Review - Planet of the Apes (2011-2017)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, with the newest Planet of the Apes movie, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, soon arriving in theaters, I feel it's now time to talk about the previous three Planet of the Apes movie, which were as follows: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes, released respectively in 2011, 2014, and 2017. 

       So, 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt, opens with a chimp being taken from her jungle home, ending up as a test subject at a San Francisco based laboratory called GenSys. It's here where we meet Dr. Will Rodman, who is working on a serum called ALZ-112, which is a viral-based serum meant to heal all neurological ailments, such as Alzheimer's and autism. Unfortunately, the one successful subject is the chim we saw earlier, known as Bright Eyes. However, she begins showcasing aggressive behaviors, and is put down. Will's boss, a man named Jacobs, gives Will another chance, but to take ALZ-112 back to formula. However, Will's assistant, Franklin, finds a newborn infant chimp in Bright Eyes' cage, meaning it was maternal protectiveness that she was displaying. Will ends up taking the little one home, where he takes care of his ailing father Charles. Will and Charles begin to notice high levels of intelligence with the young chimp, who they name Caesar, and Will illegally slips some vials of ALZ-112 from the lab at GenSys, and uses the serum on Charles, whose condition improves almost instantly. 

     After an incident involving the Rodman's douchebag neighbor Hunsiker, Will takes Caesar to a vet named Caroline Aranha, who is amazed with Caesar. Caroline begins to spend more time with Will, Charles, and Caesar, and we see Caroline and Will become a couple over time. As time goes, Caesar gets a lot bigger. And, unfortunately, antibodies develop within Charles, and his condition worsens, leading to another confrontation with Hunsiker, which results in Caesar attacking the bastard and getting taken to a San Bruno ape sanctuary run by John Landon and his piece of shit son named Dodge. Unfortunately, Caesar doesn't get along with the other apes, led by Rocket, but does form a kinship with an orangutan named Maurice, who can communicate with sign language just like Caesar. 

      Looking for a more aggressive take on the ALZ line, Will returns to GenSys to develop a more potent and gaseous version called ALZ-113. And, the first of many apes brought in to test the 113 is a bonobo named Koba, who has been tested on many times before. Unfortunately, Franklin is accidentally exposed during a test of the 113. Will, meanwhile, attempts to give the 113 to Charles, who refuses it and dies peacefully. Also, Will does everything he can to get Caesar back, but Caesar eventually decides to stay behind, and sneaks out to collect canisters of the 113, which increases the intelligence of the apes in the sanctuary, including the likes of Maurice, Rocket, and Cornelia, all of whom become loyal to Caesar. Caesar then leads a mass breakout, fries Dodge with water and his cattle prod, and frees more apes at both San Francisco Zoo and the lab at GenSys. 

       A standoff between Caesar's apes and the SFPD on the Golden Gate Bride leads to Jacobs' death at Koba's hands, and the apes find their freedom in Muir Woods. Will attempts to reason with Caesar to return home, but Caesar reassures his father figure "Caesar IS home." Will, realizing how much Caesar has truly grown, leaves Caesar and the apes in peace. Meanwhile, Hunsiker, who was infected with the 113 virus because of Franklin, goes off to his job as an airline pilot, and begins to spread a plague that marks the beginning of humanity's end. 

       So, after the debacle of the 2001 Tim Burton Planet of the Apes, this movie was a breath of fresh air to the previously iconic Planet of the Apes franchise. The idea that advanced medical science would lead to both the apes uprising and the decline of humanity is definitely an interesting way to reinvent the lore of the franchise. The human cast of James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, and David Oyelowo were all really good. But, it was the mocap performances by the likes of Andy Serkis, Karin Konoval, and Terry Notary that were the real star of the movie. I absolutely loved Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and I give it a rating of 5/5. 

      2014 saw Matt Reeves take over the franchise with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The movie showcases that the mass spread of the ALZ-113 virus, referred to as the Simian Flu due to its effects in enhancing the intelligence of apes, wiping out most of humanity, with only a handful of naturally immune survivors. Caesar, meanwhile, has been leading his community of apes peacefully in the Muir Woods, with the trio of Maurice, Luca, Rocket, and Koba at his side. Also, Caesar and Cornelia have two sons together: Blue Eyes and the newborn Cornelius. Rocket also has a son named Ash, who is best friends with Blue Eyes. 

        However, a human party wanders into Muir Woods, and a man named Carver accidentally injures Ash, and the rest of the party, led by Malcolm, arrives, as does Caesar and the apes, with Caesar demanding the humans leave. What were the humans doing in the apes territory? Well, those they formed a survivor's community in the ruins of San Francisco, and the power is off. However, there is a hydroelectric dam that can restore power to the city, but the dam is in the apes' territory. Malcolm reports to community leader Dreyfus, who reassures the community that they will still do all they can to restore power. 

       Caesar leads his entire army to San Francisco, where he returns a backpack to Malcolm's son Alexander, and states that while the apes don't wish for warz they're willing to defend their territory, and warns the humans to stay in their territory. Malcolm, however, believes he can reason with Caesar, and takes his party back out to Muir Woods, entering the ape community alone to speak to Caesar. Showing him what they need to do, Malcolm buys his party a few days to work on the dam and restore power to San Francisco. However, Carver is caught with a gun, which violated Caesar's one condition about the humans not having any guns while they work. 

