Rise was a simple but effective sci-fi reboot of a series long-since defunct. Dawn was a brilliant expansion of possibility for the franchise, turning a simple (sci-fi, coming of age) conceit into a complex apocalyptic war drama. Now War has evolved into a grandiose medium of storytelling: Not unlike in other similar franchises, what started as basic ideas ("Apes together strong") have become iconic rallying points. Despite the title, the film is often more drama than war-action, and when the violence does erupt, it's tragic and mournful and consequences soon follow.
Several years after Dawn, when the simian flu had ravaged the human population and war erupted between the apes and factions of soldiers in California, the flu has mutated. Now those who contract it lose their ability to speak, thereby superficially reverting to a primitive, animalistic state. Of course, they still retain their humanity, as we see in one particular young girl who has been cast out of the human community. Once taken in by the apes, she proves an empathetic, brave, and resourceful vehicle for liberation. But the prejudice other humans feel for her and others like her is of central concern here, and none more than their leader's.
Woody Harrelson plays The Colonel, leader of the ruthless military faction called Alpha-Omega (yes, carrying all the biblical baggage, as we'll discuss later). He is an enemy distinctly akin to Kurtz in Apocalypse Now; apart from other similar images and plot points with that film in Dawn and War, here the comparison points double when we see "Ape-pocalypse Now" scrawled in graffiti, the colonel's rebellious, independent colony of soldiers, and his distinctive flair for torturous violence. The sadistic Colonel, having seduced some apes into serving his cause ("Donkeys" he mockingly calls them, i.e. Donkey Kong), sends out messages of fear and misinformation while undertaking guerrilla raids that muddy the waters of honorable warfare. His desperation, we learn, has also alienated him from other human communities, and the final climax of this film (SPOILER ALERT) is between him and an opposing army of humans, not apes.
The denouement here is super interesting and could take all day to unpack, because while his men are defending themselves from the other humans, and the apes he had enslaved are escaping the compound, the Colonel drinks himself to oblivion in his private room after learning he has contracted the simian flu and is mute. When Caesar approaches him, we see in his eyes the pain and fear of seeing himself, and he can't live with it. Yes, the franchise is still concerned with the dangers of playing God. Yes, it's still dealing with survival in a post-apocalyptic world. But in War we see how our desire for peace is undermined by our propensity for violence, and the toll it takes on everyone involved. It's also an arrestingly timely franchise: Apart from its complicated vision of racism (/speciesism?), it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the similarities between the macho, violent, wall-erecting colonel and our own current commander in chief.
Writer/director Matt Reeves continues his winning strategy from Dawn, breaking the mold of summer blockbusters and mixing genres: war movie, family drama, revenge allegory, social criticism, post-apocalyptic science fiction, psychological thriller. Sound like a lot? It is, but his pitch-perfect emotional intelligence keeps everything grounded and accessible. We're in the thick of the action, absorbed by the drama, from the get-go. It's definitely a war movie, but like Dawn, it concerns a war of ideals, morals, and hope more than one of guns and bombs. We see the toll war takes on its key players, and when Reeves takes us up close and personal as the firelight flickers on characters' faces, the movie sings. And if that's not enough, he hangs biblical references on his characters and situations, ramping up the scale so that this series might become an epic before all is said and done.
Andy Serkis deserves an Oscar nomination. Caesar, haunted by breaking his "ape shall not kill ape" law, sees visions of Koba reminding him of the cost of violence. After the colonel slaughters his family, Caesar embarks on a mission of revenge while the surviving apes set out to find a new home. He wrestles with his love for the humans, bitterness and hatred of the war, aging, building a family, protecting his friends, and his ideals of mercy and revenge. Before long, Caesar transforms into a Moses-like figure, a mythic war hero who prefers peace, a somewhat unwilling leader of a nation, a murderer who values life, haunted by the loss of a family and determined to save his people from incarceration and death. Ultimately, he leads his people to a paradise in the desert and succumbs to his fate before entering himself. Overkill? Maybe, but it's damn effective anyway. I know I'm watching a CG image, but my heart doesn't accept that; there's not a moment we don't see Serkis peering out at us with those big watery eyes that stole our hearts in The Two Towers. He didn't win big then, but I'm hoping he'll at least get the recognition he deserves here for a stirring, resonant performance unlike any yet this year.
The most memorable character, however, is Bad Ape, played by Steve Zahn. Initially little more than comic relief, his character develops quickly into a fascinating show-stealing chimp whose eccentricities belie a sweetness and insight that reinvigorates the movie about halfway through. His struggles against self-doubt and his sincere ambivalence between self-preservation and liberating the apes is the stuff of modern politics. No less astounding is Maurice, played by Karin Konoval, who was a sort of minor moral guide in Dawn but now asserts himself (herself? We're never exactly sure) as a leading player in advising Caesar and caring for a young human girl affected by the simian flu.
We have to wonder: Is this the end? It certainly feels like a finale, especially with the death of its main character. With such a strong sense of purpose, character, and place, the series could easily continue its streak of technological magic and dynamic storytelling. This film has the balls to bring the series to an end, perhaps continuing on with the old original films of apes living in a desert land like Mad Max. I'm certain, though, we'll see more of this successful franchise, simply because unplanned series don't usually end on their highest note (sad but true, no?). I hope the filmmakers stick to doing what they do best: making challenging, provocative, intelligent entertainment that evolves like its subjects.
IMDb: War for the Planet of the Apes
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