Planet of the Apes - trilogy

Hello steemians, today I decided to talk about one of my favorite movie- Planet of Apes

The identity of Kaizer Shoze, the fate of Bruce Willis in the “Sixth sense”, and the meeting of Charlton Heston with the Statue of Liberty at the end of the Planet of the Apes in 1968 were some of the most significant and most anticipated film crafts in the history of cinema. Although Heston is no longer screaming at the apes to "pull off his dirty, monkey paws from him," this does not mean that the story of monkey civilization fell off on several sequels, feature and animated series and the failed remake in 2001. No, this story could not be completed until the audience gets answers to the questions of how-why-when-how much-who. After "The Beginning" and "Revolution," we can now look at "War," the third part that finally completes the story of Caesar and the company!

Although reluctant, we need to start this text by noting that in recent years in major Hollywood studios, nothing has been recorded but sequels, adaptations, remakes and pre-sets. The truth is that despite they are the money generating machines, that do not mean that some of them do not possess an artistic impression and quality (although some do not even try khm-Transformers-khm). The producers are rarely competing who will hire new talents, and when they get them, sometimes they allow them to leave their mark on the franchise. Of course, sometimes things go wrong and then we get Baywatch: an example when the obsessive need of a profit on account of nostalgia becomes fiasko. However, although the audience essentially does not ask for them - these films are there; why not make them better?

This policy was led by producers who decided to return the ape series to life. After the fiasco with the remake of Tim Barton in 2001, few people believed that the audience would accept a movie from the same franchise, and the artists wanted to get as far away as possible from such an approach to screening. It was decided not to have costumes and makeup (not counting the tricots for motion-capture technique), but the apes were digitally processed using an actor's play by Andy Serkis, who got skilled in this type of acting, since we saw him as Golum, King Kong, Snouka and other similar animated roles. The action is placed in the near future and the protagonist is a simian (higher primate), i.e. people have been put into another plan. They were not going the way of navigation and banal responses, nor did they try to come closer to audiences who do not like to read titles while monkeys use their sign language. Although the series was created for making money, apes were nevertheless given the soul, three-dimensionality and not so fast and wonderful development. It is true that the screenwriters could give, by some magic or a magical drink, voice and higher intelligence to the apes in the first film, but luckily, the filmmakers decided to take a longer and more painful path.

THE RISE (2011)

Cast: Andy Serkis, James Franco, John Litgou, Frida Pinto, Brian Cox, David Ojelovo, Karin Konoval

Director: Rupert Wyatt

A trilogy like itself must have its own story of becoming. In this section, we meet Dr. Villa Rodman (James Franco), a scientist from San Francisco, who is trying to cure his father of Alzheimer's disease. After the incidents in the laboratory, he discovers that one of the chimps was pregnant while experimenting on her, and that her baby successfully accepted the ALZ-112 drug in the stomach. From the early days, Little Caesar showed signs of intelligence, like humans, and Dr. Will agrees to keep up with his development. However, since Caesar is older and more intelligent, he himself understands that he does not belong among people and that it is time to find his place in the sun. Also, some kind of virus has exterminated the human race, but it does not matter, everyone is already rooting for Caesar and the company.

When it appeared in cinemas, this film earned his good reputation and positive reviews largely thanks to the fact that the audience expected a holiday remake, and got a more elaborate and deeper story. Although it is suffering from a sickening cliche and a somewhat banalized human motivation (of course, the boss of a pharmaceutical company is greedy, could he be different ?!), this film can not be denied wth the excellent animation of monkeys that we thought on a few occasions that they were made of flesh and blood. Andrew Serkis also showed here how easily he can transform himself into being if needed, and his Caesar becomes one of the best and most elaborate protagonists in the multitude of trilogies that surround us.

Revolution (2014)

Cast: Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russell, Jason Clark, Karin Konoval

Directed by: Met Rivs

Ten years after the simian virus nearly exterminated the human race, Caesar and his friends are living in their colony near San Francisco. Their peace is interrupted by the groups of survivors, who surprise monkeys in their quest for the source of energy that is necessary for survival. Caesar is in doubt - to help people or stay away from them in order to protect his tribe, asking himself: which side is more dangerous to this other?Secretly striving to establish a link between survivors and monkeys, Caesar encounters the resistance of his comrades, especially Kobe, the bonobo of the chimpanzee who wants revenge for the years of laboratory abuse.

