need for vengeance, but his natural leadership took over when he saw that his people, who he abandoned in his desire for revenge, needed him more than ever. The scene where he commanded Red to stop and everyone in the camp acknowledged his power, even as a prisoner and slave, gave me goosebumps. This movie elevated him from a mere leader to a Christ-like figure. He suffered his people's punishments, he got them food and water while he was tortured for it, and he eventually led them to freedom and safety. Got a definite Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt vibe.
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
I feel like it's important to read what Gaf thought about the series before Rise. This isn't a crow since I'm one of them who doubted it.

The OG OT

Trailer

Went from, Is this a joke? To best trilogy of all time talk.
 
M

MMarston

Was getting caught part of your plan?
Man, when I think about Rise now and then how this movie ended, it kinda hits me a little hard. The first one came out 7 years ago when I was still in high school and I remember just enjoying seeing how Caesar formed his bond with everyone else trapped in Brian Cox's pen.

Then suddenly you just graduated university and your seeing Maurice thanking Caesar for everything he did for them since the beginning.
 
M

matrixman92

Member
Has there been any talk on a 4th one yet? I think theres another story to tell, but I hope they end this new series here...unless they plan on remaking the old ones?
 
C

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
Poor Caesar. Top notch film Mr. Reeves. Now the wait for Batman will be insufferable. These last two Apes films were fantastic.
 
A

AlexFlame116

Member
I just came out of the theater and...wow.

This movie blew all my expectations out of the water. I've seen every Planet of the Apes that came out and this movie made me want to watch all of them again.

The music was suspenseful, the story was amazing, and the animations were on point.

Caesar is an amazing character and I'm very sad that it took me three movies to notice this. He looks great, his character mimics, follows, and then rejects Koba and the stereotype that humans see in these apes and he has a brief moment of paradise before he succumbs to his injuries. Sorry for being bringing religion but he reminded me of Moses. Especially with his death. He gets to see the promised land but doesn't get to participate in it.

I loved all the characters. Well, except for that one guy that Caesar saved. Freaking screw that guy. But I even felt pity for the Colonel in his last moments as he succumbs to the disease that plagued his son.

I loved Bad Ape as well! He gave some great laughs that were needed during those moments of despair in the movie. Nova was adorable and I'm glad that she stayed with the apes.

Overall this is my favorite of the Prequel Trilogy. Just awesome. This became a purchase for me. I'm also gonna buy the collection of the all the other movies.

I just have one question: I know this is a prequel reboot in a way but does it actually connect with the original Planet of the Apes? Cause I love the location that they ended up in.
 
F

Fast Forward

Member
shintoki said:
I feel like it's important to read what Gaf thought about the series before Rise. This isn't a crow since I'm one of them who doubted it.

The OG OT

Trailer

Went from, Is this a joke? To best trilogy of all time talk.
Click to expand...
There's a lot of cases like that, and not just here, either.

And not just recent releases like Wonder Woman, either, where many people (wrongly) criticized Gal for not being right for the part.

Going back even further, many people criticized the decision of Heath Ledger being cast as the Joker, including myself, and needless to say, he made an ass out of me, and everyone else by delivering a performance of a lifetime.
 
M

Magwik

Banned
matrixman92 said:
Has there been any talk on a 4th one yet? I think theres another story to tell, but I hope they end this new series here...unless they plan on remaking the old ones?
Click to expand...
I mean they seemed very adamant on keeping the status quo generally the same as the original, even go so far to explain why Humans can't speak. So the setup in there at least, including them going out to the desert.

I also think a final shot to the sky at the end was a nod to it.
 
F

Fast Forward

Member
matrixman92 said:
Has there been any talk on a 4th one yet? I think theres another story to tell, but I hope they end this new series here...unless they plan on remaking the old ones?
Click to expand...
I think there's more stories to tell. War, to me at least, even alluded to a couple of different things that could lead to a sequel.

For that matter, we could have a Planet of the Apes film in this timeline if nothing else, but even than, I think there's more stories they could tell in the interim.

