War for the Planet of the Apes

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
War for the Planet of the Apes
Released 7/14/17

Has it really been six years since Rise of the Planet of the Apes re-envisioned the legendary science fiction franchise?  Well, according to Wikipedia, that's the case.  My how time flies when you're having fun.  And fun has been exactly what this reimagining has been for me since 2011's Rise and 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  This weekend, enhanced ape, Caesar has returned in Matt Reeves' second crack at the blockbuster franchise. 

Like Star Trek and James Bond, I was never a fan of the original incarnation of the Ape franchise.  I know those films were a product of their time, but, they never resonated with me.  Aside from the "monkey makeup" which was cutting edge for its era, the movies were always very corny.  I was a little more invested with Tim Burton's 2001 remake, but, I've found in recent years it doesn't hold up very well.  Then came Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011 and my thoughts were immediately, "Another one?  Really?"  But, through some good word of mouth, I took the plunge with Rise and was pleasantly rewarded in doing so. 

So, what was the difference you ask?  I appreciated that Rise was more grounded in "reality."  There were no lost astronauts.  No wormholes to alternate realities.  Rise was the start of a good old-fashioned apocalypse.  Yes, I know the apocalypse has been done to death in film.  But, I had the sense that if something of this nature were to happen, it would look more like this than it would an astronaut discovering he time traveled to a future Earth where human/animal relations have gone to Hell. 

So where does War find Caesar and his clan since end of Dawn's story?  As the title suggests, his group is now in all out combat against the remaining humans unaffected by the Simian Flu virus. They are hunted by a particularly nasty military unit led by a fanatical Colonel (Woody Harrelson).  While all Caesar wants is peace, the Colonel is intent on preserving humankind by any means possible.  That includes an act that wounds Caesar to his core and forces the ape leader to come directly to him. 

War for the Planet of the Apes continues this franchise's  tradition of breathtaking special effects, particularly, the work that's done with Caesar.  The range of humanlike expression this CG character can emote has to be credited beyond the magic of a green screen.  I would argue strongly that  Andy Serkis who voices and performs the motion capture movements of Caesar should get some award consideration.  He won't, I know.  But, the job he does isn't simple and it should be recognized.  Hey, Andy, look for some recognition from me at year end.  It'll be the highlight of your career (not).

As far as action battle scenes, I call this version of the Ape franchise the "Anti-Transformers."  The scenes have no wasted motion and don't exist to be loud and disorienting.  In other words, despite the fantasy-based nature of the series, everything makes sense and fits into its place.  And, you don't experience many things more eye-popping than a battalion of CG apes on horseback brandishing weapons.  Haven't seen that yet?  I suggest you do.

Clocking in at two hours and twenty minutes, the film is slightly overlong which is my only real complaint about it.  There's a little fat that could be trimmed as there is a sub-story involving a human girl Caesar's chief advisor (orangutan Maurice) takes in.  And, then, there's Caesar's fever dreams of his old enemy, Koba, that generally serve no purpose and doesn't move the plot in the least.  Do we really need to know Caesar is having crises of conscience over some of his actions?  I say no.  All it does is bring the action to a crawl.

War for the Planet of the Apes can be seen as the logical end to a trilogy or the beginning of another chapter.  How the ending is ultimately interpreted by the studio will be determined by how much money War makes of course.  I would personally like to see where the story leads us now.  Hopefully, we will.  There's still plenty of room for the Apes' tale to expand. 

So, I will leave you all on this final note.  "APES TOGETHER...STRONG!!!"

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

****1/4 stars

Ratings Legend*= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Worth a look.  Better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. I'm doing my happy dance!
5 *= Pure eye candy. I have seen the top of the mountain, and it is good

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
Spider-Man:  Homecoming
Released 7/7/17

Spider-Man:  Homecoming.  What do I say about this?  I think a preamble might be in order here.

First, anyone who knows me well knows I am one of the biggest Spidey fans on the planet.  He's the best there is, the best there was, and best there ever will be (if I can borrow a phrase from Bret Hart).  I have been reading Spider-Man comic books since I remember being able to read.  So, when the Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man film was released in 2002, I was euphoric.   

