It seems appropriate that I heard news of director George
Romero’s passing while leaving a showing of “War for the Planet of the Apes.”
Romero was a master at using genre filmmaking as a lens through which to
explore social issues like civil rights, consumerism, militarism, and
xenophobia. The messages in Romero’s films were rarely subtle, but they were
always effective. Twentieth Century Fox’s new series of “Planet of the Apes”
films is one of the current popular franchises to carry on that legacy, weaving
timely political subtext into a story that warns against human arrogance and
fear. And the latest installment mostly does the visionary director proud, even
if it does end up stumbling slightly while crossing the finish line.
“War for the
Planet of the Apes” is the final chapter in a trilogy of films centering around
Caesar — once again portrayed by Andy Serkis through endlessly impressive motion
capture technology — the reluctant leader of the ape rebellion. The previous
two films detailed how that uprising took root after a “Simian Flu” virus wiped
out large parts of the human population while bestowing apes with heightened
intelligence. The film begins with the last vestiges of humanity still engaged
in combat against the apes, though despite the “War” title, the film takes
place mostly in the aftermath of that struggle.
Following an
excellent opening battle sequence, the rest of the narrative takes the form of
a straightforward revenge tale, after an act of mercy from Caesar results in
tragedy for his clan. The ape leader abandons his command to seek vengeance
against The Colonel (Woody Harrelson channeling Brando’s “Apocalypse Now” character),
whom he believes responsible.
Having long
since established which side of the quarrel are the true savages, “War” manages
to succeed in making its audience root against its own species, but does so by
sacrificing some of the moral complexity of the previous films. Without
villainous apes and decent humans to balance out the conflict, things are more
black-and-white this time, and there’s nothing as compelling as the previous
installment’s exploration into the inherent dangers of tribalism and cycles of
violence.
You can feel
the mechanics of the film grinding along as director Matt Reeves (who also
helmed the superior “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”) works to provide an
emotionally satisfying conclusion to Caesar’s story, while also delivering a serious
reflection on our troubled times. Not for nothing does the plot boil down to a
conflict brought on by a unstable, megalomaniacal leader obsessed with building
an enormous, likely useless border wall.
Taking place
in the same universe as the earlier “Planet of the Apes” films, we know how
this will all shake out and there’s a sense of inevitability that robs the film
of some of its dramatic stakes. The film is unrelentingly bleak, with the only
source of levity provided by Steve Zahn as Bad Ape, his name taken from the
most common phrase he heard from the humans at the zoo he once called home.
What makes
the film work, though, is the remarkable Andy Serkis, who continues to be a
pioneer in acting with motion capture. The soulful Caesar is an incredible
creation, a perfect melding of performance and technology. Romero’s allegories
tended to land like a punch to the gut, and while “War for the Planet of the
Apes” doesn’t strike as powerful a blow, it still finds a way to leave its own
mark.
Check back on Friday for additional film coverage, including a review of Christopher
Nolan’s “Dunkirk.”
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2017.