And remember everyone, these movies are NOT a prequel to the 68 original. New/separate timeline, so there's still plenty of room for more stories to tell, I think, outside of Caesar's story.
 
C

Crimson_Echidna

Banned
Also, did anyone else get Exodus vibes from this? Not the Christian Bale movie, but the actual religious text.
Like how in the end, Caesar never got to step foot onto what was essentially the Apes' Promised Land.
 
M

MMarston

Was getting caught part of your plan?
Crimson_Echidna said:
Also, did anyone else get Exodus vibes from this? Not the Christian Bale movie, but the actual religious text.
Like how in the end, Caesar never got to step foot onto what was essentially the Apes' Promised Land.
Click to expand...

Well, unlike that unlucky fella, he at least got to see his people flourishing person (unless I'm remembering the Bible wrong).


Also, no spoiler tags in this thread.
 
C

Crimson_Echidna

Banned
MMarston said:
Well, unlike that unlucky fella, he at least got to see his people flourishing person (unless I'm remembering the Bible wrong).


Also, no spoiler tags in this thread.
Click to expand...

My bad. I didn't see a normal discussion thread so I just wanted to cover my bases just to be on the safe side.

One final touch that I really loved about this film is I found it quite poetic that it was ultimately a force of nature that did the remaining of the human soldiers in.
 
W

wabjc

Neo Member
Well that was a downer, to me at least. I agree with the biblical feeling other people got. I think the director even said they watched old Hollywood biblical epics for inspiration.

Maybe in a couple days I feel differently but right now I feel cool on it. Dawn and rise were so good that I left feeling that I had just watched a great movie. With war it was like oh it's over. Not to say it was a bad movie it had some incredible parts, I'm just not feeling it I guess.

What was interesting was the ambiguity about what the mutated virus did. It causes humans to be mute but it doesn't seem to make them animalistic, seeing as woody harrelson was asking to be killed meaning he still had his cognitive functions. But with nova i got the sense it confuses the people affected because she didn't care her dad got killed and asked Maurice if she was an ape. So maybe it's not like a devolved state but a kind of reset, just my thoughts though.
 
F

Fast Forward

Member
Not exactly religious, but yeah, after reading the interviews, the religious under/over tones become quite clear, like the Ape prison camp sub-plot, or the Apes/Nova arriving at the "Promise Land" at the end, both of which are comparable to the story of Moses with Caesar being a bit of a "Ape Moses" for the lack of a better term.

Also there's parallels to the Holocaust, and World War 2 in the film.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
wabjc said:
Well that was a downer, to me at least. I agree with the biblical feeling other people got. I think the director even said they watched old Hollywood biblical epics for inspiration.

Maybe in a couple days I feel differently but right now I feel cool on it. Dawn and rise were so good that I left feeling that I had just watched a great movie. With war it was like oh it's over. Not to say it was a bad movie it had some incredible parts, I'm just not feeling it I guess.

What was interesting was the ambiguity about what the mutated virus did. It causes humans to be mute but it doesn't seem to make them animalistic, seeing as woody harrelson was asking to be killed meaning he still had his cognitive functions. But with nova i got the sense it confuses the people affected because she didn't care her dad got killed and asked Maurice if she was an ape. So maybe it's not like a devolved state but a kind of reset, just my thoughts though.
Click to expand...

Aside from the inability to speak, I don't think it affected the human characters on an intellectual level. At least nothing what I saw on screen indicated that Nova in had regressed to a primitive level.
 
F

Fast Forward

Member
crackhead_bob said:
Aside from the inability to speak, I don't think it affected them on an intellectual level. At least nothing what I saw on screen indicated that Nova had regressed to a primitive level.
Click to expand...
Not yet, but at least to me, there's seem to be heavy implication in War, short of a breakthrough medical cure, Nova, and most of the surviving humans will continue to become primitive as time goes on. Basically, a role reversal with the Apes.

Personally, that's why I found that news so heart breaking. Nova was a great little character, and she's probably not gonna have a happy ending.
 
W

wabjc

Neo Member
crackhead_bob said:
Aside from the inability to speak, I don't think it affected the human characters on an intellectual level. At least nothing what I saw on screen indicated that Nova in had regressed to a primitive level.
Click to expand...

