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

M

Matt

Member
Chasm Skulker said:
I liked the film but thought it all kind of came loose towards the end. The soldiers at the Colonel's camp have to be some of the worst prison guards in history. I also found the inclusion of this human vs human element to be somewhat contrived. Because the Colonel isn't wrong, humans will be outnumbered by apes and its difficult to believe that would go well for us. I'm actually surprised how little cruelty you saw the soldiers give out, I'd have thought they would be in full extermination mode, but then I guess you can only go so far with the concept and a 12A certificate
Click to expand...
That's kinda a theme for the movie. He's also right about the virus (he touches that doll and LESS THAN A DAY LATER he's lost his voice). Maybe if the Colonel had won, the entire Plant of the Apes could have been averted?

Not that that makes him a good guy.
 
S

Skel1ingt0n

I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
Just got out of this.

Liked the first way more than I expected, and loved the second one. Was really excited for War; but gotta admit, I'm kinda disappointed.

I'd rate this one similarly to the first, with the second being a good deal better.

I avoided this spoiler thread, but going back a few pages it seems like I'm not alone - there were some huge conveniences in this film that require you to just "accept" it. Sure, any film can be reduced to such a statement - plotting is exactly that; the next scene is required because of the scene that comes before. But it just felt like every single plot point was driven not by Caesar's will to "get the job done," but by fortunate happenstance.

Loved the slower pace of the film - it still moved at a brisk clip without needing to have mindless action sequences; and I say that as a huge fan of mindless action. The slow, climbing shot of the battle on the hill at the beginning of the movie was phenomenal camera work... I know it's a small detail, but I just f-ing loved that shot. No shaky came. No spatial-awareness issues. Just a slow, clean pan up the battle.

CG work was in a new league. Arguably the best mo-capped CG characters I've ever seen, period. Little things like compositing, having the flower perfectly go into the ape's ear, etc... things like that pulled the whole SFX together.

Yeah - pretty much liked everything about this film except for the rather shallow and genericly motivated villain and the overall story beats. Unfortunately, those are critical components to a sci-fi film, IMO; and the first two had set expectations so high it's a shame this didn't reach such highs.
 
S

spelen

Member
just saw this movie and man what a ride this was. loved loved this entire movie. very obvious allusions to Moses and the Israelites slavery at the hands of the Egyptians . even had ceasear like moses dying b4 entering the promise land. excellent visual storytelling without much dialogue. plenty of forshadowing, amazing CGI. best of all it changes the entire franchise in that the apes can no longer be seen as the "bad guys" but really as the survivors
 
E

error4041

Member
Best moments for me was when Ceaser was dying and told Maurice that Apes were strong without him.

gFMhf.gif
Click to expand...

Also, quick question about Rise real quick, how did they explain the AKZ-112 went from curing John Lithgrow's character temporarily to killing most of humanity?
 
D

DecoReturns

Member
error4041 said:
Best moments for me was when Ceaser was dying and told Maurice that Apes were strong without him.



Also, quick question about Rise real quick, how did they explain the AKZ-112 went from curing John Lithgrow's character temporarily to killing most of humanity?
Click to expand...
I think Franco gave him an earlier version of the "cure" before he found out Pathogens were fighting the formula a couple years later. Think they begun making changes to it (it's been a while)
 
W

WrenchNinja

Member
The English Conquistador said:
Rough? Eh not really. I rewatched Dawn recently and it still looks incredible. As good as War? Definitely not but these two movies certainly ain't 'rough' looking.
Click to expand...
I saw Rise recently and the Baby Caesar running through the house stuff looks really off, so does his scenes with Malfoy. The Dawn scenes are okay in the forest without human characters but next to them they also look weird. This movie doesn't look that strange in comparison, with characters like Nova and Woody Harrelson interacting with the apes constantly.
 
F

Fast Forward

Member
Skel1ingt0n said:
Just got out of this.

Liked the first way more than I expected, and loved the second one. Was really excited for War; but gotta admit, I'm kinda disappointed.

I'd rate this one similarly to the first, with the second being a good deal better.