If we have to hide and find an objection in this film, then they are pale and negligible human characters, as well as too many exposures in dialogues. The first criticism is a bit of a problem, and it's really a pitty that it did they did not work on it more, but if it's the price we had to pay for not enjoying this intelligent and emotionally charged movie - let it be! In fact, if we throw out that stupid plot with the hydroelectric plant and people in general, the conflict between Caesar and Kobe is in every sense of that word - epic! The developmental path of this bitter bonobo, his motivation, as well as the human traits that ihe manifests in his hatred of people, has been perfectly elaborated and magically transferred to the screen, as for the acting of Toby Kebel, as for the already praised VFX team.

War (2017)

Cast: Andy Serkis, Vudi Harelson, Steve Zan, Amaya Miller, Karin Konoval

Directed by: Met Rivs

Conflicts between humans and monkeys do not quench, and Caesar decides that it is best for his tribe to leave the West Coast and stumble across the desert to some places with less homoapiens. However, after an attack during the night, a human squad led by an unscrupulous Colonel (Vudi Harelson), seeking Caesar , he, by mistake, killed his son and wife. Depressed by rage, despair, and desire for vengeance, Caesar leaves his tribe and moves in search of people who he wants to punish for crimes on his kind.

Regarding the progression of the story by parts, it is not difficult to compare this trilogy with the film screening of Lord of the Rings. Each section is complemented by the following, the story is growing, the characters are developing, and each film carries with it’s unique atmosphere, transmitting a separate message, while not indebting to the entire narration. As the Return of the King, this film gives us a spectacular ending (and  the necessary answers), not relying on the action (which it has, because, is it the War), but on the inner turmoil of characters, especially Caesar, his touching the "dark side" and the ferociousness that he had once resented to Kobe. There are almost no expositions in the dialogues, but only in one scene, but it is a short one. The objection that we can point out is that the message of the film may have been slightly more pronounced, and remind us, on several occasions, of some other works of Charlotte Heston and his biblical opus. In addition to crossing the desert and some Jesus moments, there was little association with the Holocaust,little bit of Apocalypse today, little bit of Djano Unchained ... However, like the previous part, he proved that the summer, franchise blockbuster can refresh the genre and be a role model to some other series.

"... it was Earth all along ..."

When the original Planet Monkey came out in 1968, it achieved tremendous success (both critically and financially) and became an unexpected hit - especially since very little was expected from the SF genre at the time. This is one of the first films that started a themed robot mania, fan worship and serialization to the bone. For the SF of that time, the Planet of the Apes dealt with some crucial issues and problems of contemporary society, especially racial segregation and the impossibility of slavery. Though this series owes its life to the novel of La Planète des Singes by French writer Pierre Boalo, the film itself is quite different from the written template. The most important change is exactly the one that brought the film into history: It was Earth all along!

Not only has it become one of the best movie shifts, this change for decades has resulted in a trilogy of pre-statements, providing us with a well said answer to the question: how on earth did everything fall apart, and the monkeys replaced people ?! It was not difficult, add the virus here and there, the human greed that has never failed us, and the side effects of developed intelligences such as scheming and desire for vengeance. Both monkeys and humans simultaneously demonstrate humanity and primitiveness; the two sides are slightly different, but only one can rule.

When you look at the whole, i.e. make yourself a marathon of movies like me, you will notice that there is no "bad guy," or the dark power, the evil wizard, the devil, the final boss in the game ... What each of the antagonists leads are devastating emotions and bad judgments - something that is close and understandable to us. That's why it's hard to cheer for one side or the other, the boundary between them is slim. Actually, this film even better shows war, conflicting sides, and the fate of individuals during the crisis than some more famous war films. Wars are never black and white and it is difficult to objectively display both sides. It sounds strange, but the film about the apes who can speak is succeeding in it.

I mentioned that this series is comprehensive, but even if you missed a part (especially the original one from 1968), it will not bother you when watching the War. It is favored by the critics, but also the audience, who are made of SF fans, and those who do not like this genre. If you are tired of blockbusters with empty characters and too many action in action movies - this movie is a cure for it. I hope that other franchises will be taken by his example.