I agree she wasn't primitive but my thought was that she sort forgot basic things like that mans my dad, and I'm a human girl. There's no real evidence for that but I'm connecting it to the other movies where that nova kind of looked confused all time, and went along with the flow until she got the ability to speak again. So maybe the mutated virus just messes with people but doesn't remove higher brain function.
 
M

MMarston

Was getting caught part of your plan?
The mutated virus is basically a new form of dementia.




Incredibly ironic considering its origins.
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Absolutely loved it. It takes Rise's tension and sense of tragedy within the conflict and elevates the emotion core.
 
P

Patterbits

Member
The beginning when Caesar goes off with his band was like a weird semi-western MGS V. I was disturbed and loved the 3-ape takedown of Winter to stop him from alerting the guards. The bad ape chase scene really stood out to me too. Love how subdued this film was compared to War. Too often the last movie of a trilogy tries to go all out with action and high stakes. In actuality, all of the noise was in Rise and Dawn which makes sense. The arc throughout the trilogy was perfect. Rise was about the revolution, it was raw and bestial. Dawn was about survival, and which ideology would take them there. But War isn't really about war. The war is over, they're not animals, this was about cementing ape civilization. Man became the animal.
 
F

Fast Forward

Member
wabjc said:
I agree she wasn't primitive but my thought was that she sort forgot basic things like that mans my dad, and I'm a human girl. There's no real evidence for that but I'm connecting it to the other movies where that nova kind of looked confused all time, and went along with the flow until she got the ability to speak again. So maybe the mutated virus just messes with people but doesn't remove higher brain function.
Click to expand...
Maybe, but you cannot exactly use the original movies as a 1:1 comparison to the Reboot Trilogy as they use two different canons.

Plus, they never explain in the original canon why Humans become more primate, or Apes become super intelligent. It just kind of happens, more or less.

Personally, I took it as this Nova was the equivalent of a non-verbal super intelligent Ape, at least in War, but her, and most of the surviving humans will probably become more primate as time goes on, short of a breakthrough medical cure. A role reversal with the Apes, in sorts.
 
P

Patterbits

Member
wabjc said:
Well that was a downer, to me at least. I agree with the biblical feeling other people got. I think the director even said they watched old Hollywood biblical epics for inspiration.

Maybe in a couple days I feel differently but right now I feel cool on it. Dawn and rise were so good that I left feeling that I had just watched a great movie. With war it was like oh it's over. Not to say it was a bad movie it had some incredible parts, I'm just not feeling it I guess.

What was interesting was the ambiguity about what the mutated virus did. It causes humans to be mute but it doesn't seem to make them animalistic, seeing as woody harrelson was asking to be killed meaning he still had his cognitive functions. But with nova i got the sense it confuses the people affected because she didn't care her dad got killed and asked Maurice if she was an ape. So maybe it's not like a devolved state but a kind of reset, just my thoughts though.
Click to expand...

I recall the Colonel mentioning that his son and the doctor who got infected first went mute, but became primitive over time. He actually uses the word primitive when he mentions the look in his son's eyes before he kills him.
 
V

Vectorman

Banned
Continuing the Biblical comparisons, isn't it funny that
like the Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea, the last remaining human forces are buried under frozen water.

Anyways, this movie was a hell of a thing. This series has really reached the peak of nuanced entertainment in film. Well worth going on this journey. I still really hope they eventually do a proper remake of the original film so we can finally wash the sin that was Wahlberg/Burton Apes.
 
W

wabjc

Neo Member
Fast Forward said:
Maybe, but you cannot exactly use the original movies as a 1:1 comparison to the Reboot Trilogy as they use two different canons.

Plus, they never explain in the original canon why Humans become more primate, or Apes become super intelligent. It just kind of happens, more or less.

Personally, I took it as this Nova was the equivalent of a non-verbal super intelligent Ape, at least in War, but her, and most of the surviving humans will probably become more primate as time goes on, short of a breakthrough medical cure. A role reversal with the Apes, in sorts.
Click to expand...

