It has been two years since the events of DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and Caesar's group of intelligent apes are on the run (and at war with) a military faction called Alpha-Omega. After tragedy strike sat Caesar’s hidden camp, he is on a mission of revenge that will make collide with a mad military Colonel. His quest has him (and his band of three apes- Maurice, Rocket, and Luca) picking up a mute human girl named Nova and a comic relief English speaking ape called Bad Ape as they head to the Californian border high in the snow covered mountains. He discovers the Simian flu is mutating and causing a new complication for the surviving humans one by one. Then also he discovers the Colonel is readying his border military complex for a battle.

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES is the conclusion of the story of Caesar and his tribe of intelligent apes and this movie also sets the stage for a fourth PLANET OF THE APES movies which I think could logically be the remake of the original PLANET OF THE APES movie from the 1960s. Most of the CGI and motion capture used to bring the apes to the big screen is very photo realistic, but there are a few shots where the CGI apes and humans don’t quite mesh in the same scene. It continues the story in the first two movies with intelligence, tragedy, and humor along with foreshadowing thrown in the mix. You also have parallels to APOCALPYSE NOW as Woody Harrelson plays the colonel very much like Colonel Kurtz while Caesar is very haunted by the ghost of the villainous ape Koba which he killed in the previous movie. The arc for Caesar is very interesting as he struggles with his own humanity (or role as a compassionate ape). The music score and cinematography make this the most epic movie in the reboot series along with making to like a Western revenge tale (with talking Apes and humans as the bad guys). I do hope there is a next PLANET OF THE APES movie and it is a remake of the original PLANET OF THE APES since the end credits of the first movie and the few elements in the new movie are bringing the storyline to collide with the original movie which these last three movies are inspired by as a prequel trilogy of sorts. If you liked the previous two movies, you should rush to go see it.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Feature audio commentary by Director Matt Reeves that talks about the various homage (to the original series) and technical difficulties of making the movie

10 deleted and extended scenes with optional audio commentary by the director on why the cuts were made- many of the deleted scenes feature unfinished visual effects or the actors in mocap suits

Featurettes:
WAGING WAR AGAINST THE PLANET OF THE APES- a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie which featured new challenges for the motion capture technology in the snow and the director watching war movies to inspire the story of the new sequel in addition to seeing how much green screen was involved and the actors (in the mocap suits) feeling a little cold in the winter scenes).
ALL ABOUT CAESAR- actor Andy Serkis talks about the evolution of Caesar
WETA: PUSHING BOUNDARIES- a look at the digital effects work of WETA from photorealistic ape characters to the other digital wizardy
MUSIC FOR THE APES- behind-the-scenes look at the recording of the music with the director and composer
APES: THE MEANING IN IT ALL- this one focuses on the history of the original Planet of the Apes series and the meaning inside each of the five movies
THE APE’S SAGA: A HOMAGE- a look at all of the references back to the original movies that appear in the new APES movies

Concept art gallery
Teaser trailer and two theatrical trailers

The movie is also available in standard definition on DVD in the combo pack and a code for the digital copy to instantly stream and download

FINAL ANALYSIS: WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES is a fantastic way to wrap up the re-imagined prequel series while paying homage to the original movies. The extras are a great look at the making of the movie while looking back at the original series too.

This review is ©11-1-2017 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com