War for the Planet of the Apes (Post-release)

[SmilingOtter]

I enjoyed it. "Bad Ape" stole the show. ("I'm OK!")

It was a blend of "Apocalypse Now" (even without the graffiti to point it out) with "Stalag 17" and "The Ten Commandments."

 

[Fawbish]

Thoroughly confused with the responses.

I thought it was absolutely freakin' phenomenal. It's probably the most emotionally engaging movie I've watched in years, in or out of the cinema. I went in with incredible expectations that I didn't expect it to live up to, and yet it did, and in parts, surpassed them.

I don't want to gush too much with superlatives, because the film deserves a thorough analysis and critique. About the only immediate issue I had with anything, was that between the half way point and the final third, we had a little quiet time. It dropped the intensity a little. I actually don't see this as a problem - it just...is. That is how the film is presented, so that is the story we take.

There's actually too much that I want to dive into, so I'm going to leave it for a while. I'll be seeing this again in cinemas before the run is done to see if it solidifies my feelings or reduces them somewhat once I see a few weaknesses, but I don't think it can be seen again so soon as the next few days - it's not that type of film. (Wonder Woman I could see again within 3/4 days, Avengers I could see again within a few days)

Incredible modern storytelling - it felt like a genuine cinematic experience.

 

[The Wook]

I thought it was absolutely freakin' phenomenal. It's probably the most emotionally engaging movie I've watched in years, in or out of the cinema.

Too many of the emotional moments were drawn out, diminishing their impact. I don't mind the film playing those emotional notes--but they held them too long.

Thankfully they didn't also over-do Bad Ape's silly, tension-breaking antics...because the bathos he provided was the best part of the film.

The Wook

 

[Fawbish]

Too many of the emotional moments were drawn out, diminishing their impact. I don't mind the film playing those emotional notes--but they held them too long.

Thankfully they didn't also over-do Bad Ape's silly, tension-breaking antics...because the bathos he provided was the best part of the film.

The Wook

And I usually feel like a film doesn't linger enough on emotional notes - so this makes a lot of sense.

I also enjoyed those moments, but I think because they took the time in the first meeting to hit you with an overall, pretty sad story for Bad-Ape's background. I think it worked quite well - it was on a knife edge though, it almost teetered over a bit sometimes I think.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Thoroughly confused with the responses.

I thought it was absolutely freakin' phenomenal. It's probably the most emotionally engaging movie I've watched in years, in or out of the cinema. I went in with incredible expectations that I didn't expect it to live up to, and yet it did, and in parts, surpassed them.

I don't want to gush too much with superlatives, because the film deserves a thorough analysis and critique. About the only immediate issue I had with anything, was that between the half way point and the final third, we had a little quiet time. It dropped the intensity a little. I actually don't see this as a problem - it just...is. That is how the film is presented, so that is the story we take.

There's actually too much that I want to dive into, so I'm going to leave it for a while. I'll be seeing this again in cinemas before the run is done to see if it solidifies my feelings or reduces them somewhat once I see a few weaknesses, but I don't think it can be seen again so soon as the next few days - it's not that type of film. (Wonder Woman I could see again within 3/4 days, Avengers I could see again within a few days)

Incredible modern storytelling - it felt like a genuine cinematic experience.

Some unforeseen circumstances forced me to wait to see it until today.

I'm still processing it, but I'm with you Fawbish. I thought it was amazing.

I went in with VERY high expectations, and I had read a fairly thorough plot synopsis, and I was still blown away.

 

[The Wook]

I went in with VERY high expectations, and I had read a fairly thorough plot synopsis, and I was still blown away.

Why would you ever read a "fairly thorough plot synopsis" of a movie you plan on watching?

That is so bizarre to me.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Why would you ever read a "fairly thorough plot synopsis" of a movie you plan on watching?

That is so bizarre to me.

I find it it easier to pay attention to details of the film if I have a general idea what to expect.

I've always been terrible about spoiling things for myself...from Christmas gifts as a child to games and films as an adult. It also allows me to read these threads on RPF without having to worry about ruining anything for myself. I enjoy reading other real people's opinions and it's difficult to do that without running into some spoilers, usually.

 

[The Wook]

I find it it easier to pay attention to details of the film if I have a general idea what to expect.

I've always been terrible about spoiling things for myself...from Christmas gifts as a child to games and films as an adult. It also allows me to read these threads on RPF without having to worry about ruining anything for myself. I enjoy reading other real people's opinions and it's difficult to do that without running into some spoilers, usually.

Simple solution. Read people's opinions after you've seen the movie. lol

But I had a sister like you. She'd frantically search every closet and drawer in the weeks before Christmas, hoping to find out what she'd be getting.