I avoided this spoiler thread, but going back a few pages it seems like I'm not alone - there were some huge conveniences in this film that require you to just "accept" it. Sure, any film can be reduced to such a statement - plotting is exactly that; the next scene is required because of the scene that comes before. But it just felt like every single plot point was driven not by Caesar's will to "get the job done," but by fortunate happenstance.

Loved the slower pace of the film - it still moved at a brisk clip without needing to have mindless action sequences; and I say that as a huge fan of mindless action. The slow, climbing shot of the battle on the hill at the beginning of the movie was phenomenal camera work... I know it's a small detail, but I just f-ing loved that shot. No shaky came. No spatial-awareness issues. Just a slow, clean pan up the battle.

CG work was in a new league. Arguably the best mo-capped CG characters I've ever seen, period. Little things like compositing, having the flower perfectly go into the ape's ear, etc... things like that pulled the whole SFX together.

Yeah - pretty much liked everything about this film except for the rather shallow and genericly motivated villain and the overall story beats. Unfortunately, those are critical components to a sci-fi film, IMO; and the first two had set expectations so high it's a shame this didn't reach such highs.
Click to expand...
I hear ya.

I'm not necessarily on board with this being the best of the trilogy, either.

Though, that may change with time. ATM, I think this was better than Rise, but a touch below Dawn. Biggest complaint for War, for me, is the "prisoner of war" sub-plot. Even than, done very well, but not my cup of tea, or what I was looking for in this series.

And yeah, CGI is out of this world in this film. Never thought it could looks so damn great so damn quick. Only about 10 years removed from Star Wars prequel Trilogy, and honestly, feels a LOT more than that, based on the GREAT advancement of CGI since then. Just AMAZING.

Honestly, I don't care if Andy Serkis gets a reward anymore. His peers, including Woody, thinks he is one of best actors of all-time. Most of his fans thinks he is an all-time great, including myself. And I sure in the fuck do not say that lightly. Andy is so damn great I'm convinced an Ape is doing so damn good acting, rather than it being human pretending to act as a Ape character. That's how damn great he is.
 
V

Vault Dweller 111

Member
Seen this Spider Man and Baby Driver in the past week.

All excellent Summer movies. None of them really stand above or below the others. All really good, none great. Good Summer so far. I hope Dunkirk takes the quality to the next level though.


Sorry this wasn't really about the movie itself. I liked it a lot, Serkis was great.
 
A

Avixph

Member
error4041 said:
Best moments for me was when Ceaser was dying and told Maurice that Apes were strong without him.



Also, quick question about Rise real quick, how did they explain the AKZ-112 went from curing John Lithgrow's character temporarily to killing most of humanity?
Click to expand...
Didn't Ceasar bite the pilot neighbor?
 
B

bananafactory

Banned
Saw it last night. I think I like Dawn a bit more but War really is excellent. It surprised me in so many ways.

I thought the film would be full on Humans v Apes but the writers continue to shy away from good vs evil. Same with Caesar's character, despite all that humans have done it's really just a personal story and humans and apes still get along in the right situation. I fully expected a predictable big showdown against the Colonel and yet he just gets sick kills himself. And it really can't be understated how much the effects contribute to the emotional power of the film. I felt everything Caesar felt and he does so much with just his facial expressions. I need to watch it again I think to take everything in but I dug the slow pace, it really captured what it's like to live in that world now.
 
B

badcrumble

Member
It's hard for me to think of another franchise that has managed to balance throbbing genre portentousness with intimate character work so effectively. Deeply impressed with this whole trilogy, and I think setting themselves up to draw on gesture-heavy silent film techniques and making the tragic, grinding downfall of the human race merely a backdrop for the films was a terrifically brilliant pair of moves that helped elevate these movies into something strange and great.
 
T

TheGreatDirector

Banned
error4041 said:
Best moments for me was when Ceaser was dying and told Maurice that Apes were strong without him.



Also, quick question about Rise real quick, how did they explain the AKZ-112 went from curing John Lithgrow's character temporarily to killing most of humanity?
Click to expand...

