No monkeying around in 'War for the Planet of the Apes'

Photos: IMDb

As someone who has never seen a single film in the Planet of the Apes franchise, I walked into last night's screening of War for the Planet of the Apes (after an hour-long ordeal of moving inch by inch along the clogged concrete artery that is EDSA) not knowing what to expect.

I was aware of the premise on an embarrassingly basic level — super-intelligent simians versus humans — and didn't have enough time to really get into the lore.

Thankfully, War for the Planet of the Apes turned out to be quite beginner-friendly. If you're looking for action-packed science fiction entertainment that you can enjoy even with the barest of knowledge about its backstory, War for the Planet of the Apes is the perfect film to watch.

Set after the events of the previous two installments (Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), this reinterpretation of the 1968 cult hit follows the continuing adventures of chimp commander Caesar, as he and his hyper-intelligent ilk strive to live in peace while being hunted down by the humans who hate and fear them.

Midway through the film, I thought about how I felt while I was stuck in traffic earlier: anxious, bordering on mad about the possibility of arriving late for the screening. I could not fathom why we were moving at a snail's pace on an otherwise uneventful Tuesday night.

I suppose it's human nature to react negatively to things we can neither understand nor accept. The humans in War for the Planet of the Apes demonstrate this, as well as our own capacity for destruction. This film blends powerful characterization and great special effects to create an emotional, action-packed experience that shows us how, among the Earth's beasts, man is easily the most savage of all. — LA, GMA News