A Thrilling Epic In 'War For The Planet Of The Apes'

Apparently all the new Planet of the Apes films needed to do to really hit a home run was take the humans out of the equation.

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It’s what this whole trilogy has been leading to, really, as we dipped our toes into the rise, dawn and now war of this burgeoning civilization of apes and the humans who are desperately and often dishonorably fighting for their survival.

“War for the Planet of the Apes“ is a riveting and surprisingly poignant epic that’s a shade above the rest of the franchise dreck populating every multiplex in the country. It’s as though director Matt Reeves, screenwriter Mark Bomback and the production actually put care and thought into what they were doing with their characters.

Reeves wastes no time getting the action started with a gripping opening battle. We enter the world through the eyes of some terrified intruders. A group of human soldiers walk through the woods in search of Caesar (Andy Serkis). They don’t know whether he’s still alive, but their leader is hell-bent on exterminating the apes.