Matt Reeves's sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes never allows extraordinary special effects to outgun emotion and intelligence, says Tim Robey
Directed by Matt Reeves. Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman,
Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell. 3D, 12A cert, 130 min.
When we last left ape-world, aka Earth, at the close of 2011's
prequel-cum-reboot Rise
of the Planet of the Apes, relations between humans and our simian
cousins were in tatters. They've only got worse in the intervening years:
most of humanity has been wiped out by a virulent plague to which only 1 in
500 of our race is immune. Gaggles of survivors hang on by a thread, their
resources all but extinguished.
Apes, on the other hand, are doing pretty nicely for themselves. Rampant in
the wild, they're developing a sophisticated language through sign and
speech. Many have a basic grasp of English. The rudiments of society are
here – they've moved on quite a lot from those bone-tossing prototypes at
the start of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Wrestling in eloquent, if grunt-heavy,
debates over their place in the new world order, this lot could teach the
House of Lords a few things.
The only factor preventing their global takeover is the stubborn ability of
humankind to resist extinction by any means necessary, which – pointedly
here – means taking up arms. Where its predecessor in the series imagined
the growing consciousness of apes in revolt, this one plunges us into a war
of gorillas versus guerrillas – a form of strife without clear winners, and
one in which we're never forced to choose one side over the other.
We take sides within sides. On the ape front, the leader Caesar (Andy
Serkis) is ever more aptly-named, finding his efforts at stable rule
sabotaged by a scowling, scarred rival called Koba (Toby Kebbell), who wants
rid of their hated primate relatives for good. Among the humans, a fuel
crisis sends the former architect Malcolm (Jason Clarke) into ape territory
outside San Francisco, where resuscitating a hydroelectric dam is his
community's last hope to restore power. A wary truce is achieved, on the
condition that he and his companions surrender arms, which they willingly
do. But there are many more where those came from, back in the downtown
stronghold where resistance leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) rules the roost.
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