War For The Planet Of The Apes
Thoughts On: War For The Planet Of The Apes (2017)
The last film we will look at as part of The Planet Of The Apes Prequel trilogy.
War, as an extension of Dawn, is focused on the trials of a great and wise king. So, as we delve into this, I'll emphasise that there will be SPOILERS and I hope you'll understand that I can't yet use images as I don't own the movie.
War opens with the humans, those that were called in the end of Dawn, attacking the apes. With this, we come to realise that the poison that was supposedly destroyed through Koba still infects the ape society. In such, there are traitors that help the humans, adhering to an idea that there needs to be destruction and separatism. Because Koba and his followers were essentially told they are not apes, humans are now then taking advantage of them as 'donkeys'. However, Koba doesn't only infect ape society through these traitors; he exists within Caesar too as a product of him knowing the evil and the good of apes.
This is all expressed when Caesar's oldest son and wife are killed by the colonel of the attacking army. Because he fails to protect them, the image of Koba begins to haunt him in a Shakespearean manner, symbolising Caesar's understanding that he, whilst he is a good king, cannot justify the destruction of the humans - especially at the expense of his family. This is why there were plans to flee the forest which are enacted when Caesar begins to further embrace the evil, or Koba, within him by deciding to take revenge alone, abandoning his group so he can cut off the head of the snake that bit his family: the colonel.
The primary conflicting force of this vengeance is, however, made obvious when Caesar's core group follow him; Maurice, a guard and Rocket. It is later made clear that, just like the apes will die for Caesar, there are humans willing to die for the colonel, leaving both the humans and the apes societal hydras that spawn two new heads every time one is destroyed. After all, this is what happened after both Rise and Dawn; the humans are cut down, but the malevolence and evil within their groups only flourishes. So, whilst Caesar signifies a growing aggression and evil once his family is taken away, it becomes his task throughout the movie to prevent his tribe from becoming a hydra and a snake that consumes itself - which is what the humans are becoming.
We have seen humans as the self-consuming snake ever since the end of Rise; after the power went out and the humans began destroying one another. This continues throughout Dawn, despite their efforts to produce a great leader, and comes to a climax in War. We see this through the infection, which the surviving humans assumed they were immune to, coming back and rendering humans mute and ape-like. Because of this, the humans face utter eradication; even if they survive, they are inevitably going to devolve unless they destroy the disease that causes their devolution. What we are then seeing also come to a climax in War is the human side of this narrative.
We have implied that there is a use of history throughout this series that comments on us, but it has so far been incoherent or incomplete with only a few references to rights struggles and political polarities. In War, we are seeing one of the most damaging of human ideas being expressed as a holy war: eugenics. Genetics is where The Planet of The Apes series began and it is where it will end. Humans attempted to strengthen their society, but allowed corruption and a lack of foresight, as represented Jacobs, to destroy themselves - and they only fell further when societal and moral structures failed (which is demonstrated in Dawn).
Eugenics is then the form of genetic manipulation that, instead of saving the minority of humanity and thus progressing the whole as with the cure for Alzheimer's, is going to save the majority of what is left is humanity as to give the whole a chance. This leaves colonel as the most complex human character in this entire series, but also an encapsulation of 'too little, too late'. The apes made their rise with a maturing and developing great king; humanity has been searching for this for years and the best they can do is a king that is the equivalent to Koba. The colonel then incites some of the greatest human atrocities ever committed; acts of world war, genocide and eugenic holy war - all signified through imagery of concentration camps. As a result, War For The Planet Of The Apes could be recognised as Holy War For The Planet Of The Apes. This is largely because humans are fighting for their highest ideal and all that makes them human, symbolised by holiness and God, whilst apes are striving to develop their own, what we would call, humanity. What makes their war holy is then this appeal to the abstract pinnacle of a hierarchy; a guiding God, or set of ideals, of compassion, mercy, unity and family.
However, whilst there are clear elements of the war that are holy (because they are linked to the essence of humans and apes as well as their greatest ideals), there is more to this war for Caesar. He has to not only recognise and allow for the existence of human good (as he does in Dawn), but he must begin to protect this. But, the only human good that remains of people has been shunned from society; it is they who are mute and devolved. Having found a little girl like this, but also with a representative of highly humanised apes through a new character who often calls himself 'Bad Ape', Caesar must then learn how to be a great king over the course of this narrative by learning from humanity's greatest mistakes - e.g. our world wars, holy wars, vengeance and most damaging of ideas.
