Humans are primates. Specifically, we’re in a group of primates called hominids or Hominoidea. This is particularly interesting because humans are grouped with one of the two groups of hominids (great apes and lesser apes). Our group is great apes which we share with species like Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Bonobos, and so on.

(credit goes to the Australian Museum for the info above)

Lesser apes are gibbons and other funky little guys.

I’ve been thinking about apes a lot lately. More so than my normal hyperfixation level of knowledge gaining. The newest edition of the Planet of the Ape series premieres next month. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, to be more specific. It will be the fourth movie in the series reboot.

I love this franchise and I believe it’s not spoken about enough. Yes, the original films are cheesy vintage sci-fi, and we don’t need to talk about the 2001 film with Mark Wahlberg. The originals provide a comfort that I love with older films. There are plans to cover those films separately. However, I will claim that this is one of the rare occasions that I believe the “remakes”, if you can call them that, are better than the originals.

During my research, I learned some interesting things along the way! The franchise is based on a 1963 French science fiction novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Baulles. I have yet to read it, but it is on my to-be-read list. I have no idea how the original films compare to Baulles’ novel.

This article aims to discuss several key elements from each film from the new trilogy and speculate on the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. A good chunk of research went into this. I rewatched all three films and read the novelizations. I didn’t know there were official novelizations, but apparently, there were several.

The three films being covered are:

*Rise of the Planet of the Apes

*Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

*War of the Planet of the Apes

Novelizations that will be briefly discussed are:

*Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm

*War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations

Greg Keyes does a phenomenal job writing these! I’d check them out if you can.

I’ll go through, give a quick rundown of the plot (please watch the films for better context), and get into what stood out to me. There’s honestly so much to these films. It still surprises me to this day. When you think about the concept of intelligent monkeys and conflicts, it tends to be very humorous. “Ha ha, monkey with a gun!” right? I didn’t expect them to be nuanced.

The acting and CGI are some of the other things I enjoyed as well. I don’t think there are many moments in the films where I thought the CGI was terrible. For the apes, it’s done very well. The humans are a little lackluster in the series. Alas, when it comes to smart apes, humans will always be.

Also, while these films seem like prequels, they differ from the original events of the prior films. Such as Aldo being the first ape to speak.

I’m on Team Ape for most of the films. More specifically, Team Caesar.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Plot

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the first of the new franchise movies released in 2011. Rupert Wyatt directed it. Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa wrote the screenplay. This is a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series. It’s also a prequel to the original films.

(Fun Fact: Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa are married and often write scripts together! They wrote the scripts for all the films in the reboot series)

Will Rodman (played by James Franco) worked at Gen-Sys labs on ALZ-112. A fun retrovirus that could cure Alzheimer’s Disease. Nothing can go wrong with that one. Gen-Sys uses chimpanzees to test ALZ-112. It aids in repairing brain function and giving the chimps human cognitive functioning.

One of Rodman’s test subjects is Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes is a female chimpanzee kidnapped from her home in Africa. Nothing unethical about that one. She’s a smart chimp and shows potential for the study. One day they were getting ready to show her to the board members of Gen-Sys. Bright Eyes behaves aggressively while tearing through the company building. Unfortunately, she is killed in front of the board and there goes the funding for ALZ-112. The other chimps in the lab are euthanized.

It turns out she was aggressive because she was pregnant and protecting her newborn baby. I’m surprised they don’t check wild-caught animals for that—movie logic. In a true champ fashion, the Chimp Handler won’t euthanize the baby. He tells Rodman to do it if he wants it done. Luckily, Rodman isn’t a huge monster and takes the baby home. We find out that Rodman’s father, Charles Rodman, had Alzheimer’s, and the reason Rodman is working so hard on ALZ-112. They decide to name the baby Caesar.

(Truly a great name for a Chimpanzee.)

Fun fact about Caesar. Due to his mother being a carrier for ALZ-112 Caesar is cognitively developing exponentially. One skill is that he learns sign language quickly. Due to ape shenanigans due to living in a normal house Rodman and Caesar, he ends up meeting Rodman’s future partner Caroline Aranha. She’s a veterinarian.

