Worth: $10.00
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Cast:
Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, William H. Macy, Travis Jeffery
Intro:
… expensive look of the film is plain to behold but you can’t help feeling that this is not much more than a bunch of set pieces and special effects in search of a movie.
Here we go again; human-like apes (yes, brilliant special effects) riding horses and banging on about how even the post-apocalyptic civilisation that they have inherited is going to rack and ruin.
Director Wes Ball’s anticipated blockbuster comes with plenty of hype. The original kernel of this series was smart. The idea that the human species is almost inherently cruel and rapacious and heading for extinction hasn’t lost its appeal or its contemporary hint of veracity. And then you add in human cruelty towards other species. Apes, our nearest cousins, and just one down in the pecking order perhaps, might set things to right. That is until they too fall into internecine struggles for dominance and turn their spears and giant muscles on each other.
Here, that scenario has already happened, and it tries for a narrative that takes place ‘long after’ the reign of the still-revered Caesar. We concentrate upon a particular clan who are experts in raising and training eagles. Cue amazing opening sequences in which our lead apes – including the adventurous Noah (Owen Teague) and the scared-but-plucky Aanya (Australia’s own Travis Jeffery) – scale huge teetering towers and nearly fall to their doom. Of course, they don’t, but it is quite a scene-setter.
That yields a problem though, because after that vertiginous calling card sequence, attempts to build a plot and develop characters more or less fails to materialise. The other aspect of the franchise (remember when films could just be called a second or third movie and didn’t have to be bundled up into a franchise?), is that there is a love-hate relationship between apes and humans. So, we have token human Mae played by English actress Freya Allan (The Witcher). She forms an uneasy alliance with the lead apes, and they go on a quest to thwart the cruel and despotic ape leader Proximus (Kevin Durand).
Two and a half hours later, we haven’t got much resolution – always room for one more prequel/sequel/reimagining perhaps. Hats off to the look of the film (shot in Sydney), and for some that may be enough. It might be a thrill for teens. The giant jungle and industrial landscape – suitably distressed – are visually arresting. The film looks big budget. These apes can even convincingly chew on an apple, though swallowing might prove a bit harder. As implied, this expensive look of the film is plain to behold but you can’t help feeling that this is not much more than a bunch of set pieces and special effects in search of a movie.