By continuing to assume and develop his moral, intellectual and physical strength, Caesar must then endure and sacrifice himself to human evil in the concentration camps as to protect and save his apes. As a result, a lot of this movie plays out much like The Bridge On The River Kwai with hints of the stories of Christ - but this is a detail I won't delve into. So, it is through this endurance that Caesar and his leading core group of apes preserve the good of humanity (the innocent mute girl) and in turn allow all that is corrupt and evil in humanity to fall. As has been a motif of this entire series, allowing evil to fall is done through infection - which is a symbol of nature and innate biological combat. By preserving the little girl, who has a blood-stained doll, Caesar brings into the concentration camp, which his whole tribe is put into, infection. This infection is what seals the severed neck of a decapitated hydra, preventing it from ever coming back to life. In such, this infection gets into the colonel's system.
However, this is a detail that proceeds a second group of humans descending from the north to destroy the colonel - all because he is killing the devolving humans. The battle that plays out here is an ambiguous one that probably needed more of a focus on. However, it quite clearly represents all of humanity's remaining strength coming into conflict with itself - much like what happened with the apes in Dawn. What we can assume, however, is that this human struggle is a futile one that is predicated on base emotion with no higher ideal - which is why the infection can be considered metaphorically to be the continued downfall of humanity after they ignited a fire with Rise. In fact, what is reflected by Dawn and War is the idea that consciousness cannot be turned off once it is switched on; an awakened being cannot be put back to sleep. The humans are the ones that woke up the apes, but in attempting to put them back to sleep, they only destroy themselves as a result of trying to defy nature instead of managing and advancing it with an alignment with the apes.
This all comes to its final climax when Caesar unites all of the apes by giving everything he has to them. However, Caesar giving his all means that he fails in blowing up the humans, putting to a stop their civil war which is destroying all of the apes who are caught in the crossfire. However, one of the donkeys, an ape traitor, turns against his masters having recognised that Caesar can give no more - all for the greater good of the apes, he then sacrifices himself. As a result, Caesar sucks the last of the poison out of his society, turning the last of the evil monkeys good, which triggers the Great Flood; an avalanche that destroys the entirety of the human army. This is, of course, after his final confrontation with the colonel. Here, Caesar attempts to embody Koba by murdering the colonel and taking vengeance, but, there is no need for this after Caesar accepts this dark side of himself, moreover, his moral and intellectual limitations as an ape. Caesar has evolved as far as he can as an ape, but has managed to do enough. This is why, despite being ready to accept a step backwards, nature takes its course. Not only is the colonel infected, but the flood wipes away the last of the human's power.
The apes, however, survive the Great Flood by clinging onto trees, signifying that it is their base essence as apes (their innate strength which separates them from humanity) that allows them to transcend humans once they have learned to become morally, socially, structurally and ethically superior to them - but also having recognised their own shadow, which is what Caesar accepted when he confronts the colonel by embodying Koba.
There is then hope at the end of this narrative with devolved humans and evolved apes finding and establishing a new Eden of their own design in the real world, bringing into it lessons from human history. It is here where the old great king is no longer needed, however. He has physically given everything he has to the apes and this kills him. But, Caesar transcends the tangible world with his death; he will now become the founding father, a tangible God, to all apes to come, who will hopefully continue to thrive and evolve as a species alongside what is left of humanity.
Now, with the entirety of this trilogy covered, it seems that this narrative is anti-human. However, what we can consider this narrative to be is an expression of our greatest fears in the modern age. Not only can we sense that our scientific and technological innovation is leading us to a point where we will maybe create new life that may endanger our own existence, but, we can all recognise that there are significant structural issues with human societies that could make those up-and-coming challenges insurmountable. What the entirety of this narrative expresses is then a cautionary tale concerning human talent and innovation, yet also the precariousness of our values and moral structures. Caesar and the ape society are then signals to humanity and a reprisal and re-contextualisation of our greatest stories that mean to serve, warn and guide humanity.
For exactly this, it is overwhelmingly clear that this trilogy is one of the greatest pieces of art that cinema has produced in the modern digital age. And whilst I have attempted to outline the main structure of this narrative and its core ideas, I think there's an awful lot more that we could all re-watch this movie for and even utilise. However, this will all lead to a talk we've had before on Cinema As A Religion, so, we'll end things here.
Actually, I think I can find a bit of a positive note to end on. In Rise, we are told that humans have just entered Mars' atmosphere:
This means that there may be surviving humans in the solar system and that all is not lost in the world of The Planet Of The Apes. So, can we then expect more from this trilogy that reaffirms humanity? Is it possible that we can develop our own great kings and rise ourselves? Can we merge and co-exist with a true Planet Of The Apes; Earth populated only by these evolved creatures? Maybe this is a signal for more to come, but maybe this is where the series leaves us looking into the dark void of our own future.