Rodman ends up giving Charles the ALZ-112 at home, another unethical science move that ends up keeping Alzheimer’s at bay. This works for about five years until his immune system rejects the ALZ-112. At this point, his symptoms return, and Caesar bites a neighbor defending Charles after he attempts to drive the neighbor’s car.

Caesar is removed from the home and placed into a shitty Ape “care” facility. During this point, Caesar befriends several other apes and begins to brood. The resentment started to grow, not understanding why he was abandoned.

Rodman talks to his boss about his unethical moves, and Jacobs wants more ape trials. Rodman quits. A bonobo named Koba is brought in and shows promise with the newest strain of ALZ-113. This is a gas version. Nothing can go wrong. The Chimp handler gets exposed during an accident. While trying to warn Rodman, the handler accidentally infects the same neighbor Caesar bit. He later dies.

Caesar rejects Rodman’s advances to come home. He did, however, break out of the facility and steal ALZ-113 canisters from Rodman’s house at night. He releases the virus onto the other apes. Caesar starts an ape rebellion, freeing other apes while they fight back to the redwood forest. Some conflict happens, and the apes finally make it to the forest. Caesar is reunited with Rodman. They share a heartwarming moment before Caesar returns to his people (well apes).

Remember that neighbor? Well, he’s a pilot and infected. We watch as he heads out for a flight which dooms humanity.

Caesar

Caesar is one of my favorite characters that a franchise has ever created. At the beginning of this film, you start to empathize with Caesar quickly. He’s this baby who the hands of unethical scientists and shady businessmen have now orphaned. His mother was ripped away from her mate and never given a proper vet check-up to determine any health indicators, such as being pregnant. She’s given this supposed miracle drug meant only to benefit humans, even if it has the implications to improve the Apes. She performs greatly only to be killed because she is protecting Caesar.

Now one of the men behind it has to care for him. Raise him instead of his mother. Maternal bonds are important for Apes developmentally. It’s traumatic to be separated at that young of an age. Not to mention, raising a Chimpanzee in a home is never a good idea. We see this often when people decide to buy exotic animals only to be proved horrifically wrong.

An example that always comes to mind is the case of Travis the chimpanzee. Travis was an obese chimp that mauled a woman to the brink of death. The women needed a facial transplant (which was successful) and two failed hand transplants. Travis the ape was euthanized by police responders, who then reported depression from having to kill an animal. His owner gave Travis Xanax to help with a case of Lyme disease. The married couple had bought Travis for 50k. Travis was cruelly separated from his mother at the young age of three days old.

Caesar, much like Travis, should have been in the wild. However, with further development of his inherited cognitive abilities, it was only a matter of time before he began questioning his role with humanity. One scene that stands out for this is when they are exiting the woods and encounter a couple with a German shepherd. Caesar notices he is wearing a leash like a dog and begins questioning who he is and where he comes from.

He gets the crappy answer, “Yeah, you’re a chimp. This is where I worked and where your mom died”. Nothing was comforting about that scene. There was no warm sit down and talk. There was just a quick pull-up to the outside of the lab. Rodman could’ve done better.

I’m sure the writers were using Travis as an example. There are many examples of this scenario happening. Despite that, even at the cognitive level, Caesar still faced disaster. The attack on the neighbor is a pivotal moment for Caesar’s development. Yes, Rodman’s father shouldn’t have gotten into the neighbor’s car, but he has Alzheimer’s. The neighbor has a right to be angry, but not confrontational. The identity crisis with the threat of violence from the neighbor accumulated in Caesar’s actions. With his fingers getting bitten off.

Even with intelligence, Caesar still has animalistic traits. Granted, many humans are moved to violent acts when loved ones are threatened.

So when Caesar gets locked up in the “Ape Sanctuary” he begins to see some crappier humans. There’s the psycho Draco Malfoy guy who hits them with cattle prods and water hoses. The next is the sanctuary owner who knows that this is going on but lies about it. Then you have the third worker who didn’t have the backbone to do anything. All on top of Rodman promising to get him out despite the case being in court. It’s only fair to see him get disheartened.