But euphoria can descend to a feeling of distress when you stop being a fanboy long enough to look at a body of work more critically.  Now, I have to admit that I came out of each of the five previous Spider-Man releases prior to Homecoming with varying degrees of elation.  Looking at them all now, none of them were absolutely horrible.  But, a couple of them weren't as good as they should have been.  And, my love for the character did influence my initial reaction to some of those movies (although I still maintain Amazing Spider-Man got a very raw deal by some).

However, after Amazing Spider-Man 2, even the staunchest Webhead fan had to admit it was time to take a step back.  Sony needed some creative help badly.  And they got it, when they struck a deal with Marvel Studios to finally bring the iconic hero home to their immensely successful cinematic universe in a joint venture.  What was your reaction Webhead fans when the Captain America:  Civil War trailer was released that featured Spidey flipping into the scene web-grabbing Cap's shield?  If you're anything like me, you felt the euphoria of 2002 all over again. 

Now, we come to Homecoming, and, from the very beginning of its announcement I felt ambivalence toward the entire project starting with the name.  Homecoming?  What's that actually supposed to mean?  Unusual name for a superhero movie.  Does it have a deeper meaning that Spidey has finally come home to Marvel.  Or, is it the more conventional meaning of say, a high school reunion?  Okay, if it's the latter does that mean I have to endure a new Brat Pack associated with my favorite hero?  The prospects didn't bode well the more that information on the new film was leaked.

The casting of some supporting characters from the Spidey-verse would have been "odd" to longstanding  fans of the hero.  The casting of "Ned" and "Liz" immediately invoked the thought of Ned Leeds and Liz Allen.  At various times both were prominent supporting characters in Spider-Man's world, but, not in the ways Homecoming was introducing them.  Ned will be Peter Parker's high school best bud?  Uh, wasn't he a reporter that was accused of being the Hobgoblin at one time?  Liz will be Peter's love interest?  Since when were Peter and Liz an item Spidey lore?  And, then, there's Peter's high school nemesis, Flash Thompson, jock extraordinaire and supreme jerk.  Flash isn't going to be a jock?  What?!!

There was also the shadow of Tony Stark/Iron Man looming.  His appearance in the trailers worried me to a mid-level degree.  The last thing I wanted to see was a movie that would be more suited to be named "Iron Man 4 featuring Spider-Man."  Just how invasive was Stark going to be in the film?

On the villain front, I couldn't have been happier that Sony and Marvel landed Michael Keaton to be longtime Spidey nemesis, the Vulture.  Keaton has always been an underrated actor in my opinion.  Plus, he's arguably the best movie Batman ever.  So, everything is spiffy on that end right?  Then, news came that the Tinkerer, the Shocker, and, possibly the Scorpion would be added to the mix and the record came to an abrupt scratchy stop for me.  Is this supposed to be an introduction to the Sinister Six, or, are the powers that be gearing up to make the same mistake that many a superhero movie including ASM2 have made?  You know the one.  The doctrine that the more characters you can jam into a movie the better, characterization be damned.  Just throw in a lot of action sequences and explosions and no one will notice the flimsy story that goes along with it.

But, despite all trepidations, I kept coming back to one element.  Marvel Studios was going to be part of this venture.  They've been on an incredible run for years.  They made C-grade characters Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket (a raccoon no less), Drax, and Groot (a talking tree with a limited vocabulary) household names.  They oversaw the making of a very good Ant-Man movie.  ANT-MAN, I say!   Ant-Man who has a sequel on the way in 2018.  In Marvel Studios I trust.

So, all things considered, I approached Homecoming with "guarded optimism" hoping the John Hughes teen comedy/drama approach would be plausibly rooted in the MCU.  Could the Ferris Bueller-turned-superhero approach work?

Well, I can say director, Jon Watts, movie does work on most levels.  It's definitely a sorely needed win for Sony after the critical and financial disappointment that was ASM2.  In many ways, the film did feel like old school Wall Crawler with a modern twist.  In other ways, it was a little odd.

Let's start with the supporting characters.  As a Spidophile (is that a thing), I think it's good we didn't learn Ned's last name at all and Liz's until near the end of the film.  In this way, I could just look at them as random characters without assigning any type of familiar traits I knew from Spider-Man canon.  That said, neither impressed me that much.  Liz was a rather bland character who didn't share much palpable chemistry with Peter.  She was a take-her-or-leave-her character.  Best friend/comedic sidekick, Ned didn't resonate well with me.  In fact, I found him rather annoying at times with nothing to truly add to the narrative.

