The Planet of the Apes franchise got a reboot in the 2010s and it looked pretty great, it somehow got some stealth releases through out the decade gathering fans and making some money. Somehow it did all this without making much of an impact but I guess that’s because it wasn’t part of some big shared universe. The premise of the movies seemed decent enough and the efects looked great for the time. I was excited but never got the chance to check them out when they released. Being a fan of the originals and being told these were better I did have high expectations so here we have the trilogy and the start of a new trilogy in this new rebooted franchise I got to take a look at.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I had very high hopes for this one as I remember the trailer looking exactly what I would’ve wanted the movie to be. It’s a decent origin for how the intelligent apes first begin. though I’d say it’s nothing amazing. It’s hard to criticize when it doesn’t mess it up, it just feels a bit vanilla. It does get you in the feels with some characters like the Gorilla’s death. I still feel that despite the set up that Ceasar’s ecision to lead the apes is a bit sudden. He literally had the chance to go with his father but didn’t. Overall the movie handled the situation well an gives us a decent ending to make us wonder where things will go. origin but nothing amazing, unsure if i love ethe origin, it’s indeed a bit sad i don’t know if i’d put it in the same timeline despite the icarus reference.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
THe sequel is decent enough, it’s an entertaining movie and I give them props for the effort but It just feels nothing new and not not new material. Here we just have another conflict of the humans and apes, and while it’s a different take from what we’ve seen before I don’t thin it does enough to make it seem relevant. I think it was a mistake to make the 10 year time jump as the whole pandemic ending of the first could’ve been a great second movie, seeing how the apes slowly became more intelligent and the humans started dying and having failed quarantines. I think more could’ve been done and some of the ideas here could’ve just been used for the last movie in the trilogy.
war for the Planet of the Apes
They’re at war, no nuclear potions though? The story has some interesting points that are brought up like how the virus also makes the humans dumb and mute and the way some people act to try to save their world. I also feel the movie is not large scale enough, and it’s interesting to see how the world had evolved, I feel more could’ve been done like say some atomic weapons being dropped accidentally in other places? Seeing the Apes become far more civilized? Some neat ideas and a good conclusion to the trilogy but like the other two movies it leaves more to be desired from them. Solid Trilogy despite the complains.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
I like that it’s clearly not a direct sequel but still continuing the story. It gives a nice break for you to jump off and for it to do its own thing. They want to start a new trilogy with this movie but let’s see how that plans out. I can definitely tell the CG has gotten far better. I give them props for continuing the story, though at this point I think only hardcore fans really care to know what’s happening in this world. I do think Noa is able to show far more emotion than Ceasar ever did, but I give that to technology and also that this is the fourth movie in the series and apes are finally able to communicate.
As far as continuity with the original movies, I personally think it fits better in its own timeline but I don’t have a problem with people trying to shoehorning it in the original movies timeline, it could work as well. I think the styles clash too much but there’s enough references here and there that it could be done if you really want to. The Planet of the Apes reboot succeeds in doing something new with the franchise which is surprising. I’m not sure if it’s the best take but I am more than fine with a quality gritty realistic version of the Planet of the Apes that is well done. It might not be my favorite take but they are solid movies with good effects and doing a great job showng animals as main characters.