Damned dirty apes...

Blame this one on Disney, they recently added the franchise to their lineup on Disney+, which means one thing to a guy like me: Marathon! 

Let me clarify, I don't mean the old classics, and I don't mean the Mark Walberg / Tim Burton version (just threw up in my mouth a little). No I mean the modern remakes. That's right, this is a remake review. Something I almost never do, out of kindness. I usually only do them because I need to spit venom. Not this time, this time I have some praise to give.

Most remakes are atrocious, poisoned with "the message" in attempts captivate new audiences, and make that sweet, sweet, cash-money! All the while betraying the original story and plot to bring something "relatable" to a new audience. In the process, the work loses it's context, it's believability, and it's soul. The reality is that a good writer creates a relatable story, no matter the audience because they are writing with themes that all people recognize. This is one of the biggest modern failures in writing. 

Disney and Amazon do this with vigor. In fact they are the parents of far too many mutant love children to count. They are thoroughly committed to ruining a whole lot of good movies from the last 5 decades. Also books, I just can't forget that smelly turd that claimed it was from middle earth. I still have diarrhea of the mouth from that mess. I will shut up on that one and talk about what I came here to talk about- Damn dirt apes!   

Um, I don't remember this franchise being this good. Let's get started.

So, if you aren't familiar with the franchise there are a lot of movies in it. First, a quick rundown of the films. The first one was released in 1968- It was, and still is, critically acclaimed. It was followed by a number of movies, each worse than the one before it. They are as follows: Planet of the Apes (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Like I said, everyone was petered out by the time the Apes fought for the planet. Thank god it was "the final chapter" of the franchise. 

Then in 2001 this disturbing thing was born in Hollywood, a monster that should have been locked in the attic of some hidden vault somewhere. That's right, it was the first attempt to reboot the story. This movie is one of the many reasons why I don't like remakes. Which is odd, because it was a Tim Burton movie and I usually like those. Not this one, no matter how well it did on opening weekend it will always be that bit of shame in the family tree.

Time passed and I completely forgot about the series. Then, in 2011, I saw a preview for the next reboot: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". I just rolled my eyes and didn't bother to consider it worth my time. In 2014 it was followed up by what I thought was another "attic baby", that being the sequel: "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes". Again, crickets chirping and a heavy sigh. I was a little miffed when, in 2017, yet another mutant was left on our door stop, of course, I am talking about "War for the Planet of the Apes".  I was being all judgy at the time, I hadn't even seen the movies and the simple fact that they were remakes was all I had to go on. Turns out, these was not the smelly craps I thought they were. 

So, this one is all my wife, she suggested that we watch them when they showed up on Disney. So, me being the dutiful hubby I am, decided that I would give them a try... you know, for love! We watched them back to back, so I will be reviewing them as a complete story rather than individual, because there is a story arc here. But I won't spoil that for anyone.

So how was the writing? The writing in these movies is far superior to the preceding movies. In fact I would say that it's almost great writing. It's definitely on the deep end of good. What makes it good? you ask. Well let me tell you. 

First off, the allegory is strong with this one, the metaphors are useful, not esoteric, and the use of other literary devices is on point. But what makes it good writing, is that it's woven in layers that make a person think and compare it to the current world. In other words the writers make the audience think. That kind of thing makes a movie stay with a person. 

Rise of the planet of the apes is for certain the weakest link here. Mostly because it has the biggest challenge in the whole series- it must show the audience how the world ended, and how the apes got super intelligent. That's a hard task. Rise does this with the old pandemic ploy- genetically engineered virus meant to cure Alzheimer's escapes that lab and isn't what it supposed to be. Dawn and War are fantastic follow ups, better than the first. In this case the writing gets better across the three movies. Mostly because the writers had less to explain after the first movie. 

I have said this before, and I will say it again, I love it when the script writers decide to "show, not tell". Nothing is explained directly in these movies except some crucial plot points, it's up to the audience to fill in the blanks, as it should be.

Another notable thing to point out here is that the writers of the new franchise did their research when it comes to ape and primate behavior- it really feels like these animals are descendants of Apes and not facsimiles of human character-tropes. Case in point, some of the apes never say a word, but rather speak in sign language. Which is what their leader was taught before he knew how to speak. There is a lot of subtitle work in this film and I appreciate the writers didn't make it to easy for the audience. 

The continuity and the storyline are solid. The changes made from the original were all the right changes to make. The story more believable and direct. There aren't a whole lot of plot devices or MacGuffins in this series- it simply flows well from one part to the next. I mentioned allegory earlier, this series is nothing more than a very well thought out web of layered allegory. By the third movie, War, it is so thick that you really can't miss the underlaying messages, there are so many nuances there, you will have to do a double take.  

Well what about the acting? These movies one have an all star cast, one that you don't realize is there until you read the credits. That's because most of the movies are "motion capture" so you never see who is doing the acting. But the actors behind the motion capture... bravo! The list is pretty long, but it includes a number of great actors like John Lithgow, Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clark, Woody Haralson, Steve Zahn, and so many more. The main character "Caesar" is played by the brilliant Andy Serkis, and his performance is "precious", if you can get that reference. 

Across all the movies, the only weak performance is James Franco's performance in the first movie. And it's only slightly annoying. The actors capture the dialogue and make it their own, and most of them do it with ease. To demonstrate, Woody Haralson does an amazing job as the bad guy in the third movie. I mean, he is sinister, he has a dark heart, and the whole audience knows it. His performance is good, but his character is a madman, with evil-sauce on the side.  

About the motion-capture and special effects, as Toni the Tiger would say- they're great! Since the invention of motion capture, it's been used in a number of unworthy films, I won't list them here, and most of you most likely know which ones they are. However, this franchise, is one that motion capture was made for. The original Planet of the Apes made use of costumes, this is forgivable because that's what they had to work with. The motion capture in these movies is used as it should be- to make the story more believable. It's not choppy, it's not blocky, it's not the "uncanny valley" it used to be. It looks natural and the movements are completely believable. They add to the story, not take away from it. 

This leads us right into the special effects. They are great. There are a couple of places where you can see the faults in the special effects, but by no means do those errors ruin anything. You really have to look for them too. The SFX guys did a fantastic job in post on this one. The shading is great, the rendering is amazing, these things actually look like primates, right down to the fur on their arms and faces. Even the shine of tears in there eyes as they go to war, and the saliva in on their teeth.

The music is as it should be. This is not one of the stronger points of the movies, but it doesn't detract from any scene in the film. The music blends and becomes part of the story. It does not stand out however, and that's okay, this series has a lot going on for it already. 

There is a fourth one coming out. "The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes". I am willing to see it, but I have my doubts. It will be helmed by Disney- which means things will change. I would be blown away if the next one meets the benchmark set by the first three. This new movie is out next month, like I said, I am willing to see it, but I am cautious, I have been burned before so I am still skittish when it comes to remakes and sequels of the films I used to love when I was a Kid, "Indiana Jones", I am talking about you!

However, I will state this, if they kill Maurice, I am out, I don't care how good it is. The series will sufficiently be ruined for me. You'll get that joke when you see the movies, and I do recommend them to anyone looking for a thought provoking, well thought out, well written, and all around solid series to watch. I'd give them 9 grunts and a whimper out of ten. That's right, I'd give them a 91%, an A- for those Damn dirty apes! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. 

Cheers!