War has been raging for the past two years—the humans have been killing each other off, and a military force from the North has been hunting down the Apes. Leader Caesar (Andy Serkis) had wanted the apes to live in peace with the humans, but rebel ape Koba led a coup, and attacked the humans. This has made the apes targets, always on the run. They have established a hidden village behind a waterfall, but the humans are getting closer. Koba’s former band of turncoat apes are now labeled “donkeys”, and serve as slaves for the human army and assist in their war against the apes. After the hidden sanctuary comes under attack by The Colonel (Woody Harrelson) and his men, Caesar sets out on a mission of revenge.

War For the Planet of the Apes gives a satisfying conclusion to this rebooted trilogy of the Apes franchise. This third installment mainly focuses on the emotional journey of Caesar. After a horrific loss, the usually morally-sound and peace-seeking Caesar is tested. He becomes consumed by his grief and only wants revenge. In a way, he is becoming just like Koda, and if he can’t find a way to control his anger, it will be the death of him too. The film is a redemption story for Caesar—he loses faith in himself, and others also lose faith in him, and so he must find the strength to overcome his sorrow and lead his fellow apes to freedom.

War For the Planet of the Apes draws inspiration from several famous war films and stories, which isn’t surprising as the writer/director notes in his commentary that the first thing he and the other writers did before penning the script was to watch a lot of classic films. The crux of the film is inspired by The Bridge on the River Kwai. The Colonel has taken the apes captive, forcing them to build the wall around his compound. However, despite their horrible living conditions, the apes refuse to give up hope or lose their spirit, and even start plotting their escape. Meanwhile, the crazy, war-obsessed Colonel is certainly a nod to Colonel Kurtz of Apocalypse Now, while Caesar’s journey is a cross between a Moses story and a Star Wars-like fight to not be consumed by darkness and hate. During his journey Caesar crosses paths with a young mute girl named Nova (Amiah Miller), and a reclusive chimpanzee named Bad Ape (Steve Zahn). While the former is a reminder of the innocence and love Caesar once had for the humans, the latter is mainly there to provide comic relief.

While Dawn of the Planet of the Apes remains my favorite of the new Apes trilogy, this film comes close. The film nicely blends the drama of Caesar’s emotional journey with the action and excitement of the film’s final act I always love a good prison escape story). Throughout the film there are also small moments of humor sprinkled in to help relieve some of the tension. The actors who portray these apes don’t get enough credit for all the amazing work they do bringing these characters to life. You really care about these characters and a lot of that is thanks to the human performances behind these apes.

The film’s UHD presentation looks fantastic—you instantly forget that these are not real apes interacting with the humans and each other as everything looks so realistic and lifelike. The film’s special effects and explosions look amazing! The 4K picture provides increased detail in the fur and faces of apes and humans, in the textures of Nova’s doll and characters’ clothing, and in the snowy elements that are constantly falling down through much of the film. The movie has a lot of dark scenes, but even these look quite crisp and detailed. The bright orange glow of flames and explosions also look spectacular, and there are some breathtaking sunrise/sunset scenes.

The film’s Atmos audio track is also quite impressive. Explosions can be heard overhead, while bullets and arrows also sound like they are whizzing past you, coming from every direction. Dialogue is clear, a general ambiance is always present, and the score fills the room, setting the dramatic, exciting or comical tone of each scene.

This release comes with both a 4K UHD disc and a Blu-ray disc packed in an eco-friendly UHD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. The case also contains an insert with instructions to redeem an digital copy of the film. Most of the bonus features only appear on the Blu-ray disc. The only bonus material included on the 4K disc is the film’s audio commentary. The Blu-ray disc also contains 23 minutes of deleted scenes, 88 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes, trailers and a photo gallery. The digital copy of the film also includes 22 minutes of scenes comparisons that allow the viewers to compare the scenes with actors in their motion capture suits before the CG apes were added to the final product.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:20:09)

4K Ultra HD:

• 2160p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• HDR
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Castilian DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Castilian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese, Czech, Mandarin, Polish
• Subtitles (Audio Commentary): English, Spanish, French, Castilian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
• Subtitles (Audio Commentary): English, Spanish, French

Digital HD (Code May Not Be Valid After 2019):

• Digital HD copy redeemable via iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Google Play, or Vudu
  (At this time we recommend redeeming via iTunes so that you at least receive the 4K version in iTunes—the HD version will propagate to the other services automatically if you have them interconnected via Movies Anywhere.)