He sheds the clothes he came in and begins to plan his escape. We see him build social connections with the other apes. Maurice and the gorilla are the first, then Rocket after a skirmish for who’s the top ape. We also see him tooling with the pocket knife to unlock the cages, and training the other apes with cookies.

During the escape, we get one of my favorite scenes throughout the series: Caesar finally speaking. It’s during a confrontation with the dollar store Draco Malfoy.

The reactions to this were amazing. Caesar had effectively done something that surprised both the humans and other apes. He no longer needed to sign as much. Throughout the franchise, Caesar’s speech development strengthened from a few broken words to complete sentences. It’s great to see the improvement!

It’s also great to see the beginning of Caesar’s leadership. He is young and still naive. Still not fully connected with both apes and understanding of humans. There are things he doesn’t understand yet and won’t for a while. Things that come with age and experience.

His departure from Rodman at the end is heartfelt, despite the situations they went through. We never see Rodman again, and Caesar only briefly discusses him in future films. We can only speculate on what happened to him. Being in the hot spot of the infection may have caused him to be one of the first to pass from ALZ-113.

Koba

Koba is a bonobo that we meet towards the end of the film. He is a bonobo who is beaten and abused for most of his life. He is brought in when they decide to test ALZ-113 further. Koba is also the ape responsible for knocking the mask off the Ape Handler, exposing him to the virus, and starting the “Simian Flu” that would eventually wipe out most humanity.

We see glimpses of his character during short scenes in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where he torments Jacobs by spelling out Jacob’s name on a board. A taunting motion. He chases Jacob briefly when Caesar releases the apes in Gen-Sys’ labs. He is the one to kill Jacobs when he pushes the crashed helicopter off of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We don’t get his background in the first film but rather in the prequel novel to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm. Koba and his mother were in the care of a kind Woman named Mary and a man called Kuo in a research facility. These were his caretakers until Kuo was gone and was replaced by Roger. Roger is a hot-headed alcoholic who beats Koba’s mom in a fit of drunken rage one night. This leads to her death. The funding for Mary’s program was cut. He was sold to a TV producer named Tommy. Tommy was just as abusive as Roger, if not worse.

Koba and Milo, another ape Tommy owned, would perform in his show Monkey of the House. When they did something to upset Tommy, they would often be beaten or electrocuted. Koba went to defend himself one day, which led to a scar on his face by a knife and a blind eye as Tommy blinded him with a cigarette. Tommy dies when his show is suddenly canceled and the duo attempt to escape only to be separated by animal control. Koba then becomes a test subject who eventually makes his way to Gen-Sys. He befriends a scientist called Amol who teaches him sign language only to be fired by Jacobs.

Koba’s life started with so much love only to be thrust into torment and chaos at a young age. The two positive humans in his life are shadowed by the Abuse of others. There’s no surprise that he is extremely distrustful of humans. Koba is a character who slowly breaks through humanity’s torment of those who cannot defend themselves. His actions are pivotal for future films. He is broken.

There’s a thin layer of irony in both Koba and Caesar’s characters. Bonobos are known to be more peaceful. Chimpanzees tend to be more aggressive. This is the opposite in the series, with Caesar being the calm, rational thinker and Koba being aggressive and angry. Not to mention that Koba does have a light superiority complex and identity issues on top of the anger. He refers to other apes as caterpillars when younger. Koba gets confused when he gets treated the same way as them by humans. He’s better than them because he’s intelligent. I don’t think that belief ever truly fades away from him.

At this point in the film and novels, his relationship with Caesar is like that of a brother. Koba saves Cornelia and Caesar from explosions set by humans who were paid to track them down. He also saves Rocket and other apes as well during a setup. He is loyal and devoted, willing to follow him no matter what. This will soon change.

ALZ-112 and ALZ-113

So I know some people had issues with the virus in the films because it’s scientifically accurate. It’s also a film about hyper-intelligent Apes rebelling. So we have to suspend belief. Most films don’t handle viruses and outbreaks very well anyway.

ALZ-112 proved to be somewhat decent in aiding to delay Alzheimer’s symptoms until Charles’s body began to create antibodies to fight off the virus. It also proved to help in increasing the intelligence of apes. This can be seen in Bright Eyes and more so in Caesar. ALZ-112 is not as aggressive as ALZ-113. It doesn’t cause any outward symptoms or immune responses. I can’t speak about the science behind it because I’m not a virologist.

