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One of the things I appreciate about the franchise and this movie in particular is the biblical imagery and parallels. Caesar’s story parallels Moses. Caesar is very much an ape variation of Moses or at heavily inspired by him. The scene in the beginning when he walks through after the opening battle and they all bow to him like he’s a prophet. Caesar is essentially an ape version of Moses - spared from death as a baby (Will taking him home), raised with a privileged upbringing (raised as a pet), is exiled (ie sent to the fake sanctuary), becomes leader of his own people (bonds with Rocket, Maurice and others at the fake sanctuary), frees them from bondage (breaks out of the fake sanctuary - 500+ year enslavement by pharaohs, and again later when they are held in the ape detention camp - Babylonian occupation? 🧐🤷🏻♂️) establishes a new land for his people to call their own (creating a home in the redwoods, and again at the waterfalls) overcomes internal strife and rebellion after everything he did for them (defeating Koba’s revenge/coup), brings them to the promised land but because he broke one of the commandments (by killing Winter - Ape no kill Ape! 🙉) he is only allowed to bring them to promised land but, not actually join them. Caesar’s story parallels Moses. Caesar is very much an ape variation of Moses or at heavily inspired by him. Maurice is then very much like Aaron, the supreme Levite priest and advisor to Moses, Rocket is a good parallel to Joshua. “Apes together strong” becoming more than just a phrase but becoming a religious expression (similar to the Israelites, “God is with us”) The events may be slightly out of order but the direct parallels are definitely there.
Also uses a lot of homages and callbacks not only to original franchise, but also other iconic classics - bridge on the river kwai (ape compound and Caesar convincing the colonel to give them food and water), Schindler’s list (again, the ape concentration camp and also the colonel standing on the balcony like Amon Goeth), the great escape (tunneling out of the compound and using the battle between humans as a distraction allowing them to escape). Coupled with the biblical imagery it really is one of the most best movies in cinema history. 😎
Man, Rocket’s arc through this trilogy: from schoolyard bully to grieving father to heroic devotee. And the fact that, in the end, he’s the first one to turn and run to Caesar kills me every time.
My favorite detail from this movie is that the soldier who ends up mortally wounding Caesar (and who Caesar saved in the opening sequence) spends the ENTIRE movie with this uncertain and conflicted expression on his face. In every single scene we see him, he looks like he's having this constant, massive internal debate over whether or not his actions are right, and whether or not he should help the apes. But what makes it my favorite is that he NEVER ACTUALLY DOES ANYTHING TO HELP. He never listens to his conscience, he never breaks ranks, he never lets himself become a better person. And I think that's such a perfect and damning critique of warfare and genocide: that it ultimately doesn't MATTER how good of a person you are "deep down", or how much guilt you feel "on the inside"- your actions matter more than your feelings. And his actions were that of a mindless, perfect soldier, inner conflict be damned. He lived the life of a simple grunt, and he died the death of a simple grunt.
Your description is exactly what I feel about those who serve their country who, despite their struggles and sacrifices, are nothing but pawns of their leaders. Forever trapped in their game of chess as history repeats itself, again and again. In war, there are no protagonists nor antagonists; only casualties. Civilization is the mere cause of all this. Ideologies shifts, rebels are born, sides will be taken and war will naturally ensue. Like Ultron said in the second movie of the Avengers, we rise; only to fall. If I had the power to do so, I would finally break the cycle, once and for all. Who’s with me? 🗣✊
@@SorenAlba54it's true that most wars there's no protags and antags like a TV show or movie but only exception to that rule might've been the Nazis and their zealots and maybe the confederates and debatably other key figures who committed the worst of the worst atrocities and it's still debatable if there were Nazis who were dragged into the war unwillingly but didn't wanna be sent to concentration camps same argument for the South there were citizens who helped blacks back then and risked their lives but because it was dominated by the people we interpreted as the bad guys we think every single person was evil
That’s the sad reality we live in. We are ruled by the victors who have the capability of making many changes. Unfortunately, not a single of one of them has ever made the most significant change that served for the good of all because no one stays good when they have power. Furthermore, because we are born to be flawed beings in every way imaginable, we don’t even have the capacity to dominate others so no matter what we do or what we say, we will never live in peace and harmony. @@VileThaMercenary
I don't think anyone expected movies about talking apes taking over the world to be as emotionally impactful as they were. Such a brilliant reboot of this series and Andy Serkis was a big hand in that.