But, the most disappointing character in my mind was Flash.  I get it.  Tony Revelori's Flash was a total jerk as the character should be.  But, part of the fun of watching Peter going through high school after he became Spider-Man was his ability to finally put the kid who tormented him for years in his place.  Flash was the super athlete who was always bigger and stronger.  So, when Peter finally cut loose on him, it was always so satisfying.  We got that in the locker scene in Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man.  We got it again in the gym scene in Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man.  There's no such satisfaction here.  Even if Flash had received his comeuppance in Homecoming, getting over on the rich, smug social media bully just doesn't quite have the same juice.

One thing I am glad to report is that despite Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.'s) appearances, the film is very much a Spider-Man film.  The only thing I'll say here is the Spidey suit is a little too techie for me.  Peter is scientifically gifted in his own right, but, he's mostly relying on Stark's tech here.  While the suit itself does provide some wildly comic moments, it felt a little non-Wallcrawler at times.

Now, enough negativity.  Let's get to the positives.  And for that, let's start with the man himself.  After his appearance in Civil War, the question was if Tom Holland was a one hit wonder.  While his appearance was memorable, he really wasn't in that movie a great deal of time.  If you see Homecoming and don't become a believer in Holland, I'm not sure what else he needs to do for you.  I liked both Tobey Maguire's and Andrew Garfield's performances as the Webhead for different reasons.  But, while Maguire had "nerd Peter" down to a science, his Spider-Man lacked the quick wit and corny quips any Spider-Man fan had come to admire through the years.  Garfield had the Spider-Man persona perfected.  However, his Peter could be a bit of a jerk at times.  Holland is proficient in both identities as awkward Peter and motormouth Wallcrawler.  And, he's equally likable as both.

Michael Keaton turns in his usual solid performance as Adrian Toomes ( the Vulture), the owner of a salvage company who decides to cash in on the alien Chitauri tech left behind after the Battle of New York.  What's great about many of Keaton's non-comic performances is that sense that while he's not an intimidating guy per se, he can project that aura of danger, like there's something under the surface of that character you don't want to trifle with.  And the multiple "villains" that were rumored to be side by side with the Vulture?  All part of Toomes criminal crew whose "powers", like Toomes, comes from the pilfered alien tech.  So, while you do get a Mac Gargan (the man who will be the Scorpion)  and a Shocker, they're not main evildoers.  At least not yet (more on that in a moment).

And speaking of the Battle of New York, the repercussions from the first Avengers film are still being felt throughout most of the MCU.  It was a clever way to connect Homecoming to the Avengers.  My hat's off to whoever brainstormed that idea.

As with the previous Spider-Man films, the action is fast paced and dizzying at times.  But, that's okay.  Spider-Man's movements when he's in action should not look completely human.  Plus, I always get a kick whether in print or on the big screen, you get the full display of his true power.  The ferry scene which we've all witnessed at least in the trailer is the most spectacularly shot scene in a Spider-Man film since the Tobey Maguire train scene from Spider-Man 2 in my opinion. 

Watts and company also give the longtime Webhead fans a few little cookies to chew on.  Notice near the beginning of the movie when the Marvel Studio identification is rolling, there's a version of a certain theme song playing.  There's a moment when he's buried under tons of rubble that hearkens back to a very early Spider-Man scene from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko comic era.  Both moments were nice little winks to old school fans.

Homecoming is still not the best Spider-Man movie in my opinion.  But, what it does is boldly make a statement that character is back and in good hands again with Marvel Studios assisting Sony in guiding the ship.  It may or may not dazzle you, but, it should more than appease fans of the character, as well as, fans of the MCU.

Ah, lest we forget.  This is a Marvel movie, so we have a mid-credit scene that possibly foreshadows the coming of a certain group that's been a thorn in Spidey's side on a few occasions.  And, stick around after that for the post credit scene featuring a certain star spangled Avenger delivering a PSA.  All I will say is, it's trolling with love.

Welcome back Webhead!  You're home where you belong.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

***3/4 stars

Ratings Legend*= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Worth a look.  Better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. I'm doing my happy dance!
5 *= Pure eye candy. I have seen the top of the mountain, and it is good