“WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES” REACHES BEYOND BLOCKBUSTER STATUS
Twentieth Century Fox’s “War for the Planet of the Apes.”
The latest film War for the Planet of the Apes not only improved on the already ridiculously impressive CG apes, but also the storytelling.
I always love seeing films set in San Francisco even though more often than not it results in the destruction of the city. One such film franchise set in the Bay that has really grown on me is the new Planet of the Apes. Rarely do film franchises actually improve rather than just progress, but these movies are some of the rare exceptions, Starting with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apeswhere hyper-intelligent apes (yes, I know they aren’t monkeys) end up ravaging our city. The latest film War for the Planet of the Apes not only improved on the already ridiculously impressive CG apes, but also the storytelling.
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Letteri (who also has Bay Area roots as a UC Berkeley alum) and actor Andy Serkis stopped by the city where it all takes place for a special presentation at SFFilm on The Art & Craft of ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ .seeing the film again, I was struck by how the series really hit their stride by focusing on the challenging decisions Caesar (played by Serkis) is forced to make. Serkis’ performance combined with the impressive aid of the animation wizards down at Weta Digital in New Zealand who animate what you end up seeing on screen make you forget you’re watching a CG talking ape, and you get lost in the character.
As the conversation around awards season begins to heat up, films like War for the Planet of the Apes show that CG heavy films can be judged on more than their special effects, and a film does not have to be art house to be taken seriously in non-technical categories.
As the conversation around awards season begins to heat up, films like War for the Planet of the Apes show that CG heavy films can be judged on more than their special effects, and a film does not have to be art house to be taken seriously in non-technical categories.
This article originally appeared on KFOG.com on November 15, 2017.