Planet of the Apes: A Proper Movie Trilogy (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes. This modern retelling of the life of Caesar and the events leading up to how the world reached the point that it did in the 1968 classic has been a must-watch for anyone who wishes to learn about the directorial style of Matt Reeves or needs an example of Andy Serkis’ mocap work outside of Lord of the Rings. But with 2017’s War providing the final leg in Caesar’s journey in bringing the apes to a place they can finally call home, it has established itself as a trilogy. But is it a PROPER trilogy? Let’s find out.

INTRO

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released in 2011, directed by Rupert Wyatt and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver

/Written as a reboot of the franchise while at the same time drawing inspiration from the fourth installment of the original film series, it tells the story of the genetically enhanced super-intelligent chimpanzee Caesar played by renown mo-cap actor Andy Serkis, and focuses on both the beginnings of what would eventually be the highly advanced civilization of apes and the disease that would begin to wipe out humankind to allow them to be the dominant species of the planet./

As stated before, the film took elements from the fourth film in the original series “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes,” but more specifically how the apes began their revolt.

Other than that, the reimagining of Caesar as the leader of the ape revolution via human experimentation and his overall upbringing and origin, were initially inspired by the husband and wife screenwriting duo back in 2006 thanks to a newspaper article talking about melanin-lacking individuals who were disappointed that their pet chimpanzees couldn’t succeed in being domesticated to live amongst humans.

...Yep. Sounds about white.

Nevertheless, using this premise along with the already controversial state of animal experimentation to help set up the beginnings of the world’s state by the time the events of the original 1968 movie happened proved to not only make the most sense regarding the direction to take a reboot of the franchise...

But also made Rise of the Planet of the Apes the posterboy of how to properly make an intriguing reboot in an era of movie studios choosing to revamp old IPs instead of investing in new ones.

/And with a budget of 93 million, it raked in over 480 million at the box office during its theatrical run; making a profit of over 388 million as a result./

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was released 3 years later in 2014, this time bringing director Matt Reeves to the franchise and Mark Bomback joining Jaffa and Silver

/Taking a 10 year jump from the initial revolt and the initial spread of the Simian Flu -- aka the worldwide spread of the untested ALZ-113 virus from Rise -- Caesar has to keep not only war from breaking out between humans and apes, but civil war among their own once Koba -- the scarred lab bonobo from the third act of the first movie -- insists on a revolt to challenge Caesar’s desire for peace between ape and human and seek the destruction of the species./

The focus on Caesar versus Koba was actually always in the cards according to Jaffa and Silver, as well as the 10-year time jump in order to show audiences a new generation of apes and how its society has grown since Rise.

The departure of Rupert Wyatt as director due to scheduling issues surrounding one of the original premiere dates in mind meant that James Franco and Frieda Pinto who played William Rodman and Caroline Aranha respectively in Dawn were also not returning.

So with bringing on board Matt Reeves as director and a bit of script reworking, we received Gary Oldman and that one generic and forgettable actor that’s just constantly getting work in big-name franchises that I can’t for the life of me understand why.

/And while it wasn’t as big of a haul as its predecessor, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes brought in an impressive 710.6 million box office total on a budget of 170; a bit over 540 million in profit./

Now when 20th Century Fox saw Reeves’ cut of Dawn, they signed him on for a third installment immediately.

And because Reeves would be writing it along with Bomback and Bomack alone this time -- with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver only being producers this time around -- the studio wanted to give the two ample time to properly write and prepare for the film instead of trying to meet the pre-established release date the studio initially set for Dawn that caused Rupert Wyatt to initially bow out.

He wanted to focus on the way the civil war with Koba affected the apes’ relationship with humans as well, along with how the turmoil has affected Caesar, and use this third film to flesh out his importance as a figurehead of apekind by the time the events of the 1968 film come to pass

And as a result, War for the Planet of the Apes was released in 2017, taking place 2 years after Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and brought a powerful, compelling and epic end to the saga of Andy Serkis’s Caesar. And I’m happy to report that not only does this trilogy remain the posterboy of how to make reboots fresh and exciting, but it also knows, trilogy-wise, the importance of knowing how to work with what you got.

CURRENT STANCE

/While War for the Planet of the Apes made the least amount with a profit margin of 340.7 million -- bringing in 490.7 million with a budget of 150 million -- I couldn’t imagine a better end to Caesar’s story considering all that he represents to the pillar of apekind in this reboot franchise. It may not be my favorite installment of the trilogy -- that award easily goes to Rise -- but, in my opinion, it does a lot of things regarding its storytelling, and how it treats itself as the final installment of a trilogy of movies right/

The way the pacing sets up not only Caesar’s constant struggle in trying see the good in humans as established within him from being raised by William Rodman and his father...

