War for the Planet of the Apes is a 2017 science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves, starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Ty Olsson, Amiah Miller, and Gabriel Chavarria.  It is the third installment in the Planet of the Apes series, following the confrontation between the apes, led by Caesar (Andy Serkis), and the humans, led by The Colonel (Woody Harrelson), who is obsessed with wiping out Caesar and his tribe to preserve humanity’s dominance of Earth.

The story has a bit more of a slower pace to it and despite the title, isn’t focused on any large scale battles. I did go into the theater hoping to see more of what the previous film ended on. The apes learning and utilizing human weapons to wage war against those attempting to harm them. Instead, the story focuses on these characters and this journey and eventual rise. It’s pretty deep and there’s a serious since of desperation on both sides of the fence. I appreciated the character development surrounding Caesar and how this is essentially his story. It does end on a sad but hopeful note, concluding trilogy successfully. (4 out of 5)

The film features a great roster of characters who’re well-written and well-rounded.  Caesar is the main protagonist. Loved Rocket and Luca, who is just awesome.  Really liked the orangutan Maurice.  He definitely brought a lot of depth to the film especially when it comes to maintaining Caesar’s civility as well as his relationship with Nova.  Nova was a really good character. Another of Caesar’s supporting characters that stood out was Lake, Blue Eye’s mate.  Loved how she supported him.

The main antagonist of the film is The General.  The guy is ruthless, he’s psychotic but he does have sound reason.  He’s mad but trying to preserve humanity.  Red is a douchebag but he does have a developing arc.  His motivations for self preservation is understandable. One character I wished they would’ve done something with is Preacher.  It would’ve been nice if he’d hunted the apes then later on helped them due to the General ruthlessness especially seeing how humane the apes acted and how they were treated.  He just feels underutilized. (4 out of 5)

The casting and performances are just excellent and of the highest quality. A big thumbs up to Andy Serkis for his performance as Caesar. He’s not only great with the motion capture but awesome with the voice performance. I loved Woody Harrelson as the General. It’s great seeing him play such a serious character he does it without it seeming cartoonish. I loved the supporting cast which includes Karin Konoval (Maurice), Terry Notary (Rocket), Ty Olsson (Red), Michael Adamthwaite (Luca), Amiah Miller (Nova), and Gabriel Chavarria (Preacher). I was really surprised with Steve Zahn as Bad Ape. (4 out of 5)

Visually, this is one of the most impressive looking movies of the year. It features some of the most impressive looking motion capture. The level of detail with the character design is fucking amazing. The imprints in the skin, the attention to the fur, the reflection in the eyes; just everything about the ape presentation is of the highest quality. The camera angles are done exceptionally well capturing both the grand feeling of the environments, the serious tone of the story, special moments between characters, and the very intense ones as well. I love the set designs which look great. The military base, the apes hideout, just everything looks good. (5 out of 5)

Michael Giacchino returns and just gives a compelling score. Giacchino is some of the best talent in the business. He’s done music for a lot of great movies including The Incredibles, Star Trek, Let Me In, Super 8; just a lot of great films.  There is so much emotion in the movie and the music fleshes it out effectively. The overall sound design is done exceptionally well and is of the highest quality. (5 out 5)

Superb writing on the side of the writers with Matt Reeves’ well-developed direction. Reeves has a good eye for putting the characters in the forefront while maintaining a deep and engaging narrative. I liked the pacing but admit the second and third acts are pretty slow. I would’ve loved to have seen where the apes take on the military similar to the ending fight of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

There’s strong characterization that makes for some really moving moments as well as some intense interactions. Two of the most intense scenes are Caesar being held at gunpoint in front of everyone and the first sit down between Caesar and the General. The evolution of the virus to make humans more animalistic was a good choice.

I did question some conveniences in the writing, one being how Nova sneaks into the military base with literally no problem. Or the lack of development of Preacher when it was presented that he knew what the military was doing was wrong. It would’ve shown that not all of the military were complete assholes. (4 out of 5)

In the end, War for the Planet of the Apes is a great conclusion to a great series. The film has few problems mainly with some of the conveniences in the writing and the slow pacing of the film. However, the movie excels with the emotional impactful story, the well-written characters, the talented casting and performances, the great music and sound design, the great direction, and of course, the impressive visuals. War for the Planet of the Apes gets 5 out of 5.