Review of War for the Planet of the Apes
**** (out of five stars)
Currently in wide release
by Walter G. Tarrow
Get your hands off me, you damn dirty human!
The most “specist” movie ever made. Far from fair and balanced, bigoted and prejudiced to the extreme. And rightly so.
The astounding CGI renders a whole ‘nother level to the realism of the apes drawing us so deeply into their world that only the most homo-centric of us would not feel the loss and pain of Caesar and his refugees.
With allusions to the original 1968 Charlton Heston vehicle and moving the current iteration’s storyline along, this third installment provides a very dark, but ultimately satisfying coda to the franchise.
Not only Andy Serkis, but also Steve Zahn as Bad Ape, deserve Oscar noms and a plethora of other awards for their portrayals. Bad Ape may be our comic relief, but the range of emotion he so realistically expresses 
is truly a wonder to behold. And Woody Harrelson is impressive as he delivers us a cruel Machiavellian colonel whom we, at first, as does Caesar, hate and fear, but, in the end, we come to pity.
Clocking in at two hours and twenty minutes, the film drags on occasion, but the immersive effect from the apes’ exclusive perspective drives the narrative. The action sequences become epic with the addition of the musical score. The score creates a great deal of the emotional impact of the film.
This third film wipes the slate clean, either to end as a trilogy or to take it in a new direction. I’d be curious to see what is that direction.
Ape Lives Matter!