But also knowing that certain things need to be done in order to protect him and his own -- especially after the tragedy he faces at the end of the film’s first act -- is always fascinating to watch.

/Seeing him struggle with wanting revenge and doing what’s best for the apes while also seeing that manifest in the guilt he feels regarding how he had to handle Koba in Dawn in the FORM of Koba was a brilliant narrative choice, that both makes Caesar more relatable thanks to the story being told through his point of view, but can also be seen as a reasonable escalation regarding why so many of his fellow apes hold him in such high regard as a legendary pillar of ape liberation by the time the events of the 1968 movie eventually happen./

Not only does the Moses motif that Matt Reeves wanted to give Caesar in this installment work in tangent with the events we know will eventually take place, but it also works great for both the final leg of his development, and the overall plot thread that’s being used in War that was carried over from Rise

Now remember, Readers. The purpose of the plot thread in a proper trilogy is to stitch all three patches together in order for it to become a single piece.

And in order for it to be that support, the thread has to be an element of the first film’s plot that plays a significant role in the third in a way that makes all three films work together as one cohesive story.

From there, you can use the third film to reveal new information about what's being carried over from the first, and expand upon it in various ways; the most common form being a plot twist.

Does War for the Planet of the Apes have a story thread from Rise of the Planet of the Apes in it in order to expand upon it? Yes. And it counts as a proper movie trilogy as a result

However, thanks to the limitations of who the point of view character is and his associated ensemble are, along with the understanding regarding who supplies said exposition for it to work, the expansion of the plot thread in question cannot be fully explained to the extent that it is capable of. Which is both a good...and a bad thing. Allow me to explain.

THE THREAD

/Before I explain what was used as the actual thread for the trilogy, I feel like it’s necessary to emphasize that War for the Planet of the Apes doesn’t really give us that much to work with when it comes to proper utilization of the thread. Instead, because who the second and third installment chooses to focus on, the trilogy as a whole only really focuses on fleshing out its theme and uses the thread in question as a way to explain how things end up the way that they are by the time the events of the original movie eventually happen./

As I’ve stated before, there’s a huge difference between the plot thread that the third installment of a trilogy utilizes in its narrative that’s taken from the first installment, and the theme of the trilogy overall.

They can overlap and compliment each other, yes, but they are not necessarily one and the same.

/In the case of the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy, it’s a prime example of the two being present, yet not immediately complimenting each other. And that’s mostly due to the fact that the reboot trilogy’s theme is Caesar’s want, desire, and search for a place to call home./

It’s absolutely hard to argue that this theme doesn’t carry over throughout all three movies in the Planet of the Apes trilogy.

/Caesar using the window design of his bedroom window back when he lived with Will Rodman as their banner when he initially led the San Francisco ape liberation in Rise. Wanting to live in peace with the humans now that enough time has passed for him to have a family of his own in Dawn. Finding a place that apes can live in peace that reflects the environment their more evolved generations will inhabit by the time the events of the original movie happen and being able to die knowing they have a place of their own by the end of War. The very bulk of Caesar’s journey has been a mixture of finding and understanding the meanings of home and family in the midst of ignorance, fear and superiority, and the reboot trilogy paints that picture very well./

It does not, however, mean that the plot thread War takes and expands on from Rise exactly mirrors said theme.

Does it ENHANCE the reboot trilogy’s theme? Yes. It does so because it lays the groundwork over the course of all three movies that humans as we know them are going to fundamentally regress as apes constantly show signs of progression and evolution, thus making those uncomfortable with the transition of superiority feel inferior and act as more of a threat to not just Caesar and his own, but all of apekind.

A real-life equivalent of this fear is that of American white nationalists feeling like they’re losing a grip of superiority they feel they have on the nation, because the overall population of white Americans is steadily going down, and it’s estimated that they will no longer make up the majority of the population by 2045.

/Dreyfus from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and ESPECIALLY the Colonel from War for the Planet of the Apes properly represent that fear./

But just because the two show synergy with each other, does not mean that the trilogy’s theme of Caesar’s desire for home and family immediately matches up with the plot thread that is being brought over to War from Rise, because it doesn’t.