ALZ-113 is a lot worse than ALZ-112. Humans and apes have very different immune systems, with ours being weaker. ALZ-113 is lethal to humans with fun symptoms such as hemorrhagic fever! (It’s not fun). In the apes, it gives them more cognitive functions than ALZ-112 and a noticeable green hue to their eyes.

It’s mentioned in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm that ALZ-113 is reminiscent of the Ebola virus, another very lethal virus that is spread similarly.

It’s been mentioned on many forums I’ve read that people are under the impression the title of “Simian flu” was given to place the blame on the apes and not the humans that made this whole mess. That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.

Here’s a video by a professional that breaks down ALZ-112 and ALZ-113 better than I can:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The Plot

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes came out in 2014 and was directed by Matt Reeves. Both Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silvers returned to write this as well. It is a direct sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

This takes place ten years after the first film. Humanity got hit pretty hard by the ALZ-113, now rudely named the Simian Flu. Society has fallen apart at this point, with humans living in packed colonies. Only a handful of humans have immunity to the virus. One out of five hundred.

We find Caesar and the apes in Muir Woods National Monument. It is located near San Francisco. There is a hydroelectric dam in this territory. A group of humans goes looking for this. They enter the territory hoping to fix the dam and get the power turned on. This group is led by a man named Malcolm. One of the idiots of the group, Carver, encounters Caesar’s Son, Blue Eyes, and Ash (Rocket’s son). He shoots Ash. Caesar shows up and orders them to leave. Under his orders, Koba follows them and finds a colony of humans living in a small section of San Francisco.

The apes talk about war, but Caesar says no. Koba starts to question this. The following day, the apes show up in the human community. He gives a semi-speech about not wanting war but can make it happen if needed. He warns Malcolm not to show up anymore.

Malcolm does the opposite. He manages to convince Caesar to let him work on the dam. This has its ups and downs thanks to Carver. Luckily, Malcolm’s wife helps to patch trust with the Apes by helping Cornelia after the complicated birth of Caesar’s second son, Cornelius. Caesar tries to tell Blue Eyes that humans aren’t all shitty, but here comes Koba stirring trouble. They get into a fight and Caesar shows dominance.

Koba, now very furious, steals an assault rifle, kills a few humans, and starts some ruckus. He shoots Caesar, frames the humans, and leads a charge. Caesar survives. He is in rough condition. A fight goes down, and both sides face heavy losses. Caesar gets found by Malcolm and his family. Blue Eyes learns how messed up Koba truly is.

Caesar, now slightly healed, fights Koba on a tower that the leader of the humans plans on blowing up. The explosion destroys part of the tower. Koba is hanging on a ledge begging to be saved saying “Ape not kill Ape” to which Caesar lets him fall due to the mess Koba made.

Malcolm and Caesar share a heartfelt yet tragic goodbye. Malcolm warns Caesar and begs him to leave. He explains that the military had been contacted about the Apes. They are coming. Caesar refuses to retreat, as war has already begun.

Caesar

Ten years have passed. Caesar has grown, both as an individual and as a leader. He had led his apes through several struggles, including food scarcity (as seen in Firestorm). He morphed from a passionate revolutionist to that of a leader seeking peace. Likewise, he chooses to avoid conflict between the humans numerous times, opting to tell them to leave or scare them off. The apes under his leadership have begun to learn things such as medicine and hunting. There was a precedent of “Apes are strong together” and he’s right.

He does what is needed to avoid war. He is aware of what war will do to his people and family. Caesar is now married to a chimp named Cornelia and has two sons, Blue Eyes and Cornelius. There is the burden of both family and leadership on his shoulders. One that he will struggle with for the rest of the films.

Koba the tragic

Unfortunately, war would be unavoidable thanks to the actions of Koba. During the film, the tension between Caesar and Koba begins to mount. As time passes, Koba becomes more suspicious of the humans. He warns Caesar of the humans and their dangers after the incident involving Rocket’s son.

