Saw it today, brilliant movie. The first half of the film actually plays like a revenge western, as Caesar goes on a tunnel visioned quest to avenge the death of his wife and son, this is an intimate journey within the large scope of a war movie. The second half of the movie is a POW drama, both halves form an engrossing and powerful whole.
Andy Serkis work as Caesar is truly incredible and groundbreaking, but you can connect with all the Apes as characters, not just CGI creations, I love Maurice and his dynamic with Nova and I thought Bad Ape was a great addition, he kind of reminded me a bit of Ben Gunn from Treasure Island, he brought some needed moments of levity. On the human side of things I thought Woody Harrelson did a great job as the Colonel, he was definitely biting off Colonel Kurtz but adds a tragic layer that makes his final scene so effective.
The film is full of wonderful and memorable moments like the first confrontation between Caesar and the Colonel, and their discussion over the war after Caesar led the Apes revolt against the lack of food and brutal treatment in the camp, another powerful scene in itself. Then there's the 2 heart warming exchanges between Luca and Nova with the flower, and of course when Nova gets inside the compound and gives Caesar her doll before getting him food and water, then Rocket sacrificing himself so she can get away, the moment where "Donkey" makes his stand (This scene delivers on one expectation and subverts another), and last but not least
the scene where Maurice names Nova, beautifully done.
The film isn't action packed but it is drama filled and the snowbound setting inbues the film with a lot of atmosphere. The few action scenes there are, are shot with a mixture of visceral energy and operatic style, Reeves gets some epic shots. I loved Caesar's escape from the base explosion and then the avalanche.
The ending is bittersweet but befitting of a franchise that has unexpectedly delivered one of the finest trilogies ever. 9/10
. 850ish is about the best you can expected a 2nd Spider-Man reboot to make and is great results and the next one should do a billion+ now as HC got rid of that bad taste of the last 3 Spider-Man movies. The next batman movie I am expecting to make less then Spider-Man HC. It is a reboot and after coming off the dark knight trilogy it is going to be really hard to live up to those movies and as a result I think a lot of people including me are not really expecting much or looking forward to the next batman movie much.