Nah, the best moment was after the avalanche ended and Caesar heard the apes and looked to see them in the trees. A wave of relief and happiness washed over me.
 
T

Thornton Reed

Member
This is easily the darkest 12a I've ever seen. Could of easily been a 15.

Anyway really enjoyed it but the convenience factor was through the roof. Massive gas tanker that doesn't get hit by the 100s of rockets and machine gun fire from the helicopters. No one seemgliy noticing all the apes leave the cells. Tunnels directly under the cells. Nova not being noticed. And finally the bloody avalanche. Thought the film was going along at a great pace up until the POW camp. The CGI work on Maurice is the best I've ever seen
 
B

brianmcdoogle

Member
I really liked this movie to the point I forgot I was watching a summer blockbuster. And, they stuck the landing, which is rare for major franchise films.

What a wonderful movie, with a wonderful performance by Serkis, and wonderful music by Giacchino.

A delight.
 
R

reggieandTFE

Member
I thought it told a bleak story in a fantastic way. The cgi, cinematography, performances and music were all top notch.

It was a little too on the head at a couple points (Woody as Kurtz, Luca giving flower the literal scene before dying, multiple pained looks from the main donkey before helping Caesar...)

But the themes it reflected on showed a much deeper take on a summer blockbuster: from slavery to the sacrifices leaders must make to adhering to a strict moral code in times of crisis.
 
N

NealMcCauley

Member
Dann good movie. I was tearing up multiple times.

The lake at the end: IMO I thought it was the same lake that Heston amd co crashed in 1000+ years from now. I was seriously expecting the tilting shot to the sky to show a ship falling, and then the camera tilts back down to a destroyed world.
 
G

GitarooMan

Member
Weckum said:
Soundtrack is amazing, and Caesar is one of the most interesting characters in movies in the last 20 years.
Click to expand...
Yeah I just saw and this has an amazing score. Giacchino's best in years. Great movie overall, watch all 3 this weekend, Caesar is an amazing character
 
S

StrangeRoboMemory

Member
Just saw this, really strong film with a slightly rickety second half. The first half or so is a fucking master class in post-apocalyptic storytelling...the pacing was so good, the whole atmosphere was killer, the film was just firing on all cylinders. After seeing Caesar's story over the past films, I was all in on this thing. And then when he gets captured...I do feel that the film kind of started to lose its way. It's just too long-winded and it becomes this prison break story. It just didn't feel like the movie, or the series in general, was leading up to this. That, combined with a few weird logical inconsistencies, made the whole package a little weaker than it could have been.

Still, it was a really, really good movie. At least as good as the second for me, maybe even a little better. Great series all around...it was thoughtful in a way that is so sorely lacking from genre film-making these days. Caesar was really put through some shit in these movies, what a character. Maybe the best CGI character ever. Feels like a real person that you could get to know.
 
F

family_guy

Member
Saw it a few hours ago. I think they strayed a bit too far from the interpersonal relationships. Seeing Caesar interact with James Franco in Rise, his son, wife, and that family in Dawn gave it a more personal element than what we got here. The little girl was okay, but it just didn't do it for me like the other movies on an emotional level.
 
S

Spectral Glider

Member
First was a pleasant surprise and second one was amazing. This one looks terrific, but drops the ball. Woody Harrelson ruined it for me honestly. Just couldn't buy him seriously. And then his monologue that has to spell out the film's only surprise element just cuts the movie's legs right off. They tease us a war between apes and humans in the beginning and then never deliver on it....and then conveniently the avalanche wipes everyone away. There were too many forced slo mo scenes of tenderness shoved in, many that you could see coming a mile away. Ape gives girl flower, very next scene he dies and girl returns it. Obvious. This one was very weak on story and execution.
 
Chozoman

Chozoman

Banned
I love, Love, LOVE Dawn, (really liked Rise, as well). That said, War was a bit of a misfire for me.

I enjoyed Dawn for its careful handling of characters and their motivations. It was nuanced and set up a story where you felt for, and understood both sides of the conflict.

In addition, Koba was the best antagonist in the trilogy by far. I understood why he was the way he was and his past clearly dictated his actions in the film.