However, this is where I'm going to end this post with one last question: what are your thoughts?
The last film we will look at as part of The Planet Of The Apes Prequel trilogy.
War, as an extension of Dawn, is focused on the trials of a great and wise king. So, as we delve into this, I'll emphasise that there will be SPOILERS and I hope you'll understand that I can't yet use images as I don't own the movie.
War opens with the humans, those that were called in the end of Dawn, attacking the apes. With this, we come to realise that the poison that was supposedly destroyed through Koba still infects the ape society. In such, there are traitors that help the humans, adhering to an idea that there needs to be destruction and separatism. Because Koba and his followers were essentially told they are not apes, humans are now then taking advantage of them as 'donkeys'. However, Koba doesn't only infect ape society through these traitors; he exists within Caesar too as a product of him knowing the evil and the good of apes.
This is all expressed when Caesar's oldest son and wife are killed by the colonel of the attacking army. Because he fails to protect them, the image of Koba begins to haunt him in a Shakespearean manner, symbolising Caesar's understanding that he, whilst he is a good king, cannot justify the destruction of the humans - especially at the expense of his family. This is why there were plans to flee the forest which are enacted when Caesar begins to further embrace the evil, or Koba, within him by deciding to take revenge alone, abandoning his group so he can cut off the head of the snake that bit his family: the colonel.
The primary conflicting force of this vengeance is, however, made obvious when Caesar's core group follow him; Maurice, a guard and Rocket. It is later made clear that, just like the apes will die for Caesar, there are humans willing to die for the colonel, leaving both the humans and the apes societal hydras that spawn two new heads every time one is destroyed. After all, this is what happened after both Rise and Dawn; the humans are cut down, but the malevolence and evil within their groups only flourishes. So, whilst Caesar signifies a growing aggression and evil once his family is taken away, it becomes his task throughout the movie to prevent his tribe from becoming a hydra and a snake that consumes itself - which is what the humans are becoming.
We have seen humans as the self-consuming snake ever since the end of Rise; after the power went out and the humans began destroying one another. This continues throughout Dawn, despite their efforts to produce a great leader, and comes to a climax in War. We see this through the infection, which the surviving humans assumed they were immune to, coming back and rendering humans mute and ape-like. Because of this, the humans face utter eradication; even if they survive, they are inevitably going to devolve unless they destroy the disease that causes their devolution. What we are then seeing also come to a climax in War is the human side of this narrative.
We have implied that there is a use of history throughout this series that comments on us, but it has so far been incoherent or incomplete with only a few references to rights struggles and political polarities. In War, we are seeing one of the most damaging of human ideas being expressed as a holy war: eugenics. Genetics is where The Planet of The Apes series began and it is where it will end. Humans attempted to strengthen their society, but allowed corruption and a lack of foresight, as represented Jacobs, to destroy themselves - and they only fell further when societal and moral structures failed (which is demonstrated in Dawn).
Eugenics is then the form of genetic manipulation that, instead of saving the minority of humanity and thus progressing the whole as with the cure for Alzheimer's, is going to save the majority of what is left is humanity as to give the whole a chance. This leaves colonel as the most complex human character in this entire series, but also an encapsulation of 'too little, too late'. The apes made their rise with a maturing and developing great king; humanity has been searching for this for years and the best they can do is a king that is the equivalent to Koba. The colonel then incites some of the greatest human atrocities ever committed; acts of world war, genocide and eugenic holy war - all signified through imagery of concentration camps. As a result, War For The Planet Of The Apes could be recognised as Holy War For The Planet Of The Apes. This is largely because humans are fighting for their highest ideal and all that makes them human, symbolised by holiness and God, whilst apes are striving to develop their own, what we would call, humanity. What makes their war holy is then this appeal to the abstract pinnacle of a hierarchy; a guiding God, or set of ideals, of compassion, mercy, unity and family.
However, whilst there are clear elements of the war that are holy (because they are linked to the essence of humans and apes as well as their greatest ideals), there is more to this war for Caesar. He has to not only recognise and allow for the existence of human good (as he does in Dawn), but he must begin to protect this. But, the only human good that remains of people has been shunned from society; it is they who are mute and devolved. Having found a little girl like this, but also with a representative of highly humanised apes through a new character who often calls himself 'Bad Ape', Caesar must then learn how to be a great king over the course of this narrative by learning from humanity's greatest mistakes - e.g. our world wars, holy wars, vengeance and most damaging of ideas.
