War for the Planet of the Apes: Matt Reeves' second outing in the Ape's universe may be a mild case of diminishing returns, but it still manages to imbue more pathos into these half-digital primates than most other blockbusters do with a full cast of fleshy humans. Despite being titled "war", this Apes film decides to dial down the scale to a more personal level after a thrilling battle sequence in the forest, and adopts a more melancholic tone to suit its stakes. It's more revenge-fueled western and prison break movie than it is a war film.
What end up letting it down a little is that much of the film's action is set a concrete fortress, a drab environment compared to the beautiful sets of Dawn, and Caesar faces off against Woody Harrelson's Colonel Kurtz-lite. Harrelson doesn't have the charisma to pull of the menace or madness the role requires, and though he's a talented actor his character buckles under the large exposition dumps his character is saddled with (this movie as a whole struggles with expository dialogue far more than its more economical predecessor). As such the conflict never feels as nuanced or compelling as the Caesar-Koba-Human dynamic from Dawn. Unfortunately to counter balance the bleak tone, Reeves has added a comic relief ape to cast that feels like he's there simply to cut the tension at studio-mandated intervals.
Despite some of these more cumbersome elements, War still has a very solid handle on its heart and tone, and the technical elements--from the digital apes, to Reeve's camera work--remain exceptional. It doesn't live up to the incredibly high standard of its predecessor, but its certainly a worthy addition to the most unlikely of franchise success stories.
My enjoyment may have also been hampered by some old fuck sitting behind me who wouldn't stop narrating every god damn thing to his wife even after I told him to stop talking. Like when Caesar's son comes on screen says "father", the guy turns to his wife and loudly declares "that's Caesar's son". No shit, old timer, we got eyes.