An intense, exciting adventure story (in 3D)
that has been wonderfully photographed. (Review by Patrick Compton - 8)
I’m not usually a fan of so-called movie
franchises, which invariably dip in quality the longer they are extended, but
I’m very partial to the Apes series,
the third episode of which has just landed in Durban.
It’s a sobering experience to view the
frequently monstrous behaviour of human beings through the eyes of apes that
are being oppressed by them, giving rise to gloomy thoughts about humanity
being the greatest threat to the continued existence of this planet.
Brilliantly co-written and directed by Matt
Reeves, War for the Planet of the Apes
is an intense, exciting adventure story (in 3D) that has been wonderfully
photographed. The somewhat world-weary leader of the apes, Caesar, is a
miraculous contrivance, created in motion-capture by Andy Serkis (who played
Gollum in the Lord of the Rings
series). Virtually from the first shot, the audience is solidly on the side of
the apes as they seek to evade the human onslaught.
What is particularly impressive about the
movie – even more so than in the first two editions – is the degree of
confidence it has in its created world. The ape characters are utterly
plausible and sympathetic and audiences will have no difficulty in identifying
with the movie’s simian characters who are at the centre of the narrative.
This epic 148-minute picture opens with the
apes and humans at war. After a brief battle in a forest, Caesar sends some
human captives back to their leader (a Colonel Kurtz-like character straight
out of Heart of Darkness played with
nasty relish by Woody Harrelson) with a message of peace. Not surprisingly it
is ignored, and the battle continues. After a sneak attack on the apes’
compound next to a spectacular waterfall, a devastated Caesar embarks with some
of his comrades on a rescue and revenge mission directed at the Colonel’s
heavily fortified POW camp.
It would have been easy for Reeves to use
crass metaphor to make easy points about the state of the world today, but
fortunately he largely resists this temptation. Instead we get an almost
old-fashioned adventure story with some tremendous action sequences, leavened
by occasional sprinklings of humour.
The movie’s technical achievements are
remarkable with the band of apes, chimps and orangutans convincingly presented.
Communication between the characters is sometimes in English and sometimes in
grunts (with subtitles explaining what is said). All of it seems completely
natural and unforced.
Reeves has hinted at another episode, but it
would not be giving away too much to say that this third episode provides us
with an emotionally satisfying conclusion to what has been a marvellous tale.
The film opened in Durban on Friday, July 14,
2017 – Patrick Compton
Posts