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (23:03)
  Collection of 10 deleted scenes. Play All or select from “Graveyard”, “Turncoats”, “Barrier Wall”, “‘I Owe You One'”, “‘A Great Man'”, “‘Do Not Lose Hope'”, “Snowfall”, “The Colonel’s Speech”, “Malcolm and the Dinosaurs”, and “‘I Am Like Koba'”. Scenes can be viewed with Optional Audio Commentary by Matt Reeves. Most of the scenes feature incomplete effects and the actors in their motion capture suits.
• Waging War for the Planet of the Apes (29:38)
  A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film with the cast and filmmakers. The writers talk about the movies they watched for inspiration for the story, and the participants discuss the characters, the cast, the new film technology utilized this time around, the look of the film, the cold environment, the sets, the weapons and the special effects. Participants include director/co-writer Matt Reeves, co-writer/executive producer Mark Bomback, producer Dylan Clark, costume designer Melissa Bruning, property master Douglas Harlocker, production designer James Chinlund, military advisor Thomas Potter, armourer Rob Fournier, special effects coordinator Joel Whist, and actors Andy Serkis (“Caesar”), Woody Harrelson (“The Colonel”), Amiah Miller (“Nova”), Karin Konoval (“Maurice”), Steve Zahn (“Bad Ape”), Terry Notary (“Rocket”), Ty Olsson (“Red Donkey”), Michael Adamthwaite (“Luca”), and Gabriel Chavarria (“Preacher”).
• All About Caesar (12:40)
  The filmmakers talk about the evolution of the character of Caesar over the films, and Andy Serkis’ performance. Participants include director/co-writer Matt Reeves, co-writer/executive producer Mark Bomback, author/film historian Rich Handle, producer Dylan Clark, visual effects supervisor Dan Lemmon, and actor Andy Serkis.
• WETA: Pushing Boundaries (10:36)
  The filmmakers talk about the advancements in technology that helped to bring these characters to life. The participants discuss the aging of Caesar over the course of the movies, the new character of Bad Ape, and the new extreme environments and challenges provided by the third film. Includes a look at the layers of effects used in some of the film’s scenes, as well as interviews with senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri, visual effects supervisors Dan Lemmon, Luke Millar, Mark Gee & Erik Winquist, actor Andy Serkis, director/co-writer Matt Reeves, and co-producer Ryan Stafford.
• Music for Apes (6:20)
  A visit to the Newman Scoring Stage for the scoring of the film, with director/co-writer Matt Reeves, composer Michael Giacchino, and percussionist Emil Richards, who has worked on all of the Planet of the Apes movies since the original.
• Apes: The Meaning of it All (20:15)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about their first encounters with The Planet of the Apes, and the history of the film franchise. Participants include author/film historian Rich Handle, co-writer/executive producer Mark Bomback, authors Jeff Bond & Joe Fordham, director/co-writer Matt Reeves, producer Dylan Clark, and actors Andy Serkis, Steve Zahn, and Woody Harrelson.
• The Apes Saga: An Homage (7:48)
  A look at the references to the original films that appear in the new trilogy. Includes interviews
  producer Dylan Clark, director/co-writer Matt Reeves, authors Joe Fordham & Jeff Bond, author/film historian Rich Handle, and co-writer/executive producer Mark Bomback.
• Audio Commentary by Matt Reeves (2:20:09)
  In this entertaining and informative commentary, director/co-writer Matt Reeves talks about the process of writing the script for this final leg of the trilogy, and provides listeners with some interesting behind-the-scenes stories.
• Concept Art Gallery
  Manually advance through these photo galleries or let each slideshow auto-advance every 5 seconds. Select from:
  • Characters (:43) – 8 photos
  • Drawings (:38) – 7 photos
  • Paintings (6:58) – 83 photos
• Theatrical Trailers (6:54)
  Play All or select from “Teaser Trailer”, “Official Trailer”, and “Final Trailer”.
• Scene Comparisons (22:37)
  (Digital Copy Only) 10 side-by-side scene comparisons showing the performance capture above the final scene. Play All or select from “Forming a Posse”, “Caesar’s First Kill”, “Finding Nova”, “Coastal Procession”, “End of Winter”, “Posse Sleeps Tonight”, :Riot Scene”, “Apes Together Strong”, “The Escape”, and “Colonel Dies”.
   
  
  

Final Thoughts:

War For The Planet of the Apes provides an emotionally satisfying conclusion to the rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy, and Caesar’s story in particular. The film is an excellent mix of drama, action and humor, with some stellar performances. This UHD release provides excellent visual and aural presentation, and contains a solid selection of bonus material. This release comes highly recommended.