War was a bit too ham-fisted and overt with its messaging, symbolism and characterizations. As I feared, Woody's "Colonel" was weak, both in terms of performance and motivation, and 2/3rds of the film was plodding slog of disjointed scenes.

It was a big disappointment for me personally, but probably because I hold Dawn in such high regard.

Still one of the better film series in quite some time.
 
S

Spaced Harrier

Member
For the first time I had a complete moron beside me in the cinema.

Texting constantly, I saw him residing an emoji it sticker or something at one stage. Why man?!?

He'd lean super far forward but wearing a baseball cap so he'd be in the way.

Early 20s fidgety ADD moron. I have a friend who is like that but he gets a warning before we go to the cinema with him and he behaves.
 
N

Napoleonthechimp

Member
So we've got a Nova and a Cornelius in this movie. Either those are the ancestors of the ones in the Planet of the Apes movie or the sequel (if we get one) will take place 20 years in the future.
 
V

valkyre

Member
Man I really liked that film but some important plotholes really hold it down for me...

I mean the whole escape thing is just... bad. We are talking about close to a 100 apes and literally the patrols were absolutely non existent in the entire camp. Nobody was even watching / guarding them...

Hell, a little girl literally just walked inside the camp without anyone noticing!! I mean how the hell am I supposed to ignore this... the guys are waiting for all hell to break loose with those soldiers from the north arriving and nobody even pays attention to the front door...

Then the whole escape thing, you think you are going to watch something clever, but it just bodes down to one retarded soldier deciding to walk inside the cage trying to figure out who threw mud (or poo?) at him...

I mean the movie is so damn smart and original in so many other ways and it feels like at some points the writers just said "fuck it"...
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
I absolutely loved this movie. Thought it was amazing the entire way through.
 
F

Freewheelin'

Member
Saw this tonight, emotionally it's probably the best of the trilogy, but I still prefer the first one in terms of world-building and excellent character development. It genuinely surprised me when I saw it in the cinema back in 2011,

Some scenes were absolutely brilliant in this new one tho. The scene at the start was so smooth in its camerawork and shots.

Fantastic trilogy.
 
W

WriterGK

Member
I absolutely loved this movie. I think it's great. This along with Dunkirk, Baby Driver and maybe Valerian(still need to see) this finally maybe not such a bad summer of movies after all. I think this movie is the best from the trilogy and at the minimum one of the best 3th movie in trilogy's ever made.
 
VenomousCoffee

VenomousCoffee

Member
Saw it a week ago but just saw this thread so what the heck.

I agree that it looks stunning. Obviously the cgi is excellent, but the sets and camera work are too. I also appreciated that the Colonel's motivations make sense from his perspective. He's far better than the usual Sci-Fi villain.

I thought that the prison escape was dumb (idiot guards, too many coincidences) in the way most summer movie plots are. More troubling was the Black Lives Matter reference (the blue vest on the comedic Bad Ape is a reference to Deray McKesson, as he himself called out online). I honestly think that the producers meant the parallel as a good thing; the Apes are a metaphor for oppressed minorities, they try to escape oppression and only fight back out of necessity, etc. But man, the best light you can put on it is that they are playing with fire with that kind of comparison.
 
C

Caddywompus

Member
Weckum said:
Soundtrack is amazing, and Caesar is one of the most interesting characters in movies in the last 20 years.
Click to expand...
Yeah the sound track doesn't get enough love. Probably because the last song is the weakest and the one that you leave the theater with in your head.
 
N

Nyx

Member
Watched it in the cinema with a friend earlier today and we both felt it was awesome.

What a great reboot it was.
 
S

Shamrock7r

Member
Didn't think it was strong as the first two movies, but it was still very good. I thought the use of the Avalanche was so stupid though to get rid of the humans. Like really?
 
A

AuthenticM

Member
Saw it last night.

Loved it. But I thought the ending was disappointing. I wanted some big showdown between the apes and the humans, and between Caesar and Woody. We didn't get that. In that sense, this movie is the opposite of Dawn, whereby Dawn was kinda disappointing until the showdown at the end of the movie.

