War for the Planet of the Apes review!

War for the Planet of the Apes, or WFTPOTA if you want to use an acronym that no one will understand, is the newest instalment of the Planet of the Apes series. With it's first two movies; Rise and Dawn, both scoring 7.6 on IMDB, it's fair to say expectations were high. So does it live up to expectations or does the third movie fail to impress like many other third movies have before? (yes, i'm talking about you Spider-man 3). Find out by reading on because this is my WFTPOTA review! There will only be very mild spoilers so sit back, read on and enjoy!

"Apes together, STRONG!" 

Director Matt Reeves took on the task of directing Dawn after the director of the first movie left the project. Reeves did a great job of expanding the world and showing the growth of the apes and the disease that had spread world wide. After the first movie showed a young Caesar grow to be the leader of a powerful army of apes and even develop the ability to speak in that cinematic triumph of a scene (Watch it here), the second movie was not going to be able to rely on its CGI apes or even the fact they can speak. Reeves handled this well as the focus of the second movie, dawn, was shifted to the ongoing conflict between the apes and the humans. The story manages to further the love fans had for Caesar and his family. After Dawn, Reeves had a mammoth task of staying away from recycling plot lines and finding a fresh exciting way to deliver the next chapter of Caesars story.

The third instalment, War, tells a very emotional story from the eyes of Caesar, the ageing leader of a group of apes fighting for survival in a world where military groups are hellbent on seeing the apes put to work or killed. The movie shows a very strong and experienced Caesar who's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. Family. He has grown out of touch from humans and feels hate and rage towards them since the climax of the events from Dawn. One of the best things about the movie is how it shows Caesars mind set and view of the damaged world that he is having to raise his family in. He is very low on hope and haunted by the events of the past. It's this aspect that plays into how well this movie deals with Caesar's character arc.

The movie sees the return of fan favourite orangutan, Maurice who is arguably the most important character to the plot of this movie. Maurice is Caesars constant reminder of the good and hope of the world. He's the right hand man who has a very innocent and positive outlook on life, focusing on emotion and caring for his fellow apes, especially Caesar. This element of the movie does a great job of humanising the story and allows for audiences to keep in touch with their care for the apes. With audiences siding with, and supporting the apes, the movie brilliantly delivers heart filled moments and really keeps watchers on the edge of their seats wondering what's going to happen.

Woody Harrelson plays 'The Colonel', the antagonist of the movie, who wishes to re-align the hierarchy of species and place humans back on top. The movie creates an excellent dynamic between Caesar and the Colonel pitting two damaged characters against one another. Harrelson gives a believable performance and really makes Caesar re-evaluate what his views and beliefs are. The Colonel pushes Caesar to his limits and that's all i'll say with the worry of spoiling anything.

The soundtrack and dialogue that War uses is an incredible tool and aids the effect and style the director aimed for. There is limited dialogue in the movie with some of the apes and humans being unable to speak but the dialogue that is present is very powerful and even humorous at times. The back forth between Caesar and The Colonel are definitely a highlight of the movie. The music used in the movie is super cinematic and this just really emphasises some key moments. It keeps audiences interest at times where there isn't much dialogue.

Of course, just like the first two, the movie CGI is fantastic and once again Andy Serkis does an excellent job of mastering Caesar's voice and movements. This really shows on screen as audiences can easily forget that the apes are actually motion captured by humans because the movements are so natural and realistic. The few action scenes included in this movie are great! Very quick and intense scenes display the apes skills and intelligence as well as the brutality of the humans. One of the best things in this movie is the fact that it relies on its narrative supports it with action moments rather than the action being supported by the narrative.

"All of human history has led to this moment"

As for the negatives of this movie, there aren't many at all. However, the movie can be a little slow paced at points in the middle which is arguably necessary for the big moments to hit as well as they do. A big part of the movie focuses on the layered moments of Caesars pain or contemplation. These moments are expectedly absent of action or excitement but if they're misunderstood or under appreciated, I can imagine the scenes would appear quite boring. Adding on to this, the movie does not have as many action scenes as the previous. Although this does not damage the movie, those hoping for an all out ape action movie will leave the cinema disappointed. As you can see, the negatives just mentioned aren't actually very negative. It's rare that I watch a big blockbuster movie and find as few negatives as I have here. An incredible achievement by the director and the rest of the crew involved in making this movie.

War of the Planet of the Apes is a story driven movie which focuses on Caesars point of view and really aims to give audiences an insight into Caesars mind to really provide an understanding of who Caesar is. One of my favourite things about the apes series is how different each movie is to the last whilst still keeping the plots smooth and consistent. The first was a great origin of Caesar with a lot of emotion starting off very closed but expanding at the end. Leading into the second, which was a massive action flick showing Caesar at his prime against his deadliest foe. The third, showing the world from Caesars view taking the movie back to its emotional roots but also including the familiar action elements from the second. The best thing about this movie is how classically cinematic it feels. With the powerful limited dialogue matched with the heart of the characters and the clarity of the plot, the movie is excellent and is a perfect third movie in the Apes series. Overall, War of the Planet of the Apes gets a blog of steel rating of 10/10.  
This officially makes it the highest rated movie out of all the movies reviewed so far on The Blog of Steel! Planet of the Apes must be considered among the best trilogies of all time.

That's all for this week, go and watch WFTPOTA trust me it's worth it! If you liked what you read or even disliked what you read, tell me why by commenting below or tweeting me @Akash_Sond. As always, if you want to keep up to date with the blog, click the google follow button at the top right of the screen and/or subscribe by email using the box just below to be notified whenever I post. I'll be back next week with another post reviewing a new Justice League trailer that will hopefully release during the week because of SDCC (San Deigo comic con). See you then!