Last night my wife and I attended the 7:10PM screening of War for the Planet of the Apes. This is the third installment of the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise that started with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and its sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

The movie picks up about five years later and the apes have settled into a new encampment in the woods when they are attacked by a small military unit under the command of the corrupt leadership of the Colonel, played by Woody Harrelson. Without giving away any of the story, Caesar, played once again by Andy Serkis, makes a series of decisions that leads him to the point of seeking revenge on the Colonel and ultimately rescuing his whole clan from this brutal tyrant.

Steve Zahn plays a common chimpanzee called Bad Ape and is this grim movie's comic foil, helping to lighten it up so that it doesn't become mired in a feeling of apocalyptic hopelessness.

I have always loved the Planet of the Apes franchise, ever since I saw them as a young boy and I found it interesting that I was actually rooting for the apes and ultimately the end of mankind while I watched this film. There were a lot of nods and homages paid toward the old '60s and '70s Apes movies; some are subtle and others are in your face. If you've watched the other two movies in this reboot of the series, do yourself a favor and take this one in. The only negative comment I have is that the movie went about a half-hour too long, but still well worth the money.

More From KQCL Power 96