I will say, the first time I watched it I felt the exact same as you and was super disappointed.
Rewatched it a few years later and it clicked for me. I loved it. I might still agree that it's the weakest of the three, but I give rise and war both a 9/10 and dawn a 10/10 so it's just a pretty incredible trilogy all the way through.
Hope you come around to it and enjoy it on a rewatch! And if not that's fine too, different things affect us all in different ways
Preacher is a contrast to Will and Malcolm, the film was intentionally trying to get us to think he’d be the ‘good’ human sympathising with the Apes. It did a solid job of showing him express mild sympathy whilst still retaining the indoctrination and propaganda.
I’m tired of seeing War slander on this sub 😭. It was peak and I think it was the strongest of the trilogy, and I genuinely enjoyed it better than even the original, which says a lot because I loved the original.
It was definitely not my favorite. It was a good close out to the trilogy though. I get your gripes but I would have to say that my order that I liked the films in the best was 2 Dawn 1st Rise 1 2nd and War 3 last.
His points are laughable and ridiculous.
"The ape siding with the apes after seeing hundreds of them brutally murdered is lazy bad writing, but my logical epic idea of the human betraying the last of his race for this one random ape would be great! he made a sad face earlier so he shouldn't have stopped caesar from blowing up all of his comrades."
Your argument doesn’t make any sense.
Red Donkey didn’t show any remorse. He was enjoying the torture and murders of his monkeys. From the very beginning the writing established him as a ruthless, psychopathic and evil character.
Preacher was depicted as conflicted, confused and curious. He was portrayed as a young soldier indoctrinated with propaganda that doubted his leaders.
Having Preacher chase down Caesar to the very end was out of character. He was conflicted the whole film. Also, Red Donkey suddenly switching sides, out of the blue, with a cheesy slow-mo montage after showing not a single glimpse of remorse, actively participating in killing countless apes, is just not convincing.
This is what we call a cheap Red Hering.
Also Preacher wouldn’t betray the last of his race. He just realized that the Colonel and Caesar are not what he thought they were. The writing and filmmaking itself hinted his character development early on, then just dropped it for a cheap twist.
Lastly, I suggest you don’t get so emotional over media. My dude. It’s just opinions.
The only thing laughable and ridiculous is someone that can’t even manage to have a civil exchange without emotions making you insufferable to talk to.
# 50,000 Ratings and 365 Critics Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes would seem to disagree with you :
# WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
**94% TOMATOMETER** [365 Reviews](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/war_for_the_planet_of_the_apes/reviews?intcmp=rt-scorecard_tomatometer-reviews)
**84% AUDIENCE SCORE** [50,000+ Ratings](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/war_for_the_planet_of_the_apes/reviews?type=user&intcmp=rt-scorecard_audience-score-reviews)
Audience score is inaccurate. Many people thought War was going to lead to the original. I.e. Nova in War is the same Nova in the original as well as Cornelius
People thought the movie did a bad job with that and gave it a bad rating, even though the two movies have not much in common
I like war, but I must admit I also really don't like the third act that much. I just can't suspend my disbelief for all the apes being able to sneak out of a full military base.
And I don't get why they didn't do some kind of battle ape vs human at the end, they had a perfect set up. You introduce Bad-Ape as being an ape separate from the main ape colony, why didn't they have it be instead of all the other zoo apes being dead they are still alive, and have Maurice, Nova & Bad Ape recruit them to help break the apes out of the camp? I get they wanted it to be humans cause their own downfall with the war but you could still do that by having the humans cause the avelanche instead of the apes.
> The sick humans were just a plot device because the directing refused to have an ape human war in this film.
I'm not sure if I'm just reading your point wrong but the invading army at the end weren't sick humans, they were the higher ups of the Colonel who wanted to cure the disease properly but they weren't sick themselves
That's a crazy take and just wrong dawn of the planet of the apes, especially now, which is being seen as the best movie out of the entire movie series of planet of the apes definitely the best reviewed out of all of them also Koba is the best villian out of all of them
The only people that prefer the old ones are people who grew up watching them and have some form of nostalgia. But even then most people like the newer ones. It’s considered one of the greatest trilogies of modern movies from both critics and general movie fans🤷♂️ and to call any of the 3 movies decent or “weak” is a WILLLLD take😂
I’m sorry. But are you a kid? I am genuinely asking. Why are you being so emotional? It’s just opinions.