Wait yeah I was using my thoughts from the old movies to make that theory. But still I think there's more to their condition than "becomes like animal."

Patterbits said:
I recall the Colonel mentioning that his son and the doctor who got infected first went mute, but became primitive over time. He actually uses the word primitive when he mentions the look in his son's eyes before he kills him.
Click to expand...

with the colonel I'm debating on whether he was being truthful or accurate. Maybe they weren't primative, but seeing as it is contagious it makes sense to quarantine and eliminate infected people. We don't really know what the virus does. He's the only person we see before and after infection and we don't know how long nova has been infected she could just be a kid who doesn't have the best grasp of what's going on. Having humans become animal like would be poetic but I'm not sure if that's the intention.
 
B

broncobuster

Banned
Have to imagine they'll make a fourth unless this does exceedingly poor in the box office. I'd be happiest if it's set far off from War and divorced from this cast of characters. Something away from Caesar's story.
 
F

Fast Forward

Member
Vectorman said:
Continuing the Biblical comparisons, isn't it funny that
like the Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea, the last remaining human forces are buried under frozen water.

Anyways, this movie was a hell of a thing. This series has really reached the peak of nuanced entertainment in film. Well worth going on this journey. I still really hope they eventually do a proper remake of the original film so we can finally wash the sin that was Wahlberg/Burton Apes.
Click to expand...
While having a true Planet of the Apes in this timeline would be great, at least to me, "washing the sins" of Burton's Apes was never necessary (as we always had the original), and if it was, Rise already covered that. Everything else since has been a bonus.

Honestly, other than Beneath, only movie that felt like it needed a reimaging, or re-do in the Apes franchise was Battle, and Dawn already took care of that.

wabjc said:
Wait yeah I was using my thoughts from the old movies to make that theory. But still I think there's more to their condition than "becomes like animal."
Click to expand...
No, I hear ya.

And...

wabjc said:
with the colonel I'm debating on whether he was being truthful or accurate. Maybe they weren't primative, but seeing as it is contagious it makes sense to quarantine and eliminate infected people. We don't really know what the virus does. He's the only person we see before and after infection and we don't know how long nova has been infected she could just be a kid who doesn't have the best grasp of what's going on. Having humans become animal like would be poetic but I'm not sure if that's the intention.
Click to expand...
True, and sure, being the villain he could have been lying, or hell, even had a honest misunderstanding/misconception about it, but personally, I assumed he was telling the truth, and I just assumed as a result that unfortunately Nova, and most human survivors will become more primitive as times goes on.

Personally, I assumed the filmmakers were hinting that a eventual "role reserve" will happen, much like in the original Apes canon.

That being said, even if all of that is true, we don't know whether or not that will be the case for 100 percent of human survivors. Same as there were humans with immunity to the initial Simian flu, there could be some humans with a super immunity to the new stage of said flu.
 
E

Einchy

semen stains the mountaintops
I'm a little bummed that the movie wasn't an all out war like I thought it was gonna be, but I fucking loved the way the movie played out. Wish I could go to an alternate universe where Matt Reeves did a different version of the movie.
 
R

RastaMentality

Banned
I saw the at the SF Metreon in dolby Atmos and the entire third act and especially the avalanche (that physically shook the seats) was something.
 
M

MosquitoSmasher

Member
I'm going there this evening. Just watched Rise again, still a great movie but if there's one thing i dislike is how fast and easily they skip over the part with the father. Clearly the man had been important to him all his life, been taking care of him. He sadly passes away and we don't even see him griefing let alone a short clip of his funeral. It doesn't make the movie any less, but i'll always dislike that decision.

Soon i'm gonna check out Dawn again. So i'll be right in the mood for the new one. Looking forward to it, even though someone i know said he really didn't thought it was all that and he did like the first two.
 
Turbo Killer

Turbo Killer

Member
Great movie and ending to the trilogy, music was amazing. My only gripe is that the scene from the poster never happened, it would have been badass.
 