@@deanthemachine8879 The amount Andy Serkis was able to get us to invest in Kino Loy in just three episodes was unreal. The man is a genuine acting powerhouse.
@@deanthemachine8879He has over 30 Non-CGI roles already, mostly in the UK. He came from a stage theater experience. Enslaved and Heavenly Sword were both great video games he was in too. PS3 release era games.
The lack of recognition for his mocap work is terrible. But I hope he eventually gets one of the honorary achievement Academy Awards, for his entire body of work and contributions to the industry. Unfortunately it likely wouldn't come until he's old and retired, but it's long since been deserved already.
Maurice is seen speaking once in the previous movie, after Koba shoots Caesar and the “Human gun” is discovered. He says to the humans who are in Caesar’s home just one word. “Run.”
Steve Zahn (who plays Bad Ape) is such an underrated actor deserves all the praise from his performance in this movie. Matt Reeves even said that Steve’s ability to bring balance between comedy and emotional moments in the movie made it work so well. (30:06. Hey I mentioned that. haha thanks for the shout out 👍)
The weird thing about the Apes movies is they come out of NOWHERE. The most recent one i had not heard a single word about it and then BOOM! Teaser. My reaction is always that GIF of Palpatine saying "A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one"
Rocket is the one that bullied Caesar back in the apes cage place thing in first movie but now he respected him so much he follow him anywhere he go,he literally would've die for him
My "head-cannon" for Woody Harrelson's character has always been that when he succumbed to the Simian Flu, he realized he was "still in there". That while he had changed, and couldn't speak, he was still himself. Still human. I've always felt that when he realized what he did to his son wasn't mercy, it was murder, he died inside... The bullet was only a formality. He is the dark reflection of Cesar. But where Cesar found redemption, Harrelson's character is consumed by his hatred, and ultimately, destroyed by it.
Bad Ape could’ve been a disaster for this movie if not executed correctly, but he is such a great addition. Comedy lands every time for me. Love his character
If you wanted another reason to hate the Colonel, it was confirmed that he killed Malcolm, Ceasar’s main human friend from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for trying to ask him for peace between the humans and the apes.
Everything aside, I think this movie has the best overall CGI use I have ever seen. Rise was great, Dawn even better, but War just makes the apes look absolutely real and it still holds up. I'm hyped for Kingdom, even though I am wary as Reeves is no longer involved.
Well Reeves wasn't involved in Rise, and that one was still great. Also Kingdom has the same writers that Rise and Dawn had. So maybe those writers are the key.
Admittedly I’m more interested because of the new director, who’s planned to direct the Zelda movie. I want to see what he can do when a good premise is already set for him.
I noticed something Donkey and Winter are kind of like opposites if you think about it, not just in hair color but also in how they turned out. Donkey a traitor all the way then becomes loyal to the apes and Winter loyal all the way until he betrays the apes, quite poetic actually as you said in the beginning
The way Caesar says Cornelius always makes me shed a tear he just saw his whole family dead and thought either his other son died or got taken and he was so relieved to know his youngest son was alive but also super devastated of seeing the death of his family
One of the most underrated cinematic trilogies of recent history. SO many people skipped it because, "hahaha, stupid CGI monkeys," *ding* but it was incredible. I am scared for the next one though. I don't know if it can keep up with these 3.
I'll be honest, I almost hate the fact these movies are an exception to the rule of reboots being soulless cash grabs! Almost every reboot I've seen I preferred the original, and then you get his trilogy that just does so much brilliant character work, with a real intellectual and emotional core
Yes i agree, i even thought about watching these because i thought they would be silly. But my appendix burst recently and i was stuck in the hospital and all i could do was watch tv and these movies came on and i was sooo impressed. The acting and the story is so good. Very underrated.
If this reboot was another reboot of the 68 version it would've flopped but I'm glad they did an origin story leading up to that point in time as kingdom is basically going to be the 68 version hopefully outdoing the original and maybe minus the time traveling humans
@@VileThaMercenary They already did a reboot in the early 2000's, why would they do another 10 years later...? That was never in the cards so it doesn't even need mentioned.
I'm glad you mentioned that this reminded you of the Exodus story since I haven't watched any reactor acknowledge this. Because the allusion is very strong: the slavery, the persecution, and nature consuming the enemies. Caesar is like the Moses-figure here, which in the end, even he didn't enter "the Promised Land"
Slavery: Colonel McCullough and his Alpha-Omega soldiers put the apes to work on building them the wall like how the pharaoh and the Egyptians put the hebrews to work. Like how the Egyptian soldiers are consumed by the waters of the Red Sea, the soldiers from the north are consumed by the avalanche. Like how Moses died knowing he led the Israelites to Canaan so they can start their travel to the Promised Land while he witnessed it from Mount Nebo, Caesar died from his wounds knowing he led the apes to their new home.
