Tuesday, Film4, 11:25pm
War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), directed by Matt Reeves, rounds out one of the most impressive modern trilogies with a primal, emotional punch. As the title suggests, the film pits Caesar’s simian resistance against the decaying remnants of humanity, led by the sinister Colonel (a surprisingly manic Woody Harrelson). But despite the apocalyptic title, this is more a tale of personal vendettas and survival than an outright war epic—think The Great Escape meets Apocalypse Now, with chimps. It's a film that asks big questions about morality, leadership, and the cost of revenge, all while serving up some of the best motion-capture performances ever committed to screen. Andy Serkis’ work as Caesar reaches Shakespearean levels of gravitas, blending pathos with the subtlety of an aging, war-weary leader whose arc feels truly tragic by the end.
On the sonic front, Michael Giacchino’s score is an absolute masterclass in restraint and atmosphere. Gone are the bombastic themes we might expect from a film about a war; instead, Giacchino channels the sparse, eerie minimalism of classic sci-fi scores, a bit like Jerry Goldsmith’s original Planet of the Apes score, with its dissonant percussion and oddball instrumentation. There's an emotional undercurrent here too, something reminiscent of his work on Lost or Up, but far bleaker, almost dirge-like. One particularly haunting motif is "The Ecstasy of the Bold," a heart-wrenching theme that carries Caesar’s burden on its somber back. The film’s action set-pieces aren’t underscored so much as punctuated by these musical choices, giving the story an emotional heft that's rare in modern blockbusters.
For fans of genre crossovers, War carries traces of older dystopian works like The Road or Children of Men, with its muted palette and despairing tone. The apes, particularly Maurice and Rocket, evolve beyond just allegories for oppressed peoples and become richly realized characters in their own right. Reeves’ direction, combined with the technical wizardry of Weta Digital, ensures that every twitch of fur or flicker of emotion on the apes’ faces feels as real as any human performance. It’s a fitting capstone for a trilogy that began with revolution, raged through rebellion, and now meditates on the price of victory.
Noel Chambers