After the lack of what he believes to be an appropriate response from Caesar, he begins to groom Blue Eyes into his narrative. Dropping hints and undertones of what humanity is like. This causes a divide between the father and son. He begins to question his leader further.

We see this in full action when Koba verbally argues with Caesar about the humans getting the power back on. He points to his scars, claiming that they came from “Human work!”. He’s not wrong. Those scars were made by the hands of harmful humans. He knows firsthand the devastation humans can cause to things they deem beneath them. It’s an act of defiance that unsettles Caesar, which he eventually forgives until Koba raises another issue. He accuses Caesar of loving humans more than apes. Even more than Caesar’s sons. This causes a fight for dominance, which Caesar wins.

His once closeness to Caesar is part of the tragedy of his downfall. A once bright bonobo frames the humans as the aggressors in an assassination attempt on Caesar, when in reality it was his hands that led directly to the chaos to come.

After the fight, he is humiliated. He goes against the “apes do not kill apes” mantra with his assassination attempt of Caesar and the murder of Ash (Rocket’s son) when Ash refuses to fight for him. He picks him up and throws him off a balcony. Why did Ash refuse Koba’s orders? He didn’t want to kill humans after Koba framed them for shooting Caesar.

There is no difference between the cruelty of humans and Koba. His actions mirror those of humanity. He locks up apes who disagree with him and ranches humans like cattle.

His death at the hands of Caesar is the ultimate insult to himself and Caesar. He seeks to be saved from the ledges because “apes do not kill apes” a phrase that is deeply ironic considering his actions prior. Caesar does not save Koba as Caesar no longer sees him as an Ape. He falls to his death. Just as alone as he was before the revolution. Not seen as a brother or ape, but just another body of cruelty. His death would have future impacts on Caesar and the Apes.

ALZ-113, aka the “Simian Flu”

ALZ-112 takes a backseat to ALZ-113 in this film, with the latter having a larger role in the next few films. We find out in the prior movie that Rodman’s neighbor, the one infected by the Ape handler, was a pilot. At the start of Dawn, we find out that he spreads the virus to France and Europe before it takes over the planet in a global pandemic. Humanity was unable to find a cure. This led to the mass death of millions. Society collapsed.

A pocket of humanity has survived due to genetic immunity to the virus. One out of five hundred. So there is a chance for humanity to rebound. There’s a slim chance but a chance nonetheless. Humanity has a habit of bouncing back from these things.

It is heavily hinted at that Rodman did not survive the virus at this point. One of the characters in Firestorm investigates the origins of ALZ-112 and ALZ-113. He finds Rodman’s house covered in quarantine tape. Rodman is nowhere in the home and most likely deceased.

Afterthoughts for Dawn

I enjoyed Dawn more than I did Rise. They’re both well-done movies with great CGI and acting. The character relationships in the second film felt more conducive. Caesar is now a slightly matured Leader. Koba’s defiance was hinted at in Rise. I thought he would have been a villain when I first watched it.

I’m also interested in why ALZ-113 didn’t impact lesser apes like Gibbons. Again, I’m not a scientist. I’m not familiar with the biological differences between lesser and greater apes.

War of the Planet of the Apes

The Plot

War for the Planet of the Apes was released in 2017 and was directed by Matt Reeves. It was produced by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and two other individuals. Jaffa and Silver did not return to writing this script. Matt Reeves and Mark Bomback wrote the screenplay for this film.

This film happens a few years after the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Caesar and his apes are attacked by a military battalion, Alpha-Omega, led by the Colonel. Apes who work for this military unit are called Donkeys. These apes once followed Koba.

After a failed attack on the Apes, Caesar sends several soldiers back as a peace offering. Soon, Blue Eyes and Rocket return from a scouting trip to discuss an oasis they found. Winter, an albino gorilla, wishes to leave. Caesar states they aren’t prepared enough to depart yet.

During the night, the soldiers infiltrate their home via a waterfall. The Colonel leads this group. Caesar leaves to warn the others, telling Blue Eyes to protect his mother and brother. While he is gone, Blue Eyes and Cornelia are killed by the Colonel, who mistakes Blue Eyes for Caesar. We learn that Winter had betrayed the group for his safety.