I think the line "He will know who is father is" Maurice says speaks more to a solemn promise that Caesar and his contributions to ape society will be cherished and remembered.. Which makes it a particularly bittersweet line for those of us familiar with the original movies. In which we see how far from Ceasar's teachings this new society will become.
Some don't rock with the original series, but watching at least the first Planet of the Apes movie amplifies your experience during this trilogy. The anticipation of Ceasar first saying "No" " and showing apes as masters of the humans and them being the main antagonists in the first film made all the foreshadowing and twists in this one so much more special.
Also fun fact The guy with the crossbow's name is preacher and was originally going to side with ceaser but the director cut it because he felt that it took away from the message of the movie
You should now watch the original Planet of the Apes. It ties into these three films very well. The Director and writer did a really good job connecting these to at least the original. Also you can see why Trevor Slattery saw when he first saw that movie too.
Yes and Cornelius is grown up in the original, maybe the next one shows how they became a society and the need for 'The Forbidden Zone'. The end of 'Kingdom' could be the sighting of Taylor's ship burning up in the atmosphere, or something like that would connect the saga better, I think. :)
@@JosephHuntelvisnspiders They had a blink-and-you-missed-it Easter egg about Taylor's ship in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, where a television report briefly shows a rocket launch for a manned expedition to Mars.
all 3 films a littered with easter eggs/tributes to the original movies, it's worth watching the original movies again (especially the first one) just to see how many you can spot 😊
Greig Fraser did an incredible job in The Batman as cinematographer and he’s one of the best DoP’s in the industry right now. I would not want him to be replaced for The Batman: Part II
Not really, but some say this "reboot" of the Apes films, that it ties into the 1968 original. It does to a point, but that film has its own continuity with the 4 films that followed it (Beneath, Escape, Conquest, and Battle). The original is a classic. Definitely worth a look!
This trilogy is definitely not a reboot of the original film. It fits in perfectly with it. The sequels - yes. And while those movies are sort of fun, they also devolved into serious camp and cheese and can still exist in their own world while this trilogy fits in better with the original.
‘I feel like it won’t have a happy ending’ 😆 if you've ever watch the original 5 films this statement is most amusing. That and all the speculation about what is happening to humans.
Me too, I really want her to do the originals, or at least the first film, the original sequels got pretty campy pretty quick, the first one though is overlooked imo and dismissed as silly like the others too often, when it’s a genuinely pretty classic and well written sci fi movie.
Watching you going on the Apes journey has been awesome Nat. You definitely weren't too sure at the start, but by the end you'd taken those apes to heart 🐵
You definitely need to watch the original Planet of the Apes(1968) , cause this trilogy is a prequel to it, and everything about the Simian Flu will all make sense
I am so very glad that you enjoyed your journey through *The Planet of the Apes.* There are several small nods to the original and it's subsequent sequels throughout all three of these movies. I would absolutely *love* to see your reaction to at least the very first original film. Yes, you will find parts of it hokey and some of it may be laborious as a modern audience member. But you will also see why these new films exist, how the themes have changed with the times, yet retain the same importance and poignancy to the generation they were made for. Personally, I really admire a story that can take a concept like "talking apes" and shock and awe the audience with its relevancy and sharp critiques.
It really irritates me that the Academy doesn’t recognize performance capture performances. Andy Serkis 100% deserved an Oscar, or at least a nomination for his performances in these movies. They could even make it a joint nomination with the visual effects team for any acting nominations for performance capture performances. But there needs to be some series recognition for him and performers like him.
There is another aspect to consider in these movies. While sentient, the instincts the apes have is still dominant. They follow strength. There were only a few exceptions, Caesar, Maurice, and Koba mainly. The few others included the sons of Rocket and Caesar. But beyond that, they are still much like their past versions, only smarter. Which makes this more tragic as the old guard sees little progress in their people and the ones who could have led them in the future are dead.
I just realized how much Caesar’s story is an adaptation of Moses. Orphan raised by the oppressors, brought enlightenment to his people, freed them with a rush of water (snow), and died before entering the Promised Land
Caesar was a character in the original 1960s quintilogy. I highly recommend watching those as well. Rod Serling ghost wrote the original film (hence the Twilight Zone ending).
