Caesar (Andy Serkis) vows revenge on the Army colonel (Woody Harrelson) who killed his family. He takes only his two closest friends and sends the rest of the tribe to a rumored sanctuary while he tracks down the colonel. Along the way, he finds a mute human child (Amiah Miller) and a zoo escapee named Bad Ape (Steve Zahn). Bad Ape knows where the colonel is holed up but Caesar is unprepared to find that his entire tribe had been captured and forced to work shoring up the defenses of the compound. The colonel has gone rogue and is using the apes as slave labor to prepare for an assault by the rest of the military. Caught between a psychopath's private army and the rest of the actual army, Caesar must decide whether to save his people or pursue his personal vendetta.
Bet you thought I was kidding about that Schindler's List comparison. There are other obvious parallels to Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, but there's a lot of Ralph Fiennes' Amon Goeth too. Maybe because the plot is so dark, this is also the only film in the trilogy with a genuine Comic Relief character. Now whether or not you find Steve Zahn funny is a matter of personal taste but it was interesting to note.
I saw the first two films in theaters but this was the first time watching them back-to-back and it is kind of astonishing how well they work together. Especially since Rise had a different director. It's to Matt Reeves' credit that he was able to craft two pretty seamless sequels and bring a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. And of course, this would never have gotten off the ground if it weren't for Andy Serkis. If there ever is an award for motion capture work, it should have his name on it.
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