This is a point of rage for Caesar. He leaves to kill the colonel while having Lake (Blue Eyes mate) watch Cornelius. Maurice, Caesar’s right-hand man, accompanies him along with Luca and Rocket while the other Apes head for the Oasis. At this point, Caesar kills a human who reaches for a gun. They find out the human has a young daughter who cannot speak. Maurice does not allow Caesar to abandon her. She joins the group.

After stumbling on an Alpha-Omega camp, the group kills Winter after they discover the Colonel has left for a location called the “border”. Caesar has several dreams of Koba. The group finds numerous soldiers who were killed. This includes one who cannot speak like the girl they found. They encounter Bad Ape, a hermit chimpanzee, who takes them to the border.

Luca dies protecting Caesar. Caesar continues alone, filled with rage. This prompts the discovery that all the apes have been captured and made to work for the Colonel. He is captured by an Ape named Red and taken to the Colonel.

We find out from the Colonel that the ALZ-113 had mutated, turning humans primal, unable to speak or think. We also find out that the Colonel is batshit crazy and that the military is after him because they “opposed” his methods of brutality. Not only that, but we also find out his son was infected and that the Colonel euthanized him. He goes on to say that Caesar is too emotional. He’s taking all this too personally.

Caesar is tortured while the Apes are forced to build a barricade. He is strapped to an X made from wood in freezing temps. The mute girl (amply named Nova by Maurice) sneaks in to feed him food and water. Rocket makes a distraction to allow for her escape, as the Colonel would kill her for being infected. She leaves behind a doll for Caesar. The Colonel discovers this in the morning, wondering how Caesar got the doll.

(The Doll has Nova’s blood on it.)

The Apes calculate an escape plan and begin their breakout when the Northern Army finally strikes the Alpha-Omega camp. Caesar sneaks into the Colonel’s room and finds him covered in his blood, unable to speak. He has become infected by the same virus that killed his son.

Caesar attempts to kill the remaining Alpha-Omega soldiers by blowing up a gas tank. Remember that Soldier Caesar let go in an act of kindness? Yeah, he shoots Caesar with a crossbow. Red the gorilla sees this and has a change of heart, shooting the soldier with a grenade launcher while Caesar blows up the gas tank. Red is killed by another soldier after.

Caesar manages to escape while the North celebrates its victory. Well, the escape is short-lived because many North Soldiers notice him. Luckily, Mother Nature is a true friend and wipes them out with an avalanche that the apes manage to escape by climbing the trees.

The Apes (and Nova) journey to the oasis Blue Eyes found that becomes their new home. Once they arrive, Caesar has a heartfelt conversation with Maurice when Maurice notices Caesar’s wound that has not healed. Maurice tells him Cornelius will know what his father accomplished and believed in. Caesar then slowly passes under the shade of a tree.

Caesar

War of the Planet of the Apes provided a perfect character drama for Caesar. We go from a hopeful leader aiming for peace to one that is broken and haunted. Caesar is a shell for most of the film.

During Dawn, we see him not wanting war due to his home and family. At this point, he has lost most of them. He is haunted by the ghosts of Koba and his family. Blue Eyes and Cornelia are killed by the Colonel, leaving only Caesar and Cornelius. He begins to parallel Koba’s rage. Caesar even broke his own golden rule of “apes don’t kill apes” by killing Winter.

His need to avenge his family leads to the enslavement and death of many apes when he decides to hunt down the Colonel. A hunt that led to the death of Luca. The Colonel even comments on how Caesar is too emotional. His emotions of rage and loss swayed the trust his people had in him. When he was brought to the cell, they turned their back to him.

I’ve always enjoyed this being the turning point for Caesar to show his true leadership again. He is still tormented by the ghost of Koba in his dreams. However, he manages to get rations for the apes. I believe that if it weren’t for Nova, Caesar wouldn’t have been able to do this. She risked her life as a child to get him food and water so he wouldn’t starve.

He risks it all for his people. Granted, he still does try to kill the Colonel, only to find him infected. Caesar could have brutalized this man. Instead, he allows the Colonel to go out on his terms. Unfortunately for Caesar, he would meet his end as well. The soldier he let go as a symbol of peace would be his death by a crossbow.

