467: War for the Planet of the Apes

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, let's get to the last movie in the trilogy, which is war for the planet of the Apes.

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_00]: This one came out in 2017, is directed again by Matt Reeves, stars any circus, what

[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_00]: he harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karen Connovol, a myemeller, Toby Kebel, Judy Greer, and few others.

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And the synopsis is after the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_00]: marker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: This movie, I don't want to repeat myself too much from Don, it is so much better than

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER_00]: it needs to be.

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Like this is basically almost an 8 version of Apocalypse Now or something or platoon where

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00]: even like the opening sequence is so immediately engaging and compelling where it's

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_00]: very quiet and you see the soldiers moving through the forest and they all have those

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: names like nicknames written on their helmets.

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's very platoon Apocalypse Now, Esk and also full metal jacket.

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_00]: I love that and that teaser of the different titles like Rise Dawn, War and those lead

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_00]: into the story and that opening action sequence in general is one of the best of the whole

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_00]: franchise with the ambush and then the apes eventually getting control over the battle

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and capturing that one survivor and before that the survivor calling Woody Harrelson and

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_00]: not getting any real response essentially.

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And that conversation between him and Caesar about not wanting to start a war, about

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: wanting to keep things as level headed and separate as possible.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Like he's always trying to mediate.

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_00]: He's not Koba, you know, he's always trying to find the most practical way forward and that's

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: such a great thing to have in a movie like this where you're not seeing leaders as oftentimes

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: it is nowadays where you always have to make heroes really almost like anti heroes or

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: vigilantees or anything along those lines.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He's very practical, very mature, very smart, very thoughtful and soft spoken yet still

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_00]: very confident and will do what he needs to do but it's such a well written character,

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: cannot say enough about Caesar.

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Woody Harrelson's character is really a great part of the movie and that's something

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: similar to Koba where you get an understanding of why he does what he does to a certain

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_00]: degree.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_00]: He is still a little nuts but the idea of his daughter dying and they're being that forever

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_00]: sort of prejudice against the apes.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: The sequence where he first encounter him where he kills Caesar's family is really well

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: done and really shocking and horrible considering the emotional loss of Caesar in that

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: being a great motivation for what he does next.

[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_00]: One of my favorite parts of the movie and it's partially helped by the score which

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Michael G. Chino scores, this is probably one of his all-time best scores.

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: It's really, really well done.

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It's shot by the guy who did Prisoner Vasquez van.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: It looks amazing and Caesar's design where he's getting a little bit older, a little

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: bit grayer, a little bit more wrinkles like it's such a subtle design but it's very, very

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: well done.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: But the sequence where it's basically like the greatest gate where they're planning that

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_00]: yet another escape from the compound like they didn't rise.

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_00]: That's really well done in terms of the cleverness by the apes and the choreography

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_00]: and planning of all of that.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_00]: That's very well done.

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: The final action sequence where the other armies come in like the helicopters are flying

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: over, there's the avalanche.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00]: The action as it should be obvious at this point, Matt Reeves clearly has incredible talent

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_00]: for great action and that's the case with the Batman.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_00]: If you haven't seen that yet, I highly would recommend it one of his best movies as well.

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: But his action isn't to just get the big explosions or to get some cool visuals.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: It's all leading to something and he really picks his moments like the scene with Caesar

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: going into Woody Harrelson's room and Harrelson has gotten the simian flu.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: That's a really powerful moment.

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00]: The final moments of the movie like the epilogue where Caesar dies, spoiler,

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_00]: it's a little long.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: I think the movie does suffer slightly from multiple ending disorder as I call it.

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But at the same time, it is the end of a trilogy in a way and you sort of need that almost

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: like how Lord the Rings is.

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_00]: It goes on a little too long, yes and yet it still needs it in various ways.

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Whether it's character ideas, plot points and so it is a long movie.

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think I'm ever bored and I don't think I'm ever checking my watch but those final 15 minutes

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: or so do feel the longest out of anything.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Other than that, the character played by Steve Zahn love him.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Some people don't like him.

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I really like him and I love Steve Zahn in general and the young girl who has the simian flu who

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: can't talk.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Also, in terms of the direction, a very smart piece of direction is

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: unlike Don which cuts back and forth between Caesar and the humans and Koba and all them.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: For the most part, this entire movie is from the point of view of Caesar.

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So you're locked into how he's viewing this situation.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not like spending an hour with Woody Harrelson, then an hour with Caesar.

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_00]: It's mostly just with Caesar.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: There were his singular troubles whether it's something that he's dealing with on his own

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: or when he's captured and put in the pins.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I guess you can call them for a better word.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: So I really like that piece and that gives you a different viewpoint obviously but it also makes it

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00]: set itself apart from Don and Rise because each one really has its own sort of perspective on the

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: situation.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And this one despite being the biggest, the most grand, the most epic, it's at the same time,

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_00]: probably the quietest out of any of them, despite it being called war.

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Like it's oftentimes dialogue driven and that's another point in Matt Reeves' favorite where

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_00]: he doesn't have to do that and you wouldn't really expect that going in.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: You would think, all right, this is going to be all action.

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_00]: The most epic which it is in some ways and yet it's still very, very quiet and subtle and

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: restraint and I love that when it comes to blockbuster filmmaking because that doesn't happen very often.

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_00]: One interesting perspective or injection of different sorts of characters within that world that's

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: interesting is the apes who turned to work for the humans, whether it's out of fear or force

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_00]: or whatever might be because then of course the apes who are with Caesar, see him as a trader

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_00]: and then there is that conflict of all right he was with us at one point but now nope we can't

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_00]: really trust him anymore in the differing thoughts on who to trust who not to trust.

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And to me that does really speak to many modern conflicts especially something like World War II where

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00]: like when the Nazis invaded Europe and there were people who were turning to work with the

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Nazis out of fear or some of them were forced or whatever it might be.

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that feels very, I hate using the word timely but like it has a lot of relevance

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_00]: and a lot of realism grounded to it in terms of how people react within a conflict and

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_00]: that movie is really filled with so many of those ideas and I love it for that.

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Also one underlying idea or theme that I really connect with is the movie both on the

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_00]: apeside and the human side is characters really struggling with trying to find things that help

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_00]: the maintain a sense of comfort and to help keep them moving and then when something

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_00]: disrupts that world or that comfort and that in turn can cause people and apes to act at a fear

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_00]: act very reactively rather than proactively and I think that's a subtle part of the movie but I

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_00]: think it's there and that's something that has stuck with me more and I feel it more and more

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_00]: when I watch it every time. So I would highly recommend you watch this if you've not seen it yet

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_00]: there's so much to enjoy so much to think about both on the surface and underneath

[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_00]: and even just talking about it as the action movie it's amazing even if it was an incredibly

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_00]: shallow movie it would still be a great action film in that way and a good blockbuster but

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_00]: there's way more going on than you would think and I'm really hoping that kingdom of the plan of

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_00]: which is going to be a different director I'm really hoping that it maintains at least a certain

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_00]: level of similar quality because it's a high bar set by Matt Reeves so I'm hoping kingdom is up

[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_00]: enough. Well that one is a heavy five out of five.