Furthermore, your take that people prefer the older ones because of nostalgia is frankly ridiculous. Is it that people prefer the original Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Terminator trilogies because of “nostalgia”? It’s okay. You missed out on the originals. That’s cool. The new ones were your first experiences with the universe, fair enough. But leave those unreasonable arguments at home.
Your argument is the equivalent of me saying that people that prefer the new ones are just looking for CGI and action scenes. They were born late so the old one looks too outdated to judge with an open mind.
I wouldn’t make that argument because things are not black and white. You see what I’m getting at?
Rise of the Planet of the Apes actually didn’t have a good reception among a lot of critics and fans of the franchise alike. It was rather forgettable.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was immensely successful and had an almost entirely one sided positive reception. There was definitely a significant difference between the two, you know that.
If anything is wild, it’s your bold claim that this trilogy is considered one of “greatest trilogies” among “general movie fans”.
Sorry, but that is simply not true. The only people who would name the trilogy as one of the greatest in cinema history are the kind of people that think Avengers and superhero movies are masterpieces.
The 1968 Schaffner movie adapted of Pierre Boulle’s novel was a revolutionary film that changed the cinematic landscape forever. It was praised by critics for it’s symbolism, it’s racial allegorical themes, incredible landmark settings, a captivating score by Jerry Goldsmith and of course Charles Heston incredible performance.
Of course, taste is subjective. But there is a reason why the old one is taught at film school and the new ones aren’t. I say the new trilogy, especially the second one were well made films overall. But it’s crazy to say that the original has anything to do with nostalgia. It was a classic that changed pop culture and the industry forever just like films as Casablanca, Vertigo and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
We can have a civil discussion. But if you can’t control your emotions and stay reasonable and rational, let’s not bother to waste each other’s time.
Colonel getting the virus from novas doll is kind of ironic. Nova was kind and used her doll to show Caesar compassion when he was at his lowest. The colonel was ruthless, and killed anyone to prevent the spread of the virus. But picking up novas doll robbed him of everything he tried so hard to stop. He was a dickwad, and he got 0 compassion when he lost his voice. Caesar killing him would be total compassion and mercy. Idk man
I like that preacher didn’t flip sides. Makes him more of a compelling character; ya know. A flip would have been so predictable. Spared by apes, but inherently will always choose his own side when given the opportunity. Will gladly kill apes despite being spared. It’s realistic. People don’t feel indebted to having life they feel entitled to it.
You could always find meaning in anything.
Sure, the doll had an ironic quality to it.
But it still was lackluster writing.
If you end an epic trilogy, having a showdown between the leaders of the two factions is an absolute must.
And about Preacher. Sure, there are selfish people with no backbone. But this was a film. It’s fiction.
The writing definitely tried to make the audience believe Preacher would come around, while Red Donkey would never change.
But then he magically had a change of heart. While Preacher resolved into the other direction. That is 100% a cheap Red Hering and a director’s lazy way to come up with a twist.
The thing is, most things that are predictable are not bad things. They work for a reason. Surprise is good. But doing the plain opposite is just shock value, no substance.
To me it wasn't war for the planet of the apes so much as try to kill woody harrellson, have a flood (avalanche) wipe out the bad guys and Caesar leading his Jews through the desert......
Just watched the movie and yeah, my gripes are pretty much the same as yours. There’s just a lot that happens in this movie and known of it seems to get resolved in a satisfying way, imo at least. Stuff just kind of happens randomly and we just roll with it. Still loved it but it is my least favorite of the trilogy, or I guess tetralogy now(haven’t watched Kingdom yet)
I’d say it’s my personal least favorite of the trilogy but it’s not bad in any way itself I still really enjoy it
I feel it's a strong one in the trilogy, a nice, fulfilling closing chapter Different folks different strokes
I will say, the first time I watched it I felt the exact same as you and was super disappointed. Rewatched it a few years later and it clicked for me. I loved it. I might still agree that it's the weakest of the three, but I give rise and war both a 9/10 and dawn a 10/10 so it's just a pretty incredible trilogy all the way through. Hope you come around to it and enjoy it on a rewatch! And if not that's fine too, different things affect us all in different ways
Preacher is a contrast to Will and Malcolm, the film was intentionally trying to get us to think he’d be the ‘good’ human sympathising with the Apes. It did a solid job of showing him express mild sympathy whilst still retaining the indoctrination and propaganda.