       Luckily, after Malcolm's wife Ellie is able to give medical treatment to Cornelia, Caesar allows the humans more time, as well as assistance from the apes. Koba, however, who absolutely hates humans, does what he can to convince Caesar that the humans can't be trusted. However, Caesar was raised by kind humans like Will and Charles, so his trust in humans is more open. However, Koba goes and finds the humans' armory, and nabs a machine gun and kills the armory guards. But, all the work on the dam is done, power in the city is restored, and Malcolm's family celebrates at the ape community, with Alexander forming a bond with Maurice. However, Koba uses the machine gun to shoot Caesar, and he rallies the ape army against the humans. Maurice tells Malcolm and his family to run, and they hide from the ape army, finding Caesar still alive. 

       Malcolm takes Caesar to a safe place, the old Rodman house, and he goes out to see what's going on in the city, with Koba and the apes taking over, and any who remain loyal to Caesar gets locked up. And, after witnessing Ash be killed by Koba, Blue Eyes begins to grow disillusioned by Koba. Malcolm, however, offers to lead him to Caesar, who is recovering from his fall. Blue Eyes apologizes to Caesar after learning that Koba shot him, and the two reconcile. As Caesar recovers, he finds an old video camera with footage of himself and Will. Malcolm sees Caesar watching the video, and asks about who Will was, with Caesar remarking "A good man. Like you." 

        Dreyfus, meanwhile, has made contact with other humans, more specifically a military unit that is on their way to aid the community in San Francisco against Koba's takeover. Malcolm goes after Dreyfus, while Caesar goes after Koba. Malcolm easily defeats Dreyfus, while Caesar struggles with fighting Koba. However, Caesar exploits Koba's weak spots, and when Koba begs for mercy by reminding Caesar that "apes don't kill apes," Caesar tells Koba "You are not ape," and drops him to his death. Malcolm is forced to bid Caesar farewell, as the military is coming, and Caesar must now lead the apes in war. 

      So, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a vast improvement over its predecessor. The mocap on the apes is way better, with some fantastic performances by Andy Serkis as Caesar, Toby Kebbell as Koba, Judy Greer as Cornelia, Nick Thurston as Blue Eyes, Terry Notary as Rocket, Karin Konoval as Maurice, and Doc Shaw as Ash. The human story is also really good, with the likes of Jason Clarke as Malcolm and Gary Oldman as Dreyfus being great contrasting characters to each other. I like the idea of human survivors needing the aid of the apes to restore power to San Francisco, but it's a crazed ape that tears the last goodwill between apes and humans apart. All in all, Matt Reeves made a fantastic film with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which also gets a rating of 5/5. 

      And, now we come to the 2017 film War for the Planet of the Apes, which is again directed by Matt Reeves. In this movie, Caesar, still haunted by Koba's memory, is leading the apes in battle with a human military unit  called "Alpha Omega," which is led by a man named Colonel J. Wesley McCullough, simply known as The Colonel. Among the apes in his charge are, of course, Rocket and Maurice, along with Winter, Blue Eyes, and Luca. Blue Eyes, meanwhile, is now married to another chimp named Lake, who helps Caesar and Cornelia look after Cornelius. Unfortunately, the Colonel leads a sneak attack on the apes hideout, and Blue Eyes is killed, alongside Cornelia. This forces Caesar to evacuate the apes to a secluded oasis sanctuary, far removed from the humans. Caesar sends Lake to lead the apes to the oasis, and asks her to take Cornelius. 

      Caesar himself, however, is going after the Colonel, and the trio of Luca, Rocket, and Maurice join him on his journey. Also, Winter betrayed Caesar and joined Alpha Omega's group of apes known as "Donkeys," which includes a former Koba loyalist named Red. And, of course, Caesar kills Winter for his betrayal. On their journey, Caesar's party meets a human girl that Maurice names Nova, who is unable to speak, as well as a chimp called Bad Ape, who learned human speech by imitating humans. And, I will say that Bad Ape is pretty funny. However, upon reaching the Alpha Omega base, Caesar comes face-to-face with the Colonel, who reveals several things. First, the ALZ-113 virus somehow mutated, and has begun to affect humans in a way that makes them incapable of complex speech, and only capable of primitive animalistic behavior. 

         Caesar, with help from Nova, leads an ape breakout, kills the now- infected Colonel to end his suffering, and the rest of Alpha Omega is taken out by another military unit. Caesar leads the apes, along with Nova, to the oasis, and Maurice promises to pass his story on to young Cornelius, and Caesar dies peacefully. 

        Once again, Matt Reeves made an absolute banger with War for the Planet of the Apes. Andy Serkis as Caesar was fantastic, as was Woody Harrelson as the Colonel. I also enjoyed such performances from Steve Zahn as Bad Ape, Sara Canning as Lake, Amiah Miller as Nova, and many others. The story of Caesar leading his apes to a safe place, while being hunted by military forces, was definitely interesting, and it was really smart to further showcase that the virus that wiped out a majority of humanity also devolved the surviving members of the human race. I also liked how Koba is still haunting Caesar throughout the movie, which shows that Caesar is still affected by one he once trusted. Overall, War for the Planet of the Apes was excellent, and I give it a rating of 5/5. 

       Alright guys, thanks for checking out my review of the most recent trilogy in the Planet of the Apes franchise. Be sure to join me when I review Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes when it hits theaters in May. That'll wrap things up for now, and I'll see you guys later.