Highly recommend watching the 1968 Planet of the Apes, as it is what sparked all of this. It is definitely dated but the story still holds up. These modern films are like a prequel reboot to that movie.
In the original planet of the apes the main character is a astronaut who ends up on earth after the apes evolved. The humans were all more primitive and couldn’t speak. The main character hurt his throat and couldn’t speak either until later in the movie. I love how these movies tie to the original movies.
Someone may have mentioned this last time, but the actor who mo-capped for Koba in this and the 2nd film, also mo-capped Kong in his first Legendary Monsterverse film (Kong: Skull Island -- plus he has kind of an extended cameo as one of the troops, too, who gets a poignant exit from the film.) He's a good normal actor, too: Toby Kebbel. My Mom and I are watching the most recent adaptation of Ben-Hur for the first time, the past couple of nights, and he does a great job as a more rounded version the main antagonist, Messala.
I'm worried the next movie will not have the same fantastic writing qaulity and character substance. Even though this movie is full of CGI. You forget that because the characters are so good/feel so real.
There are a lot of connections and nods toward the original Planet of The Apes movie in this one. It's really cool, because the groundwork is being laid out, but in a slightly different way than the original 1960s movie's lore.
If you watch the original Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston you will realise how many call backs there are to it in this trilogy. Thanks for posting these reactions to one of my favourite film series although I got the first one on DVD on a whim I was blown away by the story and production.
Will you be watching the original Planet of the Apes movies someday? I do hope so as I'm sure they would be really amazing reaction. Plus after the original movies were made, two spinoff TV shows came about, one live action and the other a cartoon. I also believe there was a Japanese version of Planet of the Apes.
A movie that you might consider watching and reacting to is called; "Pay It Forward" with Haley Joel Osment and Angie Dickenson and Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. If you haven't seen it, it's a very good movie. I love your content and I can't wait to see your next video. Keep up the good work.
And now you should watch the original series to see how much they carried over from them. Matt Reeves was a big fan of the original series and brought that into the trilogy.
It was the same with plantation owners who had slaves being snitches. some did it because they received better treatment, others were tortured or beaten into submission and still others were protecting their families from their masters. If a slave is too strong willed, then maybe seeing their children get beaten (and worse) will pacify them. That's what this is. As Cesar points out One ape alone can be pacified and turned weak; but many Apes together cannot. "Donkey" must have been captured while alone and FORCED into submission; then conditioned to NOT be hostile or retaliate.
Jadd J.A.D.D. Jadd This is one of the greatest movie trilogies ever. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes takes a massive time leap. So this trilogy is its own thing. Natalie, please watch the original five or just the original.
Such a powerful trilogy. The only problem with people seeing these without watching the originals then you miss out on the little nods they give to the first movies. Won't list them so it won't spoil if anyone hasn't seen thwm yet.
I spent my last day ever being 22 watching your videos. Thank you for posting a bringing some joy to our lives. Loneliness can be tough this makes me feel apart of something
Matt Reeves isn't involved in the movie in any way as far as I know, so I'm not overly optimistic. I'll go into it with an open mind but IMO Reeves elevated the series from a good one to an excellent one. But we'll see, I'd love to be wrong.
Not really a different continuity. That only happens with the sequels. The original fits perfectly with this and these were intended to. It’s just a couple of thousand years later and ape society has continued to change.
@@chuckshingledecker2216 Spoilers! I'm trying to throw her off the scent to try to best preserve the plot twist as possible. Also, I kind of like to think they are different continuities to explain why ape society ended up in New York when it started in California (which could be explained in Kingdom, i suppose.)
I agree in the outro These 3 movies was mind bloqing in sooo many ways And this last one really kept the grandiosity of the last 2 This was really fun 😎💛
Okay- Now I can reccomend the Original Planet of the Apes You will like it, You will get a +1 to your pop culture reference catalogue, and I think you'll get a kick out of the old practical effects; it is absolutely worth seeing now that you have the new trilogy to inform you about the story
I've seen all 10 Planet Of The Apes movies; the original from 1968 & its 4 sequels, the reimagined movie, & the 4 reboot movies. There is 1 element in particular I love about this movie that always bothered me about the original franchise. In the 3rd movie from the original franchise we learn that a virus wiped out all pets so humans trained apes as pets & servants, but then in the 4th movie they rose up against the humans. Over time the apes got smart which led to the events of the original 1968 movie, but it was never explained how or why humans became dumber than the apes. Here, it's explained that the virus that made apes smart while wiping out most of the human population mutated & started making the human survivors dumb, which was a clever explanation to that problem I always had about the original 1968 movie.