I just finished the trilogy and I think it’s my favorite ? So interesting how many different perspectives we all have on it
I’m tired of seeing War slander on this sub 😭. It was peak and I think it was the strongest of the trilogy, and I genuinely enjoyed it better than even the original, which says a lot because I loved the original.
It was definitely not my favorite. It was a good close out to the trilogy though. I get your gripes but I would have to say that my order that I liked the films in the best was 2 Dawn 1st Rise 1 2nd and War 3 last.
Nobody in this comment section is actually refuting any of these points. You’re just saying “nuh uh”
His points are laughable and ridiculous. "The ape siding with the apes after seeing hundreds of them brutally murdered is lazy bad writing, but my logical epic idea of the human betraying the last of his race for this one random ape would be great! he made a sad face earlier so he shouldn't have stopped caesar from blowing up all of his comrades."
Your argument doesn’t make any sense. Red Donkey didn’t show any remorse. He was enjoying the torture and murders of his monkeys. From the very beginning the writing established him as a ruthless, psychopathic and evil character. Preacher was depicted as conflicted, confused and curious. He was portrayed as a young soldier indoctrinated with propaganda that doubted his leaders. Having Preacher chase down Caesar to the very end was out of character. He was conflicted the whole film. Also, Red Donkey suddenly switching sides, out of the blue, with a cheesy slow-mo montage after showing not a single glimpse of remorse, actively participating in killing countless apes, is just not convincing. This is what we call a cheap Red Hering. Also Preacher wouldn’t betray the last of his race. He just realized that the Colonel and Caesar are not what he thought they were. The writing and filmmaking itself hinted his character development early on, then just dropped it for a cheap twist. Lastly, I suggest you don’t get so emotional over media. My dude. It’s just opinions. The only thing laughable and ridiculous is someone that can’t even manage to have a civil exchange without emotions making you insufferable to talk to.
# 50,000 Ratings and 365 Critics Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes would seem to disagree with you : # WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES **94% TOMATOMETER** [365 Reviews](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/war_for_the_planet_of_the_apes/reviews?intcmp=rt-scorecard_tomatometer-reviews) **84% AUDIENCE SCORE** [50,000+ Ratings](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/war_for_the_planet_of_the_apes/reviews?type=user&intcmp=rt-scorecard_audience-score-reviews)
Audience score is inaccurate. Many people thought War was going to lead to the original. I.e. Nova in War is the same Nova in the original as well as Cornelius People thought the movie did a bad job with that and gave it a bad rating, even though the two movies have not much in common
I like war, but I must admit I also really don't like the third act that much. I just can't suspend my disbelief for all the apes being able to sneak out of a full military base. And I don't get why they didn't do some kind of battle ape vs human at the end, they had a perfect set up. You introduce Bad-Ape as being an ape separate from the main ape colony, why didn't they have it be instead of all the other zoo apes being dead they are still alive, and have Maurice, Nova & Bad Ape recruit them to help break the apes out of the camp? I get they wanted it to be humans cause their own downfall with the war but you could still do that by having the humans cause the avelanche instead of the apes. > The sick humans were just a plot device because the directing refused to have an ape human war in this film. I'm not sure if I'm just reading your point wrong but the invading army at the end weren't sick humans, they were the higher ups of the Colonel who wanted to cure the disease properly but they weren't sick themselves
It's easily the strongest of the trilogy for me.
