The Film (5/5)

    I  am not a fan of remakes or reboots, so I attempted to avoid the new Planet of the Apes series when they were first announced. I then started to hear things like they were actually more like a continuation of the originals, and found out that those weren't true, but one word started ringing out above all the others, GOOD, not just good, but great. By the time the second film of the sequence Dawn of the Planet of the Apes came out people were decrying that the films were the best modern mainstream science fiction had to offer (much like the original films of the 1970's). Now, after the release of trilogy closer War for the Planet of the Apes it appears that the opinion of so many has been cemented.

   War for the Planet of the Apes is the absolute perfect conclusion to this modern apes trilogy, and with it solidifies its place as the greatest trilogy of blockbuster sci-fi to come out possibly ever with only the original Star Wars trilogy as its only competition. Yes, it is that good.   The film takes place 2 years after the conclusion of the last, and things have gotten awful in both the worlds of ape and man. There is an epic war between man and ape, and into this Caesar is personally drawn due to tragedy. He and a small group of apes go on a personally mission of revenge into human territory to enact their revenge.

    War of the Planet of the Apes opens with an epic battle scene, but soon after shrinks in scale to a personal and grim war story.  Comparison to Coppola's Apocalypse Now are absolutely appropriate, especially when taking Woody Harrelson's  Colonel character into consideration, and the nature of Caesar's mission.

   I'm not a huge mark for blockbuster effects driven films, but the new Apes films, and especially War get real top marks in that department. The apes lead by Caesar absolutely look stunning in their realism, and the war based violence looks gritty and fantastic.  The narrative throughout was compelling, and the performances from both human and ape cast were impeccably realized.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    Fox presents War of the Planet of the Apes in splendid 2:40:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer preserving the OAR of the piece. Everything looks excellent, and detailed here. Colors are mainly muted, but are well represented.

   Audio is handled by a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track and is well mixed, clear and comes across quite nicely.

Extras (3/5)

    There are commentaries, documentaries, interviews, galleries, trailers, and more across the set.

Overall

    War for the Planet of the Apes brings the new Planet of the Apes trilogy to a brilliant and satisfying close.  The audio and video are impeccable, and there is a nice slate of extras. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.