War For The Planet Of The Apes Review - Typically Exemplar Blockbuster

When you look at the Academy Award nomination John Hurt received for Elephant Man, it becomes even more baffling that Andy Serkis' work as Gollum or Caesar was snubbed, seeing as they are essentially both performances covered by special effects. The only difference is Caesar's performance-capture is more advanced than Joseph Merrick's make-up.

Anywho, WFTPOTA is (possibly) the end to the consistently strong thinking man's franchise, with another emotive show from the lead, breathtaking special effects complete with photo-realistic fur and a 'man are the real monsters' vibe. This time around, Caesar wages a personal war with the Colonel (Woody Harrelson), who - although he lacks a surname - is most probably called Kurtz. Harrelson is competent, but there is some delicious (if a little obvious) subtext about a mad man building a wall and oppressing people who are a different race. Deliberate trumping?

Matt Reeves returns to the murky, damp world he expanded upon in Dawn, and delivers more of the grimly beautiful imagery; he really is an ideal candidate for directing The Batman. It's amazing how moving the plight of chimpanzees is, with credit largely going to an extraordinary cast making them oddly relatable no matter how much your brain tells you they are CGI apes. It's particularly effective when Caesar interacts with his young son or the young human child  The issue is simply that an otherwise great film is littered with niggling mistakes. A superfluous inter title here, character cameos in nightmares here. The supporting cast is probably the noticeable Achilles heel of the film. Steve Zahn's Bad Ape is a welcome presence, but as a comic relief, his humour is too broad and misplaced. Elsewhere, a gorilla travelling with Caesar (how telling the name is forgettable) isn't given enough time to gestate and make an impression for his relationship developments to be believable. In addition, the trilogy ends on a mostly moving yet arbitrary note, summarising this film in a way: satisfying but occasionally something feels a bit off.

Still, FOUR STARS. Let's leave it there lads, no need for CGI Charlton Heston to land on the planet.