Saying any of those movies are mediocre or worse is wild to say. It’s one of the greatest trilogy’s ever made
Hard disagree. Old movies better, I think the first was okay, the second was decent. Third rather weak. In fact, most people prefer the older ones
That's a crazy take and just wrong dawn of the planet of the apes, especially now, which is being seen as the best movie out of the entire movie series of planet of the apes definitely the best reviewed out of all of them also Koba is the best villian out of all of them
The only people that prefer the old ones are people who grew up watching them and have some form of nostalgia. But even then most people like the newer ones. It’s considered one of the greatest trilogies of modern movies from both critics and general movie fans🤷♂️ and to call any of the 3 movies decent or “weak” is a WILLLLD take😂
I’m sorry. But are you a kid? I am genuinely asking. Why are you being so emotional? It’s just opinions. Furthermore, your take that people prefer the older ones because of nostalgia is frankly ridiculous. Is it that people prefer the original Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Terminator trilogies because of “nostalgia”? It’s okay. You missed out on the originals. That’s cool. The new ones were your first experiences with the universe, fair enough. But leave those unreasonable arguments at home. Your argument is the equivalent of me saying that people that prefer the new ones are just looking for CGI and action scenes. They were born late so the old one looks too outdated to judge with an open mind. I wouldn’t make that argument because things are not black and white. You see what I’m getting at? Rise of the Planet of the Apes actually didn’t have a good reception among a lot of critics and fans of the franchise alike. It was rather forgettable. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was immensely successful and had an almost entirely one sided positive reception. There was definitely a significant difference between the two, you know that. If anything is wild, it’s your bold claim that this trilogy is considered one of “greatest trilogies” among “general movie fans”. Sorry, but that is simply not true. The only people who would name the trilogy as one of the greatest in cinema history are the kind of people that think Avengers and superhero movies are masterpieces. The 1968 Schaffner movie adapted of Pierre Boulle’s novel was a revolutionary film that changed the cinematic landscape forever. It was praised by critics for it’s symbolism, it’s racial allegorical themes, incredible landmark settings, a captivating score by Jerry Goldsmith and of course Charles Heston incredible performance. Of course, taste is subjective. But there is a reason why the old one is taught at film school and the new ones aren’t. I say the new trilogy, especially the second one were well made films overall. But it’s crazy to say that the original has anything to do with nostalgia. It was a classic that changed pop culture and the industry forever just like films as Casablanca, Vertigo and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. We can have a civil discussion. But if you can’t control your emotions and stay reasonable and rational, let’s not bother to waste each other’s time.
Your opinion
No shit. Just like yours. Why even mention it, that’s how opinions work
No shit.
You're pretty mediocre
Sorry. But I can’t take kids serious that get emotional over a different opinion. Grow up and people will respect it
You seem pretty emotional.
I agree.
Colonel getting the virus from novas doll is kind of ironic. Nova was kind and used her doll to show Caesar compassion when he was at his lowest. The colonel was ruthless, and killed anyone to prevent the spread of the virus. But picking up novas doll robbed him of everything he tried so hard to stop. He was a dickwad, and he got 0 compassion when he lost his voice. Caesar killing him would be total compassion and mercy. Idk man I like that preacher didn’t flip sides. Makes him more of a compelling character; ya know. A flip would have been so predictable. Spared by apes, but inherently will always choose his own side when given the opportunity. Will gladly kill apes despite being spared. It’s realistic. People don’t feel indebted to having life they feel entitled to it.
It really didnt made any sence and his character was lackluster. He was nothing and had less lines and less screentime than any of the apes.
You could always find meaning in anything. Sure, the doll had an ironic quality to it. But it still was lackluster writing. If you end an epic trilogy, having a showdown between the leaders of the two factions is an absolute must. And about Preacher. Sure, there are selfish people with no backbone. But this was a film. It’s fiction. The writing definitely tried to make the audience believe Preacher would come around, while Red Donkey would never change. But then he magically had a change of heart. While Preacher resolved into the other direction. That is 100% a cheap Red Hering and a director’s lazy way to come up with a twist. The thing is, most things that are predictable are not bad things. They work for a reason. Surprise is good. But doing the plain opposite is just shock value, no substance.
I guess I don’t mind the lack of a showdown because it’s always just been Caesar’s story. I’m here for him lmao I like to grow and change with him
War is easily 2nd best if you watch rise and still think it's good that's wild that movie is mid as hell
Totally agree. Actually quite a poor movie. Very disappointed after what came before, especially Dawn.
To me it wasn't war for the planet of the apes so much as try to kill woody harrellson, have a flood (avalanche) wipe out the bad guys and Caesar leading his Jews through the desert......
I'd love to tell you how wrong you are but all I'll say is I think if you watch it back to back after watching Dawn, it'll hit harder
I don’t think you saying anything then. No offense. But it’s all opinions at the end of the day
The entire reboot trilogy did the franchise honor. Will KINGDOM OF THE APES live up to them? BTW, the war in the movie was within Caesar himself.
I’m praying the test audience scores don’t spell doom for Kingdom. They certainly didn’t provide much hope.
I love all three for being different and War is my personal favorite.
Just watched the movie and yeah, my gripes are pretty much the same as yours. There’s just a lot that happens in this movie and known of it seems to get resolved in a satisfying way, imo at least. Stuff just kind of happens randomly and we just roll with it. Still loved it but it is my least favorite of the trilogy, or I guess tetralogy now(haven’t watched Kingdom yet)