War for the Planet of the Apes (4 Stars)

This is the third film in the new Planet of the Apes trilogy. It takes place fifteen years after the outbreak of the virus known as Simian Flu, which makes it five years after the second film.

The major plot development in this film is the development of the Simian flu. In the initial outbreak it killed 99.8% of the human race. Now it's having a detrimental effect on the survivors. Intelligence drops rapidly, beginning with the inability to speak. Military leaders are executing those who show these symptoms to stop the plague spreading, but they're fighting a losing battle.

After the defeat of the human community in the last film only a large army base is present in San Francisco, led by a man called Colonel McCullough. Caesar offers peace if they stay away from the woods where the apes live, but the Colonel is determined to wipe out the apes.

In a sneak attack by the army Caesar's wife and older son are killed. Caesar vows revenge on the Colonel, but he doesn't want to involve his people in it. He sends his people away towards Nevada and heads towards the army base alone. Three of his closest companions accompany him against his will.

It's just as well that Caesar separated from his people. When he arrives at the base he sees that the migrating apes have all been captured and are being forced to build camp reinforcements. Most of the film is taken up by the attempts to free them.

Of the three films the third film holds the highest critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I don't know why. I find it slightly weaker than the two preceding films. Nevertheless, it's a competent conclusion to the trilogy. It still hasn't been decided whether there will be any more Planet of the Apes films. The decision will be based on money, and all three films were financial successes, but from an artistic standpoint it would be good to stop now. Look at what happened to the original series, which would have profited from ending after the second film. It's possible that a future fourth film could live up to the high standards reached so far, but is it worth the risk?

Success Rate:  + 1.3

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