Caesar’s journey is about to come to an end withWar for the Planet of the Apes. Following the failure of Tim Burton’sPlanet of the Apesremake in 2001, Fox was able to totally rethink the property and give us some truly compelling modern sci-fi movies withRise of the Planet of the ApesandDawn of the Planet of the Apes. If you are planning on watchingWar for the Planet of the Apesin theaters next weekend but don’t have time to rewatch the previous two movies, Fox has you covered. A newly released featurette takes us through Caesar’s journey fromRisetoWarin just a few minutes.
20th Century Foxreleased the newWar for the Planet of the Apesfeaturette, titled “Legacy,” just over a week ahead of the movie arriving in theaters. An awful lot has happened sinceCaesarstarted out his life as a small ape withabove average intelligenceand this video provides a nice little refresher. The video also does a nice job of providing a little bit of context for how the general conflict and plot forWar for the Planet of the Apesis set up by the other two movies. And, while it may be unintentional, this also gives us a great look at justhow impressive the special effectsin these movies are, as they have improved substantially from movie to movie.
War for the Planet of the Apestakes place a couple of years after the events inDawn of the Planet of the Apes. Caesar and his apes have been in hiding, but they are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel, played by Woody Harrelson. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses in a battle,Caesar is forced to face his darker instinctsand begins a quest to avenge his fallen comrades. Caesar and the Colonel eventually come face to face, which leads to a battle that will determine the fates of apes and humans.
The summer movie season has been a bit of a mixed bag so far, but Fox may have a bit of a rare gem on their hands.War for the Planet of the Apeslooks like it very well could be both acommercially successful, huge box office success in addition to being a critical smash and possible awards season favorite.War for the Planet of the Apescurrently has a 94 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which is the best of the three movies. Will Andy Serkis finally be able to get that Oscar?
In terms of box office, tracking putsWar for the Planet of the Apesin the $50 million opening weekend range on the low end, with some analysts feeling that the movie could crack $70 million.Dawn of the Planet of the Apesdebuted to $72.6 million domestically in 2014, so it may be tough forWarto top that, but tracking has been somewhat unreliable in recent years. Be sure to check out the brand newWar for the Planet of the Apesfeaturette for yourself below.
