I'm surprised we don't already have a spoiler review thread already, especially since I thought I would be the late viewer of it! I saw it this afternoon and loved every minute of it. The film is a worthy sequel to the Serkis trilogy and continuation of the overall saga, filled with many Easter eggs to both (the best being the Jerry Goldsmith callbacks).
While it didn't quite hit emotional highs of the Serkis films, I nonetheless loved the worldbuilding of the evolved Ape society, from the nature-loving, Robinson-esque treehouse-living, eagle-raising culture of Noa's village to the violent, oppressive, clan-consuming, power-hungry culture of Proximus Caesar's "kingdom." This is precisely what I wanted to see in these films as the world moved further away from modern human society. I loved the intricacies of Noa's clan nurturing eagles as tools and companions for their youth as part of their coming of age and how the shattering of Noa's ritual was disrupted and evolved after the destruction of his village.
Admittedly, such nuances aren't quite as deep with Proximus' kingdom, least of all because we don't even see it until much later in the film. But one particular aspect of it I did love was seeing how Caesar's legacy and name had been corrupted by Proximus' hunger for power and control over all apes. I especially appreciated seeing Raka calling out that corruption and was able to pass on that knowledge to Noa before his untimely death (a shame since he was definitely my favorite character of the whole film).
On both sides of that coin, I loved seeing Caesar's old window frame enduring as a powerful symbol of his legacy, both for good (as carried on by Raka then to Noa) and for bad (as a banner for Proximus' dictatorship), plus the lingering question of how that symbol might affect the surviving humans as passed onto Mae. Speaking of whom...
I'm really glad I avoided a lot of the later teasers since I heard at least one of them had a big spoiler in them. I imagine that spoiler was that not only could she speak, but she retained pre-virus human intelligence. For much of the film, I speculated whether or not we got a clever reverse original film where the viewers see the Icarus' surviving crew member's massive change on Earth from the apes' perspective.
In some ways, I'm glad that wasn't the case, but in some ways, I'm a tad disappointed because considering the truth of the situation. I was fine with the idea that a very small population of the humans were unaffected by the newest mutation of the virus, which allowed Mae and Trevathan to exist, but I was less keen with the idea that there was a hidden outpost of survivors striving to exist in the ape-dominated world with their intelligence intact. Maybe the idea will grow on me with subsequent viewings, along with any potential sequels that follow that set up (Hi, Dichen Lachman! I recognized you right away!).
Regardless of that reveal, I still loved the overall film and I look forward to adding it to my Planet of the Apes rewatch list (which is primarily the original film and the Serkis trilogy).
Lastly, I have to say it: Eagles! The eagles are coming!
While it didn't quite hit emotional highs of the Serkis films, I nonetheless loved the worldbuilding of the evolved Ape society, from the nature-loving, Robinson-esque treehouse-living, eagle-raising culture of Noa's village to the violent, oppressive, clan-consuming, power-hungry culture of Proximus Caesar's "kingdom." This is precisely what I wanted to see in these films as the world moved further away from modern human society. I loved the intricacies of Noa's clan nurturing eagles as tools and companions for their youth as part of their coming of age and how the shattering of Noa's ritual was disrupted and evolved after the destruction of his village.
Admittedly, such nuances aren't quite as deep with Proximus' kingdom, least of all because we don't even see it until much later in the film. But one particular aspect of it I did love was seeing how Caesar's legacy and name had been corrupted by Proximus' hunger for power and control over all apes. I especially appreciated seeing Raka calling out that corruption and was able to pass on that knowledge to Noa before his untimely death (a shame since he was definitely my favorite character of the whole film).
On both sides of that coin, I loved seeing Caesar's old window frame enduring as a powerful symbol of his legacy, both for good (as carried on by Raka then to Noa) and for bad (as a banner for Proximus' dictatorship), plus the lingering question of how that symbol might affect the surviving humans as passed onto Mae. Speaking of whom...
I'm really glad I avoided a lot of the later teasers since I heard at least one of them had a big spoiler in them. I imagine that spoiler was that not only could she speak, but she retained pre-virus human intelligence. For much of the film, I speculated whether or not we got a clever reverse original film where the viewers see the Icarus' surviving crew member's massive change on Earth from the apes' perspective.
In some ways, I'm glad that wasn't the case, but in some ways, I'm a tad disappointed because considering the truth of the situation. I was fine with the idea that a very small population of the humans were unaffected by the newest mutation of the virus, which allowed Mae and Trevathan to exist, but I was less keen with the idea that there was a hidden outpost of survivors striving to exist in the ape-dominated world with their intelligence intact. Maybe the idea will grow on me with subsequent viewings, along with any potential sequels that follow that set up (Hi, Dichen Lachman! I recognized you right away!).
Regardless of that reveal, I still loved the overall film and I look forward to adding it to my Planet of the Apes rewatch list (which is primarily the original film and the Serkis trilogy).
Lastly, I have to say it: Eagles! The eagles are coming!
