WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

(2017) It's been several years since the deranged Koba started the war with humans in the second film of the trilogy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Now, the human population heavily decimated with the "Simian Flu" that helped the apes to evolve in the first place, leader Caesar (Andy Serkis) - who'd always advocated peace between the apes and mankind - leads what is left of the apes in what he hopes will remain a peaceful life in the jungle ... until some soldiers are sent in to attack and kill Caesar, slaughtering over 60 more apes by the time all the violence is over. Still believing in peace, Caesar spares the lives of the few surviving soldiers, sending them back with a message to their superior officer: "I did not start this war. I killed the ape who started this war. Leave us the jungle, leave us in peace." But when a follow-up attack leads to tragedy for Caesar, via a crazed colonel with an agenda (Woody Harrelson, doing his best crazy-eyed whackjob schtick), Caesar realizes that not only does he have to set his fellow apes on the path to a new home, for their own safety ... but that he also cannot go with them. Not yet. Not until the colonel is dead. So begins the final chapter of this trilogy, which updated the original Planet of the Apes films to modern-day, and as much as I loathe an over-abundance of CGI/special effects in today's films, I have always found the films in this series fascinating to watch because of the utter realism that often makes the simian characters infinitely more humane than the human ones. No exceptions here as we follow Caesar on his odyssey, the great leader having terrifying visions of the dead Koba as a warning of what may befall him should he keep on his path. Along his way, War for the Planet of the Apes has moments of drama, suspense, tragedy, humor, passion, pathos, frustration, fear, and you'll even shed a few tears before it's all over. Caesar and his story both deserved an epic final chapter - and while I'm not sure this finale was quite epic enough (most of the action takes place in a cold, abandoned military compound in the mountains, kind of a static and dismal backdrop), the evolution of visual storytelling between these and the original films alone is as stunning to watch as the evolution of the apes themselves. (rated PG-13)  9/10 stars