Planet der Affen: Survival

Erwarten Sie keinen "Krieg“, der dauert hier ungefähr vier Minuten. Der Film ist ein langsames, gefühlvoll erzähltes "Pilger“-Drama, das sich auf verschiedene Figuren und ihre gegenseitigen Gefühlsinteraktionen konzentriert, natürlich in einer perfekt gestalteten Natur. Ähnlich wie beim letzten The Jungle Book übertreffen die Schauspielleistungen der motion capture Gesichter der Affen die lebendigen Schauspieler*innen (außer W. Harrelson). Ihre Ausführung mit den Details der Haut/ der Haare ist aus technologischer Sicht wieder ein Schritt weiter als in Planet der Affen: Revolution. Unglaublich. (12.07.2017)

My disappointment with the last film was so great that I avoided the trailers for the third one, feeling their uselessness. However, Reeves was either kept sedated or some brave producer really believed him, and I can hardly resist getting excited about arguably the boldest summer blockbuster in years. The opening action is still very forced, but then for the next hour, four monkeys, whose CGI rendering is a CGI reality approaching perfection, track a military unit through a snowy landscape at a slow but cinematically precise and deliberate pace. All the while, they are driven by the best possible cinematic engine, i.e., the desire for revenge. It was clear that all would be forgiven and I just prayed that it would keep going like this, as Michael Giacchino conducts the minimalist retro score and the cinematography flirts with the turn of the sixth and seventh decades of the last century. And that’s not all. Woody Harrelson varies the best possible creation of khaki madness spewed from the heart of darkness, and after the famous dialogue with Caesar, the film jumps on the dark wave of the erratic nature of desired good and the lure of ambiguous evil to bring it to an epic end. Even amidst the cheesy interludes and pathos of heroic self-sacrifice, it still keeps a grim face that relies on heroes who are no longer amusing apes who can do funny gestures, but solid figures whose emerging evolutionary supremacy is not to be doubted. (13.07.2017)

They weren't kidding overseas, the third Planet of the Apes is another great spectacle. Matt Reeves continues the tone set by the previous installments and delivers a film that, while nearly two and a half hours long, isn't afraid to slow down and make time for scenes where the characters just sit around, talk, and you find out little details about them that make you worry about them instead of just waiting for the final set-piece. While last time the apes and humans were given similar space, this time it's almost all about Caesar, but Woody Harrelson has enough space to shine next to the digital (and of course amazing-looking) animal characters. I can imagine that the finale, with its slightly unexpected concept, won't quite suit some people, but paradoxically it makes all the ideas that have been hinted at several times throughout the film come through. Overall, War for the Planet of the Apes is exactly what we expected and hoped for. Plus, it confidently references the Charlton Heston version more than once, giving answers to questions one might not have thought to ask. A good and clever blockbuster. There's bloody little of that in cinemas.. (16.08.2017)

Vier Sterne aus Liebe zu Caesar und wegen des Respekts vor Matt Reeves‘ Mumm, einen Film zu drehen, der größtenteils auf Stille, Gesten und Langsamkeit aufbaut. Leider führt der Versuch, sich den Höhepunkt der Trilogie nicht zu schnell zu erreichen, dazu, dass der Film ihn vollends verschläft. Es fehlt hier an einem starker Gegner der Marke Koby (na ja - der Film muss ihn auch irgendwann zumindest als Erscheinung herbeibeschwören), Woody Harrelson ist sehr figurenhaft, wirkt wie eine einfache Schablone, eine Lightversion des Colonel Kurtz, die echter Dämonen entbehrt. Der Anfang besticht auch durch den erfinderischen Minimalismus Michael Giacchinos und Seresins detailorientierter Kameraführung mit variabler Schärfentiefe, die zweite Prison-Break-ähnliche Hälfte zieht sich leider hin, es fehlt ihr an Energie und einem sie stützenden Dilemma. Der Rätsels Lösung ist zwar einfallsreich und passt zum Schlüssel der gesamten Trilogie, jedoch die versprochene Affen-Apocalypse ist bei weitem nicht so schicksalhaft und überwältigend, wie es die Trilogie verdient hätte, der es gelingt, die Menschlichheit fantasievoll auf die Affen zu übertragen. Einen Triumph stellt somit lediglich die einfach unglaublich detaillierte und präzise Animation/das Schauspielerische aller Beteiligten dar. Leichte Enttäuschung. [70%] (12.07.2017)

An apocalypse (in terms of structure and "the negative character" and even annoyingly frequent visual references) incorporated into the ending of the trilogy, which in turn is incorporated into all the story lines, characters and themes based on the original Monkey Planet through a torn inner struggle for Caesar's soul. Yes, it's overcomplicated, and despite it´s not the Conrad´s Heart of Darkness in apes version, the resulting "Ape-pocalypse Now / ape Logan" is a surprisingly faded, free from any action (there's no war, and even taking about talking about fight or dispute would be an exaggeration. This is the Bridge on the River Kw... Planet of the Apes), whose many obvious drawbacks "but" (all humans are stupid, unreasonably long footage, unbalanced pace, deus ex machine ending) don´t really matter thanks to emotions, captivating Serkis, enchanting first half and "invisible" CGI effects, which are not here to impress. (12.07.2017)

Old Man Caesar. I was afraid that the purely war-themed ending wouldn't be dignified enough for this saga of primates and humans, but the opposite is true. It's not just an action ride; it's a multi-genre crossbreed that took my breath away with every change of storytelling spirit. From the almost palpable weight of the experienced leader's fate, through the mental battle of two strong personalities, to the escape, intensified by its unbearable tension. The last chapter even extracts so many emotions from me that I was surprised they were all just for the Planet of the Apes. Thanks to everyone who allowed Matt Reeves to have an impact on the script because War for the Planet of the Apes surpasses the thematically very close Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in everything. (30.12.2017)

