War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

Director: Matt Reeves

Cast: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Amiah Miller

Have I Seen it Before: Oh, sure.

Did I Like It: I’m a little resentful at myself for having seen Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) before re-watching this one. I probably would have been a little less forgiving of Kingdom had this one been fresher in my head. On the other hand, this one hits just a little bit harder because it is not only the final entry in Caesar’s (Serkis) story, but also the likely (but not definitely) last time we will see Serkis in the series*.

While I was still writing The Once and Future Orson Welles I did a blog post reflecting my own anxieties about how trilogy finales are always a tough nut to take in (to say nothing of cracking it in on the part of the creator). I didn’t include this film in those posts. Now, that’s largely because the film hadn’t been released then, but is also much more because this one sticks the landing. Shedding the need for exposition outside of a few brief (and they are brief) title cards, we’re able to tell a ruthlessly simple story with Caesar. Even references to films in the original series are kept to a bare minimum, and are oblique at that. To my count, only the Alpha-Omega regiment and the human girl’s (Miller) being named Nova, this is an almost completely original journey into the world of the apes, even if the general plot is roughly similar to the much, much worse Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973).

Serkis has brought the character so far in a short amount of time, flawlessly playing the coming-of-age Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) through to the old man having to confront his own well-earned hatred here. It’s rare that a high-genre movie released in this century can really grapple with these kinds of questions, and then come to grips with the fact that the answers might not be nearly as important as coming to peace with the questions themselves. His tragedy and—if primates might forgive the expression—humanity come through to culminate this series on its strongest note, not just managing to save itself from the natural embarrassment of a part 3.

*I always got the sense that Serkis could certainly play his own descendants, especially as Roddy McDowall did so in the previous series, but alas, as Matt Reeves moves on to Gotham City, this series may truly be over here.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Director: Matt Reeves

Cast: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell

Have I Seen it Before: Yes.

Did I Like It: One doesn’t want to give themselves over to the auteur theory, but I am tempted to say that most of the qualms I had about Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) are alleviated here, and I wonder if that can be laid at the feet of Matt Reeves. Callbacks (callforwards?) to the original Planet of the Apes (1968) are kept to a minimum. The pandemic storyline somehow went from the too-close-to-home ominous undertones in Rise to the hey-at-least-it-didn’t-end-up-that bad on display here. Most importantly, the human element is a real part of the movie, as opposed to the afterthought that is James Franco. And if you think that was easy to say with Jason Clarke in the film, you’re nuts.

The special effects may show their seams the most when those humans and the apes show up in the same frame, but that’s a forgivable problem. Any Apes film that completely conquers the uncanny valley when Ape shares the screen with human really wouldn’t be an Apes movie at all. Now, when the Apes are alone, it’s a different matter all together. They are still the far more interesting characters in the film, and I only say that because they are more interesting than human characters of practically any film of the era. Serkis is once again the master of acting through a digital effect, the same way Chaney or Karloff were the master of the physical prosthetic. There was more than a little chance that a new set of Apes movies would be something silly to behold even in the best of circumstances (I’m looking in your direction, Tim Burton). The fact that he alone not only brings a complete, often heartbreaking performance to a character in this setting, but he managed to do it twice (and in a forthcoming review, is likely to have completed the hat trick). You might see this review and think that there are too many Apes movies, but you owe it to yourself to see Caesar’s full arc…

And on that note, I really ought to give War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) another play through.

The Batman (2022)

Director: Matt Reeves

Cast: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright

Have I Seen it Before: Well, that’s the real thing, isn’t it?

Did I Like It: It’s actually taken me weeks to get around to this review. Part of it is a full plate. Part of it is the whole thing has been marinating in my head.

The Batman is quite good. It’s shot, cast, and mostly written well. It is the only Batman film to be fueled primarily by a legitimate, if uncomplicated detective story. We all know who the Riddler (Dano) is, and the secret identity of the Batman hasn’t been had an ounce of mystery to it since the concluding panels of “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” in 1939. And yet, Batman uses all of his skills in equal measure here.

I am happy to report that at no point does Martha Wayne drop her pearls, and while (spoiler) The Joker (Barry Keoghan) does appear in the film, Reeves shows a remarkable amount of restraint in both not making the Clown Prince a central part of the movie, and cutting his far more interesting—if ultimately redundant—scene.

It’s third act becomes a little incoherent, which puts it in good company. The end of nearly every film—with the arguable exception of The Dark Knight (2008)—to feature the Caped Crusader buckles a bit under even mild scrutiny. Why was the Joker climbing up the Cathedral in Batman (1989)? How were an army of trained missile-armed Penguins supposed to help Danny DeVito get his political revenge in Batman Returns (1992)? How did Jim Carrey manage to get that massive lair to do… mind control? The fact that I’m still—a couple of weeks after viewing the film—still not sure exactly what Batman was needing to do as the with the electrical discharges in the arena, and the city of Gotham really only seemed flooded when there were interesting shots of Batman doing things among water, and dry as a bone when he and Selina Kyle had to have a parting scene in a graveyard. 

We’ve had good Batman films before. There’s really no excuse to not make one anymore. But there’s so much here we have seen before, and yet so much unexplored potential on screen for the character. What do I want out of a Batman film, now that I’ve had literally every part of The Long Halloween reconstituted on the movie screen? I want the Neal Adams Batman. I want a grey costume (with a yellow oval, so sit down, Mr. Snyder). I want a giant penny and an even giant-er T-Rex in the Batcave*. Really? I want it to be called The Caped Crusader. It’s entirely possible I may just want to watch <Batman (1966)> again. That’s always possible.

I may have to wait a bit longer. In the meantime, I’ll take as many stories in Gotham as Matt Reeves can dole out.

*I do not want to see Martha Wayne drop her pearls ever again in a movie or television series. So, good on ya, Mr. Reeves.

Cloverfield (2008)

Director: Matt Reeves

Cast: Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David

Have I Seen it Before: I skipped it in the theater, because who needs that kind of aggravation in their life, and I was able to watch the new teaser for Star Trek (2009) on my computer anyway. I caught it later.

Did I Like It: Matt Reeves is proving to be a terrific filmmaker. His work with Planet of the Apes breathed life into a franchise when literally no one thought there was any life left in it. What we’ve seen of his upcoming The Batman is pointing to it being the only possible way forward for that character post-Christopher Nolan.

So, why isn’t this film any fun?

Maybe I’m in a bad mood during this screening, and that can always skew a review that is meant to be a snapshot of how I feel about a film in the moment I am watching it, but I don’t remember ever being terribly delighted by the movie, so much so that I experienced a bit of a Mandela effect when I realized Matt Reeves directed here.

A bleak march into the inevitability of death might have been fun for some as a twist on the creature feature before, but in 2020 it feels like a sober prediction for the first week in December. You might want to check, but I think Nate Silver has the odds of Kaiju attack before the advent of a COVID vaccine at hovering right around 30%, which I’m thinking is about as close to metaphysical certitude as we’re likely to get these days.

The people are kind of quietly miserable before the monster announces itself. They are miserable as it wreaks havoc and they do they’re very best to not avoid danger. The monster is still alive at the end of the film, and every human we were supposed to care about—who bravely documented everything about the Attack of Clover long past the point of rationality—is dead.

That’s it. That’s the movie. And now I’m nauseous. What a delight.

At least it wasn’t The Cloverfield Paradox (2018).