That said, I'd still say it's the best of the trilogy. Though I haven't seen Rise since it came out. Maybe my opinion would change if I saw it again. I remember absolutely loving the moment when Ceasar shouted "NO!" at Malfoy.
 
T

tattooed_dwarf

Member
Great movie with some great camerawork and damn impressive visual effects. I mean that Maurice, if there weren't other CG apes, I would believe Maurice being real, well-trained orangutan. So damn impressive!
 
S

senahorse

Member
We saw this last night, and we enjoyed it. However the prison scene dragged on far too long and they seemed to be trying too hard with the comedic elements, add to that rather weak ending and it was probably the weakest of the three for us.
 
N

netguy503

Member
sasliquid said:
It's AKZ-113 that kills people. That's what they test on koba after AKZ-112 stops working.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make sense though. As Cesar bite the Pilot before AKZ-113 and the testing on Koba (he never was exposed to AKZ-113 ever I don't think) and at the end of the first movie it shows that that was spread from the pilot throughout the world.

Great movie trilogy though.
 
B

border

Member
Am I the only one that thought this looked pretty incredible in 3D? And I typically don't get anything out of 3D. I'm not sure if it's the way it was shot, or the fact that I was sitting in the second row.
 
S

sasliquid

Member
netguy503 said:
That doesn't make sense though. As Cesar bite the Pilot before AKZ-113 and the testing on Koba (he never was exposed to AKZ-113 ever I don't think) and at the end of the first movie it shows that that was spread from the pilot throughout the world.

Great movie trilogy though.
Click to expand...

I believe Koba is the first to be tested with 113 since it's been years at this point and it stopped working on Lithgow. Koba infects the Animal handler who gives it to the airplane pilot when he is trying to find James Franco.
 
Pilgrimzero

Pilgrimzero

Member
I don't know what to think about how Caesar showing Mercy ending getting him and one son and his wife killed.

I mean basically Koba was right.


Also loved the inclusion of Cornelius and Nova of the original film. Probably more that I missed
 
E

Einchy

semen stains the mountaintops
Pilgrimzero said:
I don't know what to think about how Caesar showing Mercy ending getting him and one son and his wife liked.

I mean basically Koba was right.


Also loved the inclusion of Cornelius and Nova of the original film. Probably more that I missed
Click to expand...

I think it's very interesting that Koba had a lot of reason to be distrustful of humans but his downfall is just how he went about it. But then again, he also was wrong about the first set of humans, and was right after the second, so if he hadn't done anything to the first, they wouldn't have gotten the second.
 
Pilgrimzero

Pilgrimzero

Member
Einchy said:
I think it's very interesting that Koba had a lot of reason to be distrustful of humans but his downfall is just how he went about it. But then again, he also was wrong about the first set of humans, and was right after the second, so if he hadn't done anything to the first, they wouldn't have gotten the second.
Click to expand...

That's true
 
V

Vincent Alexander

Member
I need to re-watch this. It felt a little disjointed...that some of the themes they were going for were already done, and better, in the previous two films. My overall opinion might have been hampered by the fact that I got there 8 minutes late, and my showing had 0 previews for some reason...so I missed the opening. I've never been to a showing with no previews. And the lights were up the whole time. And the volume was kind of quiet. I guess I accidentally went to a "Sensory Friendly" showing for those with autism? Didn't know my theater did that, which is kind of cool, but it wasn't advertised anywhere on Fandango when I bought my ticket. So that threw me for a loop.

