Planet of the Apes

 

I am treating this movie as being one movie in three parts, so my review of all three parts is the same. Trilogies are often weak. And often trilogies don't make a lot of sense. The filmmakers just want to make more movies, and the studios are happy to oblige if it means making more money. A good example of this is the back to the future trilogy, where the last two films are kind of redundant. Another example is the last Star Wars trilogy, where the finishing movie sort of destroys the goodwill that the first two films in the series had built up. But this trilogy is a true trilogy. The first film deals with the young life of the protagonist, the second deals with his middle-age, and the third deals with the last act of his life. So it is possible to take all of these films as one. What do they suggest to us? The animation of the non-human, this is done in a sympathetic and really moving way. It's also interesting to see how the technology developed from the first movie to the last movie. Instead of talking about each individual film as something that's cut off from the others, I will make one big review for all three. The good things about this film are its plots, the special effects, and the action. It touches on big themes of man's hubris when it comes to dealing with other intelligent animals, and also the hubris that can cause catastrophe in the pursuit of money, or even just to save someone you love. It makes a person ask themselves tough, and yet profound questions. For example, are you really a good person, if your actions cause the deaths of billions of people? Is murder ever acceptable? I like also how there is this contrast between the main characters of Caesar and Koba. The movie presents Caesar as being a noble leader in the first and second parts, but by the end while it is not clear to those around him, it is clear to himself that his selfishness, and his desire for revenge, have had more disastrous consequences for his people,  than the evil actions of his nemesis. The things that are bad about this series of films are so inconsequential that it is almost pointless to mention. Almost, but not entirely pointless, because it can teach us how even perfect works of art, are not perfect. So, here are the flaws in this masterpiece. The first thing is that Caesar leads an ape rebellion in the first film, and this rebellion mainly takes place over the span of an afternoon. The apes that Caesar leads are fighting to get to one particular place. As they are walking to the battle, there is a sign which has been painted with the symbol of their rebellion. Which is the window that Caesar saw from his room growing up. So there are two logical explanations to this; the first is that Caesar painted the symbol on the sign so that the other Apes would know where to go, and the second is that one of the apes stole some paint and painted on the sign as they were making their way to the battle. The other major mistake is in the character of Koba. He is presented as being just a smart as Caesar, but much more violent. He is a bonobo. Bonobos are a species of great ape, like humans or chimpanzees, except they differ from their cousins in the fact that they resolve their conflicts by using sex. As a result of this, they are much less violent than humans or chimpanzees. It doesn't detract at all from the story, because you have to be an expert primatologist to understand the difference between Koba and the other apes. The last mistake, is not really a mistake at all, it is a storytelling choice. In the first movie there is a human character who is quite close to Caesar. In the second movie, he is nowhere to be seen. There are two reasons, one is connected to the events of the second movie, and how it would have been very unlikely for that human character to survive them, and the other is that the story isn't about the humans at all it's about Caesar and his community, and their growing into full humanity. In fact, none of the human characters reappear in any movie of the series. The last thing I would like to mention, is again something that might seem to be a mistake, but is a stylistic choice, and that is Caesar's voice. In the first movie he says two words. By the second movie, he says a few sentences. And by the last movie he is speaking in full paragraphs. The only other ape that speaks as much as him, is Koba. By the end of the series, an ape, who has only used sign language, says a few sentences. This stylistic choice, shows Caesar coming to grips with his humanity. Not just the usefulness of having speech, but also the dark nature of being powerful.  This series is a masterpiece, one of my favourite films.