And then my other sister, relished the anticipation of Christmas so much, she wouldn't come down until Christmas AFTERNOON to begin the slow, leisurely process of opening her gifts. lol

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Simple solution. Read people's opinions after you've seen the movie. lol

I'm not too worried about my movie viewing habits. For this film, I knew well before the film hit theaters that Caesar was going to die...and I also had read that they were going to reveal how the Simian Flu had caused humans to revert to a bit more "caveman" like people, thus showing us why humans are the way that they are in the original film. So there were already a couple of plot points, pretty big ones to me, that I knew leading up to release.

 

[Bryancd]

Boy, this is a bleak and grim film and I give them props for going that route. I thought it was excellent, agree the last half was too long, but the CG work was stunning and the acting top notch. I liked how they merge this into the Charlton Heston film somewhat without trying to make everything fit.

 

[DarkHelmet]

It was amazing. All three movies are amazing. The CG was stunning. When Bad Ape was eating the MRE and was spitting crumbs as he talked deserves an Academy Award.

 

[Bryancd]

It was amazing. All three movies are amazing. The CG was stunning. When Bad Ape was eating the MRI and was spitting crumbs as he talked deserves an Academy Award.

Portrayed and voiced by actor Steve Zahn.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

The more I think back on this film the more I love it.

The entire series was top notch...and this was definitely a standout film.

 

[JLeezy23]

This film blew me away, I read it was better than the previous two and stopped there. Went in blind to everything except knowing people would eventually stop talking and apes would come out on top. And oh boy, I was not prepared for any of the emotions or action that was in this! The mocap and vfx are astounding, I watched the entire film without thinking "thats obviously CGI" Some of the tension had me squirming, I was genuinely worried for the apes! It was great seeing they created a backstory narrative at the beginning to catch us up, seeing Koba really was haunting lol. Cant go in full detail at the moment, but its definitely a "gotta watch again" kinda movie

 

[Snikt]

Thoroughly confused with the responses.

I thought it was absolutely freakin' phenomenal. It's probably the most emotionally engaging movie I've watched in years, in or out of the cinema. I went in with incredible expectations that I didn't expect it to live up to, and yet it did, and in parts, surpassed them.

I don't want to gush too much with superlatives, because the film deserves a thorough analysis and critique. About the only immediate issue I had with anything, was that between the half way point and the final third, we had a little quiet time. It dropped the intensity a little. I actually don't see this as a problem - it just...is. That is how the film is presented, so that is the story we take.

There's actually too much that I want to dive into, so I'm going to leave it for a while. I'll be seeing this again in cinemas before the run is done to see if it solidifies my feelings or reduces them somewhat once I see a few weaknesses, but I don't think it can be seen again so soon as the next few days - it's not that type of film. (Wonder Woman I could see again within 3/4 days, Avengers I could see again within a few days)

Incredible modern storytelling - it felt like a genuine cinematic experience.

Dude. Well said Fawbish. I couldnt agree more. I was totally rooting for the apes, I have been since day one. I thought this movie had quite an impact, and had me tearing up at times, it was that well done. I was shocked at how life like the apes were, and the emotion that they could convey. Anyone saying that the emotional parts were too drawn out doesnt have a soul. Or their POTAIQ is into the ground. I thought the entire movie was phenomenal, the pacing was great, hated the villain(which I had a problem with woody in the casting but he turned out to be well done) and the emotional beats were so well done it... I was amazed at how much I felt for CG apes.

 

[CT1138]

Definitely a great ending to a fantastic trilogy. I liked it a lot. The war scene at the beginning, in particular, was spine tingling. As the critics have said, you unbelievably root against your own species as the Apes are caught in the web of a religious fanatic Army colonel played by Woody Harrelson. Wars serves as the climactic chapter warning of revenge in a trilogy that strongly used themes of man's hubris in the face of science and nature. Thematically, I believe even Michael Crichton would have been proud to have called this trilogy one of the strongest science fiction trilogies in cinema.

 

[Axlotl]

Michael Crichton?

 

[CT1138]

Michael Crichton?

An American science fiction writer who commonly wrote forewarning tales on blind faith in technology and how man's hubris often led to a conflict with the natural order. He wrote classics such as "Jurassic Park", "Congo", and "The Andromeda Strain". He also wrote the TV series E.R. and wrote the screenplay for "Twister". This PotA trilogy strongly reminded me of something he would have written, right down to the genetic engineered beasts smashing through man's barriers and breaking out into the natural world and eventually consuming mankind due to their arrogance.

 

[Axlotl]

I know who he is, I just couldn't figure out how he fit into the Planet of the Apes.
I was thinking "MC didn't write PotA, Pierre Boulle wrote PotA".
I couldn't understand your intention. I get it now.

 

[Tatooine_Todd]

Too many of the emotional moments were drawn out, diminishing their impact. I don't mind the film playing those emotional notes--but they held them too long.


The Wook

Some of those moments were very powerful, IMHO. The interaction between Nova and Luca, from the cherry blossom scene until the final moment they shared together, were deeply moving. It was a powerfully "human" moment for both of them.