Hi New York Nat!😊 The 4th film is indeed an actual sequel, and takes place 300 years after this film. While Kingdom is a sequel, it will also be part of a new trilogy. Great reactions to the third film in the original modern trilogy, Nat!!!!🎬👏👏👏👏
Good call with the Biblical allegory. Caesar is Moses: raised among his oppressors, before becoming a leader and savior of his kind, later becoming a general, and guiding them as they wander, persecuted and hounded by the last of their oppressors And then, in this final arc, he leads them through the desert to the promised land. But just like Moses, he does not get to enjoy the promised land himself.
You should absolutely watch at least some of the original series. The first one is a classic for a reason, even if the “twist” at the very end isn’t really gonna work for you. The second and third are a step down but both have a lot of fun material if you like B-movies of the era. The fourth and fifth, which this trilogy roughly retells in a new continuity, are much rougher.
Fun fact; these movies were meant to serve as a prequel to the original Planet of the Apes movie. The original 1968 film was set in the far flung future where apes were the dominant species and humans were little more than mindless herd animals.
I watched the 2nd and 3rd movie first time recently and at some point I started laughing, realising how melodramatic the trilogy is which is not my favorite thing, but I was also doing the 'strong' hand signal with the other apes, yelling let's go, fully going along with supporting their cause LOL
They are so many Easter Eggs in this trilogy that refer back to the original 5 film series of the 60's & 70's... Hopefully you get to see those and catch the references... For example, I think Maurice is named for Maurice Evans, the actor who played Dr. Zaius in the original Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes...
It really would have been helpful if you had seen the original 1968 Planet of the Apes. The call backs via names, the girl's doll, the humans losing the power of speech, going across the desert. So many things that really set up the original.
The hardest part about watching these is feeling for both. They showed you a sweet ape Ceaser from the beginning but imagine being a human never knowing how this started, except a virus from human and monkey, but knowing every ape you come across might kill you. Would you fight for your very existence? or just be like omg that's apes cute lets all die?
One of the greatest endings of all time and One of the best trilogies of all time. Bittersweet, tragic and beautiful at all the same time! Andy Serkis deserves an Oscar for this epic performance!
I took Ceasar's death to be like Moses'. He was allowed to see his people through the desert and A arrive in the promised land, but not allowed to enter it. It is amazing how much stuff is sprinkled in to tie to the original. The apes nailed to the X is used in the original. The space mission is mentioned in Rise. Natalie should really see the original 1968 Planet of the Apes to see how it all evolves.
It wasn't immediately clear to me, until I watched the trailer for the fourth one, that these movies are leading directly to the very first film, the one from 1968. Now I have to wonder how many they're going to make. I hope they don't ruin this series.
I love the direction this movie chose to go, like obviously there’s still the human vs ape element but they really let the story evolve in to this beautiful sort of Shakespearean war tragedy.
I second the several other comments suggesting you give the original film (and maybe it's sequels) a go at some point. It's most likely not going to be as emotional an experience as these ones, and being from the late 60s some parts haven't aged too well from a modern perspective, but I think it's still worth a look.
It seems Kingdom will be connected to this trilogy, without explaining plot, the IMDb trivia page says it takes place about 300 years after War. Can’t wait to watch it and see how it matches up!
Just an observation- the Colonel claims the virus is making humans dumb and primitive, but this may be influenced by the human prejudice to equate mutism with stupidity. Case in point: Nova was also made mute by the virus, yet retains a high level of intelligence and compassion (picks up sign language quickly, coordinates with apes, realizes Caesar is suffering and feeds him). The original films actually show humanity evolving/devolving into multiple future species, so this might indicate that
Natalie, a really great series for you to check out would also be "The Expanse." Fans for it are die hard and it's a truly well thought out and fascinating science fiction series I think you would enjoy and appreciate!!!
One thing I liked about this film was what they did with the character of Nova(the little girl). There was a character named Nova in the original film from 1968, as well as the second one. But the original Nova was different in that she was an adult. It was interesting to me that the character was taken in a completely different direction then the original film.
Caesar will go down as one of the all time great movie characters in history. His arc and journey has been nothing short of phenomenal. Thanks to Matt Reaves’ excellent writing and of course Andy Serkis’ generational performance
