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I highly doubt this was ever planned to be the end (as nothing really ends in Hollywood), but if anything “War for the Planet of the Apes” is a stellar end to the Caesar saga. This new series’ timeline of the “Planet of the Apes” saga has proven to be filled with surprises and epic drama that once was anchored by the humans. Thanks to the amazing motion capture and excellent performance by Andy Serkis, it’s refreshing to see the series pivot finally over to the apes’ point of view. “War for the Planet of the Apes” is a downright fantastic epilogue to the journey of Caesar who went from animal victim to messiah of the new dominating race of apes.
Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both of their species and the future of the planet.
By accident the apes became the dominant race of the world, and now by fate the apes are somewhat destined to inherit the Earth. After every battle had been fought, we’re venturing deeper in to the establishing of the Planet of the Apes and how Caesar sacrificed so much to achieve a vision that was capable of sustaining his species alongside the humans. As always that doesn’t really come to fruition as humans prove to be more vicious than apes ever could be, and this leads in to a final journey to achieve some sense of vengeance. After losing his family once again, Caesar sets out to do battle not only with the Colonel, but with himself.
Constantly he’s haunted by Koba, the previous film’s enemy who took it upon himself to veer the ape colony in a darker more violent direction. The more Caesar seeks to lay down the roots for his own colony, the more he learns that Koba perhaps might have been correct all along about the futility of reasoning with human beings. Koba represents Caesar’s darker urges and his more primal side that completely ignores all of his efforts to side step his primal, violent instincts. Koba becomes kind of Caesar’s Darth Vader, the darker animal and dictator that he could become, and he walks a fine line even when pushed at his worst and most vindictive. It’s an internal struggle handled beautifully thanks to all including the collective performances of Serkis and Toby Kebbell, who returns. Along with the excellent motion capture, Andy Serkis’ performance is just downright impressive.
Star Serkis continues delivering a criminally underrated turn as the series inadvertent protagonist Caesar whose journey has been filled with heart ache, loss, and incomprehensible destruction. Serkis is able to convey so much with the aide of CGI, expressing nuance and pain through his very expressive eyes and quiet humility. Along with Serkis, the entire cast are on their A game, including Steve Zahn as new character “Bad Ape,” Woody Harrelson as nemesis Colonel, and Karin Konoval as Caesar’s ever loyal friend Maurice.
“War for the Planet of the Apes” truly is a great finale to the journey of Caesar, setting up what’s been a pretty flawless series of movies that open up such a unique and turbulent new world.