The truth of the matter is that the thread that War for the Planet of the Apes utilizes from Rise of the Planet of the Apes only plays a factor into the development of Caesar’s character early on, and actually has more in common with the apes that were with him in the reservation than himself.

/I’m of course talking about the very virus that spawned the Simian Flu to begin with, ALZ-113./

However, while its presence in War for the Planet of the Apes marks a significant turning point in where the franchise currently is versus where it’s meant to head for one familiar with the timeline of the original movies...

The story provided by War for the Planet of the Apes does a great job at showing the apes’ struggle in reaching the point that we know they’ll eventually reach by the end, but also lacks the explanation necessary in order to properly display the expanded information that the thread provides because of who the film chooses to focus on. Let me break it down for you.

THE BREAKDOWN

/While the story of “War for the Planet of the Apes” is good in its own right, its plot was very limited in where it could expand on the thread in question because it has no choice but to put the main focus on Caesar and the apes. That’s mostly because the evolution of ALZ-113 -- aka the Simian Flu -- has reached the point that it’s beyond the understanding of the apes that are present in the movie outside of how it’s affected the humans who have previously been genetically immune to it. And that goes DOUBLE for the humans, who -- with the exception of Nova -- are all pretty much smooth-brained military jocks that are living out their oppressor fantasies while taking the orders of a literal skinhead./

So because Dr. Zaius -- aka, the motherfucking man -- hasn’t been born yet...

We have no real individual on the side of the apes that can properly understand how severe the evolution of ALZ-113 has become for humans outside of Maurice’s natural empathy.

/All we have is what we see at the same time as Caesar and the DK Crew, and the Colonel’s own experiences with the mutated virus and how it affects those that once had a genetic immunity to the original strand./

It’s SLIGHTLY disappointing that War doesn’t have within it the means to flashback to Rise in this regard, because there’s definitely an opportunity within Rise that can explain that ALZ-113 had this capability within it all along thanks to Will Rodman spending 8 years testing out ALZ-112 on his father.

/113 was developed thanks to him realizing a more aggressive viral strain and a faster delivery method was necessary for what worked with 112 to be successful long-term, thanks to a well-contained 8 year testing trial on human genetics and seeing that it took just as long for the human body to develop antibodies to finally combat it. One can even argue that it's this factor in ALZ-113’s creation that’s the reason why the Simian Flu was so strong and quickly spread at the end of Rise and the beginning of Dawn in the first place.

/But, as we’ve seen in Rise, thanks to corporate greed, the proper testing to make sure ALZ-113 wasn’t as deadly as it turned out to be for humans thanks to the changes made to make 112 more effective, were sidelined thanks to the presence of immediate results in how it worked on Koba, and what was then made known as the Simian Flu began to spread and decimate the human population./

So taking all of this into consideration -- the 8 years it took for the human body to fight back against ALZ-112 and the 12 years it took ALZ-113 to finally be capable of affecting the human population that was previously genetically immune to it...

The ability for the Simian Flu to be capable of what it was doing to humans by the time we reach War is indeed possible, and qualifies as a proper plot thread that can be and WAS taken from Rise and applied to War.

However, thanks to the human population present in the movie consisting of military cultist meatheads and armed forces that are smart enough to wear white camo but not smart enough that loud noises and vibrations can start avalanches...

And thanks to the apes not yet reaching the point in their mental evolution to found the Ministry of Science yet to help explain the roots of the Simian Flu’s aggression to the audience, all we really have to go on is the situation as told by the POV of Woody Harrelson.

/Y’know, until we don’t anymore./

CONCLUSION

Readers, I know that I’ve already said this twice, but I feel like it needs repeating: The Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy continues to be a great example of taking an old IP and revamping it into something that feels fresh, and I completely stand by it.

It also proceeds to be one of the only trilogies on film that knows how to implement the formula to its third installment and proceeds to do so, despite having limited means within its story to give more elaboration than just a simple summary.

Nevertheless, despite its ability to deliver a significant amount of exposition to expand the thread more than just the bare minimum, it proceeded to solidify its place within this new version of the Planet of the Apes mythos, and introduce the world to its first proper movie trilogy.

Right now you can rent the entire Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy on any streaming service that provides 24-hour rentals for $4

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So with that being said Readers, your homework assignment for the day:

Write in the comment section below what you thought of the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy if you’ve seen it.

And if you have any other trilogies you want me to cover for the segment, make sure you suggest them in the comment section as well.

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But until then, this is Readus 101. Class dismissed.