War for the Planet of the Apes

Matt Reeves’s 2017 film closes the trilogy and delivers something other than the title promises. In preparation Reeves and screenwriter Mark Bomback went back to war pictures and epics, naming The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Great Escape, Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments and Apocalypse Now, and they compare the Colonel directly to Kurtz. What reaches the screen is a prison camp and escape story rather than a pitched battle, so anyone drawn in by the title waits a long time. The second point is how the performances were captured. Shooting ran from late 2015 into March 2016 around Vancouver and in the Kananaskis range in Alberta, so the work happened outdoors in snow rather than on a stage. One hundred forty cameras were set up, and the head mounted facial rigs were lighter and smaller than before. On screen Caesar is carried by facial detail and posture rather than by lines, and several decisive scenes run almost without speech. Andy Serkis continues in the part. The film took an Academy Award nomination in visual effects, and the Caesar performance was honoured at the Visual Effects Society awards. A fit if you are willing to read a lead performance in looks and posture instead of dialogue. Not a fit if you expect the crowded battles of the earlier films.