A fantastic end to the trilogy. Smart, emotional, it grabs your heart. After all we have been with Caesar right from the very beginning. Reeves skillfully depicts a conflict between the fanatic colonel and the main hero, causing a powerful denouement. The special effects are absolutely top-notch, the acting convincing. Beautiful music. (23.07.2017)

The initial draw into the action with a chilling forest scene is still fine, but as soon as the generic piano motif trying to mine the viewer for emotion kicks in, it was clear that it was over and the third time was definitely not going to be the charm. This is a film that could have been anything: a war apocalypse to save the world, an ape odyssey, a grim post-apocalyptic ape drama. Unfortunately, however, it’s a bit of a patchwork of everything and as a result, it lacks a strong theme, something fatal compared to the previous episodes, especially the first one, which also had a nice "realistic natural disaster" feel to it. The acting of the rendered apes is a class above that of any real actors. Unfortunately, even Woody Harrelson picked a weaker moment and an absolutely bad movie. Two stars for the visual effects and (digital) expressions of the apes, which ironically were the only tangible, real ones. (14.10.2017)

Es wundert mich, wie viele Menschen sich beschweren, dass in Planet der Affen: Survival nicht "viel gekämpft“ wird. Ich bin froh, dass es so ist. Die Kriegsszenen, die es im Film gibt, sind für mich völlig ausreichend. Sie sind so suggestiv und hart, dass ich nicht mehr davon gebraucht habe. Ich freue mich nämlich sehr darüber, dass die unglaublich tollen Effekte vor allem dazu dienen, hundertprozentig glaubhafte Figuren zu schaffen. So kann das Publikum ihre Geschichte verfolgen, besonders die von Caesar, nicht wahr. Die Geschichte, die uns eine der heldenhaftesten Filmfiguren aller Zeiten zeigt (und das meine ich todernst), befasst sich mit Menschlichkeit und Unmenschlichkeit, sie erweitert geschickt die Gedanken des Films aus dem Jahr 2011 (wer hätte das damals gedacht?) und kommt dem Film aus dem Jahr 1968 immer näher. An der Regie und ihren stimmungsvollen Szenen habe ich nichts zu beanstanden. So viel Rührung vom Anfang bis zum Ende habe ich wirklich nicht erwartet. Man beobachtet eine schauspielerische Extraklasse (der Colonel und Nova sind die einzigen interessanten Menschen und das ist auch richtig so). Und vor allem ist der Film ständig interessant, fesselnd, episch, aber bescheiden zugleich. Und die Musik von Michael Giacchino! (15.07.2017)

So, first things first. War for the Planet of the Apes is not the blockbuster of the decade I was hoping for thanks to the emotionally draining trailers and the enthusiastic foreign reviews, it has plenty of logical flaws and especially slow spots where, for example, Rise of the Planet of the Apes didn't have a single one. That said, this is an immensely refreshing and narratively unorthodox tentpole film by Hollywood standards, managing to both comprehensively conclude the overarching storyline regarding the character development of the leader Caesar, as well as bolt on a new series of events to his development, wrapped up in a grimly escalating and quite thoughtful cycle. The western-like first act, which stirs the vengeful appetites of the hitherto valiant Caesar, is absolutely fantastic in its contemplative atmosphere. In the rest, Reeves decently develops and concludes the internal (love vs hate) and external (apes vs humans) conflicts, delivering beautiful visuals and unconventional endings that don't affect the characters, but Mother Nature herself (which nicely underlines what it was about all along), but at the same time the narrative runs out of ammo in places and the prison break, for example, while not losing its fatalism, struggles with logic and believability. To praise the visual effects would be like taking nerds to an IT competition, so I will at least praise the tragicomic character of Bad Ape and the associated voice acting of Steven Zahn, and the casting of a little girl whose every look is worth a thousand words. A worthy conclusion to a great trilogy, although expectations were a bit higher after the deceptive trailers. (14.07.2017)

As in the previous installment, I liked how lifelike the apes were, but the story itself wasn’t particularly compelling. I didn't have to strain my imagination very far to guess which way the plot would go, it was all so predictable. It definitely wasn't boring, but it could have done with a substantial shortening of the running time without the film suffering in any way. On a side note, the film obviously wasn't made by apes. If it had been, it certainly would have been less melodramatic, and bananas would have played a much bigger role in the story. (02.02.2018)

This is an excellent ending to the trilogy, which does have a little too much Christian symbolism, but it can be ignored because you'll be rooting for the monkeys anyway. Humans deserve their fate, not only because of how they treat nature and other species, but also because of how they treat each other. The symbolism is good and strong in this film and it features great characters and a strong story. (30.10.2017)

I'm not a big fan of American blockbusters, but this ape trilogy really appealed to me. Maybe because of the very disturbing prophecy concerning of the fate of humanity, especially in terms of the spread of a dangerous virus that will brainwash as it mutates (a very real concept, considering the unfortunate changes that covid-19 causes to brain tissue)... And then I also have to admit that the theme is brilliantly handled visually and musically, while not drowning out the story and the central idea of the whole work. Of the three movies, I was definitely most impressed by the nicely chilling final part, in which the chimpanzee Caesar gets into tangle with the ruthless Colonel McCullough, in an unparalleled performance from Woody Harrelson. (85%) (16.10.2022)