War for the Planet of the Apes | The rebooted trilogy goes out on an epic high

War for the Planet of the Apes Caesar Andy Serkis

War for the Planet of the Apes Caesar Andy Serkis

For freedom. For family. For the planet.

The re-launched Planet of the Apes trilogy reaches a rousing conclusion with War for the Planet of the Apes, a blockbuster adventure that combines epic spectacle, moral complexity and surprising emotional depth.

It is 15 years after the so-called Simian Flu virus started making humans sick and apes smart. And with the struggle for mastery between the two species nearing its final stage, we find Andy Serkis’s rebel ape leader Caesar locked in mortal enmity with Woody Harrelson’s human military commander, Colonel McCullough.

Harrelson’s sadistic, shaven-headed Colonel has more than a touch of Brando’s Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, and it’s not hard to detect elements of Moses, Spartacus and even Clint Eastwood’s Outlaw Josey Wales, not to mention countless other heroic figures, in Serkis’s Ceasar.

As before, the apes occupy the moral high ground, and once again Serkis and his fellow ape-actors perform motion-capture marvels in their roles, adding pathos and poignancy to the often-thrilling action.

Certificate 12A. Runtime 140 mins, Director Matt Reeves

War for the Planet of the Apes is available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDcAlo8i2y8

Blu-ray special features

Deleted Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary by Matt Reeves o Graveyard o Turncoats o Barrier Wall o “I Owe You One” o “A Great Man” o “Do Not Lose Hope” o Snowfall o The Colonel’s Speech o Malcolm and the Dinosaurs o “I Am Like Koba” · Featurettes: o “Waging War for the Planet of the Apes” – In-depth documentary on the making of War for the Planet of the Apes o “All About Caesar” o “WETA: Pushing Boundaries” o “Music for Apes” o “Apes: The Meaning of it All” o “The Apes Saga: An Homage” · Concept Art Gallery · Audio Commentary by Matt Reeves

Jason Best

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.