error4041 said:
Also, quick question about Rise real quick, how did they explain the AKZ-112 went from curing John Lithgrow's character temporarily to killing most of humanity?
Click to expand...
DecoReturns said:
I think Franco gave him an earlier version of the "cure" before he found out Pathogens were fighting the formula a couple years later. Think they begun making changes to it (it's been a while)
Click to expand...
Avixph said:
Didn't Ceasar bite the pilot neighbor?
Click to expand...
netguy503 said:
That doesn't make sense though. As Cesar bite the Pilot before AKZ-113 and the testing on Koba (he never was exposed to AKZ-113 ever I don't think) and at the end of the first movie it shows that that was spread from the pilot throughout the world.
Click to expand...
sasliquid said:
I believe Koba is the first to be tested with 113 since it's been years at this point and it stopped working on Lithgow. Koba infects the Animal handler who gives it to the airplane pilot when he is trying to find James Franco.
Click to expand...
Sorry to quote so many, but some of these were older posts. I just re-watched the first movie about a month ago with a friend in prep for this 3rd one. The strain they used on Franco's father only worked for a period of time. Over the years, his immune system adapted and started fighting back the virus that was delivering the actual medicine. By the time we see his father regressing mid-way through the first movie, Franco explains that his immune system had gotten to the point where it was completely killing the virus before it could deliver anything anymore. Long story short: Franco and his boss start testing a strain where they beefed up the strength of the virus to hopefully overcome the immune system. Franco's boss picks up testing and goes full speed with it, and Franco warns him that they need to slow shit down. He specifically warns him that because the strain is new, they have no idea what it's effects are on humans. The first human exposed is one of the chimp handlers---when they were giving the new strain to Koba in the lab, Koba spasmed, his mask came off, and because the new strain was airborne, it filled the room. Everyone else had their masks on, but the chimp handler had his knocked off for a moment. The only silly part of this is that Franco is smart enough to warn his boss they don't know how the new strain will affect humans, but he isn't smart enough to warn and/or quarantine his chimp handler friend after he is exposed.

And that's my ramble about how it started.

(Patient 0)
latest
 
R

ronaldthump

Member
just got back.

a) thought this was a better war movie than dunkirk
b) the focus of the movie is wholely on the apes as the protagonists this time which means you're watching CGI the whole time but you never think it. Kudos to the team who did this
c) considering it is all CGI, there's a lot of humanity here in their plight
d) superbly acted on all fronts - new ape is great
e) loved the final act
the donkey turning on the humans, that infected doll (sort of saw it coming), the explosions, the avalanche wiping all the humans out
. Amazing Act 3.
f) considering what caesar
survived in movie 2, I wish he survived in this one. The death seemed a bit unneccessary and added nothing to the movie for me

Great flick. I was wondering
how they'd escape
and loved how it was executed.

8.5/10
 
R

ronaldthump

Member
border said:
Am I the only one that thought this looked pretty incredible in 3D? And I typically don't get anything out of 3D. I'm not sure if it's the way it was shot, or the fact that I was sitting in the second row.
Click to expand...

there were moments, especially at the end when I thought "I wish I watched this in 3D". Just looked insane all the
explosions and that avalanche
 
D

DeathyBoy

Banned
Fast Forward said:
I hear ya.

I'm not necessarily on board with this being the best of the trilogy, either.

Though, that may change with time. ATM, I think this was better than Rise, but a touch below Dawn. Biggest complaint for War, for me, is the "prisoner of war" sub-plot. Even than, done very well, but not my cup of tea, or what I was looking for in this series.

And yeah, CGI is out of this world in this film. Never thought it could looks so damn great so damn quick. Only about 10 years removed from Star Wars prequel Trilogy, and honestly, feels a LOT more than that, based on the GREAT advancement of CGI since then. Just AMAZING.

Honestly, I don't care if Andy Serkis gets a reward anymore. His peers, including Woody, thinks he is one of best actors of all-time. Most of his fans thinks he is an all-time great, including myself. And I sure in the fuck do not say that lightly. Andy is so damn great I'm convinced an Ape is doing so damn good acting, rather than it being human pretending to act as a Ape character. That's how damn great he is.
Click to expand...

Serkis was GOAT the second he came back to Gollum after aeons of parodies and bad skits from Gollum... and fucking killed it immedistely, being so good that The Hobbit films never regain that brilliance.

Plus his accent in The Prestige is legitimately amazing.

And his work in these films is career beat. What a God damn arc. No wonder they went "fuck it" and had entire beats told just by close up shots of Caesar.

And that kid... freaking year of stunning performances from kid actors. Moonlight (might not care for the the film, but even so), Logan and WFTPOTA
 
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