Andy
Serkis Woody Harrelson Steve Zahn Karin Konoval
Terry Notary Amiah Miller Ty Olsson Aleks Paunovic Devyn Dalton
In the 2014 rendition of the Planet of the Apes series, Caesar as the
beloved leader of the ape colony, tries to protect it from the encroachment of
humans on their territory. Because
he and some reasonable humans are able to negotiate terms, the humans are
allowed to work on a dam that will provide for desperately needed electrical
power. The truce is disrupted by
distrustful parties on both sides—Dreyfus, one of the leaders of the military,
and Kobo, the ape who retains resentment toward humans for the years he was
held as a research subject. Terrible
betrayals and battles ensue, with the result that even though peace was
attained, Caesar has been warned that the military is planning another attack
on the ape community.
This rendition is a battle of wills between the
Colonel (Harrelson) and Caesar (Serkis).
The army led by the Colonel has attacked the ape colony, leaving
devastation in its wake. Caesar
tries repeatedly to negotiate and reason with the Colonel, but the Colonel has
gone slightly off his rocker, with a God complex and the firm belief that if he
doesn’t wipe out the apes, they will wipe out the human race. Caesar even tries to communicate with
him simply by staring at him (hoping to shame him), but to no avail. The Colonel is impervious.
Caesar wants to go after the Colonel on his
own, advising the colony to stay put, and leaving his young son Cornelius with
Lake, but Maurice and a couple others insist they go with him. Along the way, they come upon a girl
and a dying solder who are mute and they have to figure that out, but Maurice
is adamant about not leaving the girl behind by herself, so she becomes part of
their small band. This character seems extraneous to me,
and I wonder about the purpose of its inclusion.
What they eventually discover is that most of
the ape colony has been captured and enslaved by the Colonel, who has one of
the traitorous apes around to manage the enslaved, Rex (Olsson), a Kobo
follower. They hope to get inside
and rescue everyone, and once again, Caesar insists on going in alone while the
others wait a distance behind.
Unfortunately, Caesar gets captured, and it looks like all hope is
lost. But with a little luck and
the reconnaissance of Maurice et al., dramatic things are about to happen.
Director Matt Reeves and his writing partner
Mark Bomback are a winning team in bringing fresh ideas to the franchise to
keep it exciting and filled with tension.
They highlight the ethical dilemmas and flaws of leaders who may or may
not understand the implications of their actions. They underscore the importance of strategy in a conflict and
the elements that go into eliciting the loyalty of one’s team. They also seem to be keenly aware of
the combination of luck and skill that go into military victories.
Technological wonders in the series continue
with the action capture of Serkis’ Caesar and the visual effects by Weta
Digital most striking. The
extended battle scenes do become tedious in places, and I suspect they are
primarily to show off the technology.
Humor is lavishly inserted in this version by
the character “Bad Ape” (Steve Zahn), who is a different species from the apes
and one who escaped an American zoo, avoiding Simian flu. Softness is provided by the lovely mute
girl with the luminous eyes and expressive face played by Amiah Miller. She shows much needed tenderness toward
the apes and lends meaningful aid, although I do not think this important
enough to have included the character..
Despite this being the third in the reboot series, the filmmakers keep the story of the apes interesting and fresh.
Grade: B By Donna
R. Copeland
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