This might be odd, but I often think of Caesar as similar to a Moses figure. I know Matt Reeves made this comparison as well. Caesar faces many trials and tribulations to seek freedom for the apes, similar to Moses. That’s why his death at the end was bittersweet. His people were free at the cost of his own life. His surviving son lost both his parents and brother in a short amount of time.

ALZ-113

I think it’s pretty interesting that we got an ALZ-113 mutation. I don’t think there’s a name for it, but I call it ALZ-114. It’s not a name canon to the story. It’s just something I came up with.

The mutation is fascinating. It seems just as lethal as ALZ-113 with the blood loss. However, it shows more of a neurological impact. With my knowledge of the brain, I’d guess that it impacts the Broca’s area and/or the Cerebrum. This is a theory because those infected lose their ability to speak and show lower cognitive function.

I enjoyed the hint at the Colonel’s infection being due to the blood on the doll. I’ve talked to a few people who didn’t notice it at first. There’s no way of knowing how ALZ-113 or ALZ-114 will appear in future films. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes comes out in a few days. I’ll be sure to give an update.

Afterthoughts on War of the Planet of the Apes.

This felt like a solid ending to a terrific trilogy. Most of the time when a franchise hits the third film, the quality tends to tank. Planet of the Apes was a continuously solid franchise. It’s one that I didn’t hear people talking about often. It surprised me to learn that they were well received. This isn’t surprising or hard to see why. The plot is character-driven and dramatic. You get so invested in the survival of the apes, humans, or both. The characters aren’t flat. They have motives and backstories. Rodman creates ALZ-112 to cure his father from a debilitating medical issue. Caesar wants peace for the apes. Koba wants humans gone due to the abuse he faced. The actors succeed in this greatly with the aid of CGI. For this being mainly about apes, it felt incredibly human. Even the side characters were great. Maurice is a true right-hand man. He’s not afraid to tell Caesar how it is and that he’s acting like Koba. Rocket, despite getting beat up by Caesar in the beginning,

I also love Bad Ape. I know people disliked his comedic humor. He’s such a silly little dude. He mentions humans took his son and that he died. Granted, I looked up how his son died, and oof. In the comics, his son was a baby whom human soldiers shot.

There’s also the tragic nature of humans as well. They are doomed to fail. We, as the audience, know what happens to the humans if we connect it to the original Planet of the Apes films. Only small pockets of humanity survive, and those that do are not doing well.

The Alpha-Omegas, in War, are religious fanatics who don’t help the human cause either. The Colonel proves that with his tirade of the holy war and prideful brutality. Woody Harrelson gives another great performance of a psychopath again. It’s not as great as his Natural Born Killers performance, but great nonetheless.

The novelizations don’t miss this goal, either. I had a blast reading them. Firestorm gave a compelling background to Koba. War of the Planet of the Apes: Revelations gives us more insight into Blue Eyes and his side quest with Rocket. We see how Blue Eyes deals with Koba’s betrayal and Ash’s death. It also fleshes out Red’s (the gorilla from the War) backstory. They give us more insight into Cornelia and how she used to frustrate Caesar before they were bonded as mates.

These novelizations fill a pretty tall order. Novelizations are either great. They can help expand lore and flesh out characters. Or they can be true cash grabs that do nothing but devalue the plot. I don’t know how well the comics live up to this standard. I have yet to read them.

It’ll be interesting to see how Koba and Caesar’s impact will be felt in future films.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Speaking of new films, I didn’t think they would do another movie for the franchise. I was wrong. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes comes out May 10 this year. It’s directed by Wes Bell and written by Patrick Aison, Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver. The CGI looks better in this film as well.

It is set 300 years in the future. We follow a chimpanzee named Noa whose village was burned down by a bonobo named Proximus Caesar. It’s interesting how they use a bonobo for the villain again. Koba’s got some competition. It also follows Mae, an intelligent human the apes are trying to track down.

I’m intrigued about where this will take the franchise. Proximus feels like a very interesting villain. One that aims for old human knowledge and technology. Despite having Caesar as a title, he’s not one to obey the old laws of Caesar himself. “Ape not kill ape”. Proximus seems very okay with ape killing ape.