By continuing to assume and develop his moral, intellectual and physical strength, Caesar must then endure and sacrifice himself to human evil in the concentration camps as to protect and save his apes. As a result, a lot of this movie plays out much like The Bridge On The River Kwai with hints of the stories of Christ - but this is a detail I won't delve into. So, it is through this endurance that Caesar and his leading core group of apes preserve the good of humanity (the innocent mute girl) and in turn allow all that is corrupt and evil in humanity to fall. As has been a motif of this entire series, allowing evil to fall is done through infection - which is a symbol of nature and innate biological combat. By preserving the little girl, who has a blood-stained doll, Caesar brings into the concentration camp, which his whole tribe is put into, infection. This infection is what seals the severed neck of a decapitated hydra, preventing it from ever coming back to life. In such, this infection gets into the colonel's system.
However, this is a detail that proceeds a second group of humans descending from the north to destroy the colonel - all because he is killing the devolving humans. The battle that plays out here is an ambiguous one that probably needed more of a focus on. However, it quite clearly represents all of humanity's remaining strength coming into conflict with itself - much like what happened with the apes in Dawn. What we can assume, however, is that this human struggle is a futile one that is predicated on base emotion with no higher ideal - which is why the infection can be considered metaphorically to be the continued downfall of humanity after they ignited a fire with Rise. In fact, what is reflected by Dawn and War is the idea that consciousness cannot be turned off once it is switched on; an awakened being cannot be put back to sleep. The humans are the ones that woke up the apes, but in attempting to put them back to sleep, they only destroy themselves as a result of trying to defy nature instead of managing and advancing it with an alignment with the apes.
This all comes to its final climax when Caesar unites all of the apes by giving everything he has to them. However, Caesar giving his all means that he fails in blowing up the humans, putting to a stop their civil war which is destroying all of the apes who are caught in the crossfire. However, one of the donkeys, an ape traitor, turns against his masters having recognised that Caesar can give no more - all for the greater good of the apes, he then sacrifices himself. As a result, Caesar sucks the last of the poison out of his society, turning the last of the evil monkeys good, which triggers the Great Flood; an avalanche that destroys the entirety of the human army. This is, of course, after his final confrontation with the colonel. Here, Caesar attempts to embody Koba by murdering the colonel and taking vengeance, but, there is no need for this after Caesar accepts this dark side of himself, moreover, his moral and intellectual limitations as an ape. Caesar has evolved as far as he can as an ape, but has managed to do enough. This is why, despite being ready to accept a step backwards, nature takes its course. Not only is the colonel infected, but the flood wipes away the last of the human's power.
The apes, however, survive the Great Flood by clinging onto trees, signifying that it is their base essence as apes (their innate strength which separates them from humanity) that allows them to transcend humans once they have learned to become morally, socially, structurally and ethically superior to them - but also having recognised their own shadow, which is what Caesar accepted when he confronts the colonel by embodying Koba.
There is then hope at the end of this narrative with devolved humans and evolved apes finding and establishing a new Eden of their own design in the real world, bringing into it lessons from human history. It is here where the old great king is no longer needed, however. He has physically given everything he has to the apes and this kills him. But, Caesar transcends the tangible world with his death; he will now become the founding father, a tangible God, to all apes to come, who will hopefully continue to thrive and evolve as a species alongside what is left of humanity.
Now, with the entirety of this trilogy covered, it seems that this narrative is anti-human. However, what we can consider this narrative to be is an expression of our greatest fears in the modern age. Not only can we sense that our scientific and technological innovation is leading us to a point where we will maybe create new life that may endanger our own existence, but, we can all recognise that there are significant structural issues with human societies that could make those up-and-coming challenges insurmountable. What the entirety of this narrative expresses is then a cautionary tale concerning human talent and innovation, yet also the precariousness of our values and moral structures. Caesar and the ape society are then signals to humanity and a reprisal and re-contextualisation of our greatest stories that mean to serve, warn and guide humanity.
For exactly this, it is overwhelmingly clear that this trilogy is one of the greatest pieces of art that cinema has produced in the modern digital age. And whilst I have attempted to outline the main structure of this narrative and its core ideas, I think there's an awful lot more that we could all re-watch this movie for and even utilise. However, this will all lead to a talk we've had before on Cinema As A Religion, so, we'll end things here.
Actually, I think I can find a bit of a positive note to end on. In Rise, we are told that humans have just entered Mars' atmosphere:
This means that there may be surviving humans in the solar system and that all is not lost in the world of The Planet Of The Apes. So, can we then expect more from this trilogy that reaffirms humanity? Is it possible that we can develop our own great kings and rise ourselves? Can we merge and co-exist with a true Planet Of The Apes; Earth populated only by these evolved creatures? Maybe this is a signal for more to come, but maybe this is where the series leaves us looking into the dark void of our own future.
However, this is where I'm going to end this post with one last question: what are your thoughts?
