War for the Planet of the Apes
First screened in July 2017
Director: Matt Reeves. Cast: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Karin Konoval, Steve Zahn, Amiah Miller, Ty Olsson, Michael Adamthwaite, Judy Greer, Terry Notary, Devyn Dalton, Sara Canning, Aleks Paunovic, Gabriel Chavarria, Toby Kebbell, Shaun Omaid, Roger Cross. Screenplay: Matt Bomback and Matt Reeves (based on characters created by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver).

Twitter Capsule: Exodus of the Apes. Guantánamo of the Apes. Ape-ocalypse Now. So much happening but also not enough?

Second Capsule: With this franchise, I keep shifting mid-movie from "Wow, this is so handsome and controlled" to "I won't remember this next week, will I?"

Third Capsule: It is great-looking, though. Michael Seresin is a super d.p. And though the film leans too often and heavily on music, what's there is good.

VOR:   Rare stylistic control for a blockbuster. Admirably chases weighty, urgent themes. Still, a bit on-the-nose, and getting repetitive.



Photo © 2017 20th Century Fox/TSG Entertainment

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: B


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