O

OraleeWey

Member
I am going to see the movie tomorrow. You guys think I got the good seats? The only ones that are obviously taken :p

053eV22.png
Click to expand...
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
I sort of expected some Lord of the Rings scale battle sequences from the name and the marketing... I'm much happier with what we got though.

The bar for CGI has been set so high by this movie I'm not sure what could really top it. Maybe one or two moments of the apes moving quickly looked like CG. Everything else just looked real. Astoundingly great work by all involved.
 
D

Dysun

Member
I was a little worried when I saw the marketing that this was going to another Dawn, but that wasn't the case at all.
Reeves and Serkis delivered an excellent finale to this franchise, and probably the best one of the trilogy. Caesar's journey comes to a beautiful conclusion. Woody does enough as the Colonel to make him intimidating in his limited role. Bad Ape added a good amount of levity to a dark, grim movie.
 
M

MosquitoSmasher

Member
Just saw Dawn again and personally I find it just as awesome as in 2014. I really liked scenes such as where Caesar is in his old house and where he watches the recording of him and Will. Or the scene where Koba is acting foolish on purpose with the two men, drinking and moments later killing them. It had enough great moments. If War has great moments like that I'm good.

Really looking forward to it. Oh and that CGI is just insane. Hard to imagine War looks even better.
 
J

JABEE

Member
I'm not sure if I like Dawn or War more, but the new Ape Trilogy is probably my favorite in a world of Super Hero films.

I love how there were Apes siding with the humans and working as scouts etc. It sent the message right away this was not going to be a binary right and wrong Ape vs Human battle.

As others mentioned, it does hit you over the head with Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now references. "Hey Joe" seems like the perfect song for Woody Harrelson's character to be playing.

Dawn of the Apes - The Weight by the Band

War for the Planet of the Apes - Hey Joe by the Jimi Hendrix Experience

Perfect symbolism for the descent into violence and flawed morality that encapsulates the themes of this film.

I think the thing I enjoy most about these films is that it doesn't really do anything to make Apes riding horses and shooting guns seem totally unrealistic in this sci-fi world.

There is also an actual discussion on strategy and the politics of war that is actually enthralling.

Most films dealing with this stuff go with the "war is bad," "you drew first blood" bullshit. Wonder Woman is part of this, but this film and Dawn actually make you think. Does it really matter who killed who first?

There is no imaginable scenario where the humans let apes own a tract of land unmolested. In some ways Kuba was right, though I'm not sure his reasons were the same. Letting humans rebuild or giving them an inch when humanity is weakened opens up the chance for humans to call in reinforcements. This is something that only someone who lived in the unsheltered, human dominated world would understand.

The other option would be to lay low and allow the humans to murder each other with disease and ammunition.

In Caesar's world, humans and people can co-exist. This world is only possible in James Franco's protection.

The bleakness of the message of Apes is refreshing in a film industry chasing more simplistic, Disney-fied storylines.
 
U

Ushay

Member
Bad Ape was the GOAT ape.

Absolutely phenomenal movie, so impressed with the entire thing start to end. Makes me really eager to see what Matt Reeves can do with Batman.
 
W

WadiumArcadium

Member
After re-watching Dawn yesterday, I'm not sure I enjoyed this quite as much but it was still a great entry in the series. Andy Serkis has done a marvelous job as Caesar and Reeves has taken it to even greater heights.

The prison break sequence was fantastic but I think I preferred the first half of the film. Giacchino deserves recognition for his great score too. As with Dawn it really lifted the film.
 
N

nawwafh

Member
Am I the only one who felt this was just good... and not as great as everyone says it is?
There was literally nothing happening in the middle of the movie when Caesar gets captured...it moved at a snail's pace..
First one is still my favorite..
 
M

Magwik

Banned
WadiumArcadium said:
After re-watching Dawn yesterday, I'm not sure I enjoyed this quite as much but it was still a great entry in the series. Andy Serkis has done a marvelous job as Caesar and Reeves has taken it to even greater heights.

The prison break sequence was fantastic but I think I preferred the first half of the film. Giacchino deserves recognition for his great score too. As with Dawn it really lifted the film.
Click to expand...

Exodus Wounds is too good
 
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