'War for the Planet of the Apes' REVIEW: By far the most powerful, poignant and emotionally

'War for the Planet of the Apes' is the third and supposedly final film in the rebooted 'Planet of the Apes' Trilogy, the previous films being Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). If you want to know how I feel about those two films, well I love them. I do honestly love 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' a little better than 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes', but for modern day reboots of the franchise they are still spectacular. Usually with a third film of a trilogy the quality would significantly drop and end in a low note, right? Not this one. This film ranks high with films like Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) as they third films in a trilogy and turn out to be the best of the best.

This newest films picks up 5 years after the events of the last film, the ape leader Caesar (played by Andy Serkis) tries to lead his fellow apes into a place of salvation while trying to keep out of the way of the remaining humans on Earth. As seen from just the trailers, there is a colonel (played by Woody Harrelson) who wants to force Caesar and the rest of the apes into slavery and a war between man and apes have just begun or does it?

Well to me personally, this is an Apes film that will definitely subvert peoples expectation of how the story of the film plays out. From the trailers you might expect this film to be the most action heavy among all the films, right? But, shockingly no. Just know when walking into the movie theater please be expecting a hardcore drama about the humanity of man and how fear and hatred can consume us all. The film also has the most convincing performance from the master of motion capture: Andy Serkis. You'd be surprised that for a film that is mostly filled with computer-generated characters they'll look and feel real to you on a technical level and a emotional one. With every Apes film that's been released the CGI just looks better and better. Woody Harrelson also plays a compelling villain in which you'll most certainly grasp on why he's doing what he's doing to these apes and where he's coming from. This film also has an inclusion of two new characters a wordless girl (played by Amiah Miller) and a lonely ape named Bad Ape (played by Steve Zahn) who tag along with Caesar and his buddies who are the most interesting highlight of the film. While I wouldn't describe the action as bigger than the last film, it still provides plenty of tension as you want our main heroes to make it out alive. What I also admire about this film is that it has the guts to exhibit Holocaust and slavery imagery, so this is an Apes film that isn't for the faint of heart. And the final few minutes will definitely have you in tears, I guarantee it.

In my opinion the film doesn't have many shortcomings that I would call major, but if anything I'd say maybe the second act does take a while to get going. Other than that, I got nothing.

In conclusion, this latest effort from director Matt Reeves who also directed the last Apes film is by far his finest. It's a film that does require patience from the audience as it is dark and emotionally stirring, however they'll have their spirits lifted by the end.

'War for the Planet of the Apes' gets an A