As a "war" for the planet of the apes, this movie fell a bit short of its mark. However, that doesn't mean the entire movie did.
I wish this movie had a different title. "Story" would have been more appropriate.
My son and I went into the film expecting epic battle scenes of ape vs man. Thanks to the previews we also expected a bit of ape vs ape conflict as well. In other words, we were geared up for an action movie.
That is not what we saw.
This movie was more subtle. Apparently, it was not intended to be a final epic battle (there is one, but it was far less than I expected). It was intended to connect the dots between 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes to 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to 1968's Planet of the Apes. The battles were not the star of the movie, the story was. It achieved that purpose. I now have a better understanding of the origin of the world on which Charlton Heston and his fellow astronauts landed.
The emotion displayed by these computer generated apes was truly amazing.
Unfortunately, that is not what I paid $20 at the theater to see. I typically only go to the movies to see kids movies with my children or movies where the effects play such a significant role that I feel I need to see them on a giant screen. Every once in a while, I will attend a movie that I just can't wait to see like Baby Driver. I could have waited for this one.
I did not see an edge of my seat, yell, cheer, and throw popcorn extravaganza. This movie felt more like a very good rental rather than a big screen must see.
Don't get me wrong, there is action and some battle scenes... but not enough for a movie with "War" in the title.
Perhaps I would have enjoyed the movie more if my expectations were altered by titling the film: Story of the Planet of the Apes, Prison Break of the Planet of the Apes, or Ape-ocalypse Now.
Any of those three would have been more appropriate titles.
This little girl's story is more compelling than the "war".
The story is compelling. The characters, especially Caesar and his group of closest friends, are very interesting. Most of the story involves this small group of apes as they attempt to accomplish a very important mission. During their journey, the group must balance rage and compassion. The filmmakers did a great job of showing this struggle within the group. What makes it more amazing is they had to do it without the aid of real actors. These were computer generated apes that needed to make me connect with their emotions. Somehow, they pulled it off. I truly felt for these apes.
In addition, the story included many important details explaining how Earth went from a human dominated planet when Caesar was an infant to an Ape dominated one when Charlton Heston says, "Take your stinking paws off of me you damn dirty ape!" It also makes the audience think about love, compassion, ignorance, hatred, and what "humanity" truly is.
So perhaps Philosophy of the Planet of the Apes would have also worked as a title.
Possible spoilers below!
What we have here is a failure to communicate... what this movie is really about.
The vast majority of the action and suspense in the movie is not derived from "war" at all. This movie is a classic prisoner of war movie. If you were to compare it to a WWII movie, it is far closer to The Great Escape than The Longest Day.
And that is OK. I like prisoner of war movies. But they are definitely different from the action packed ones. I don't necessarily need to see prisoner of war movies on the big screen... unless it is one of the best of the genre. This movie is not that.
Perhaps the best title for this film would have been Ape-ocalypse Now.
The horror. The horror.
"The Colonel" (he has no other name) played by Woody Harrelson, shares a striking resemblance to Apocalypse Now's Colonel Kurtz, brilliantly portrayed by Marlon Brando. I don't just mean physically. The two characters share many similarities. It was if the writer said, "I really want to make a PG13 rated version of Apocalypse Now. Let's toss in some apes and make it a Planet of the Apes movie".
That is actually not a bad thing. Just like Kurtz, this Colonel is a prime example of what war can do to a man's psyche. It's not pretty. But neither is war. Perhaps it was a good message for my son to receive. War isn't "cool". It's destructive physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Much of the loss suffered in war can never be recovered. It changes people... and the world.
I guess the big question is: did I like the movie?
My answer is a very lukewarm "yes".
I was never bored. It tied up the trilogy nicely and explained how the Earth became the planet on which Heston landed. Therefore, it wasn't a complete miss. I was just expecting a little more action.
If I had it to do over again, I would have waited and rented this movie.
Upon further reflection, perhaps it is not the movie in which I am disappointed... it is the advertising campaign. Although, the filmmakers made a quality film, the advertisers made a mistake in how they sold it.
Geeky Dad's Movie Guide
Number of times I fell asleep: 0
Number of eye rolls: 0
Number of face palms: 1 (Thanks to trenod's comment below about the gas tank.)
Number of times my kid asked to go to the bathroom or get food out of sheer boredom: 0
Number of times I checked steemit: 0
Number of times I said "That's ridiculous": 1 (Thanks again trendo! How did Caesar get missed so many times?)
Did my kid like it: I only brought my 12 year old son. My 10 year old daughter is too young. He enjoyed it quite a bit.
Would I see it without my kids: I would rent it... I needed to see how the trilogy ended.
Full price/Matinee/Rental/Free/Not worth the time: Rental or perhaps see it at the cheap theater