War for the Planet of the Apes
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: July 14, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 50 Critic Reviews
Positive:
45
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 13, 2017
This improbably magnificent film and Michael Giacchino’s majestic score are a perfect match. Read full review
100
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 13, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes may have the body of an action film, but it has the soul of an art-house drama and the brains of a political thriller. Read full review
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJul 12, 2017
Reeves keeps the action moving steadily, never letting the film’s 140 minutes feel even slightly bloated, and surrounds Caesar with a visually stunning, compassionately conceived group of side characters. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJul 12, 2017
There is a scene toward the end of War for the Planet of the Apes that is as vivid and haunting as anything I’ve seen in a Hollywood blockbuster in ages, a moment of rousing and dreadful cinematic clarity that I don’t expect to shake off any time soon. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJul 12, 2017
It would be hard to overstate just how singular this picture feels in its seriousness of purpose and in its cumulative power to enthrall and astonish. Read full review
100
Village VoiceBilge EbiriJun 26, 2017
The effects are incredible, the action is exciting, the music is great, and Andy Serkis, once again embodying a non-human character through motion-capture technology, remains terrific. But there’s something more here. Read full review
95
IGNScott ColluraJun 26, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes is an excellent closing act to this rebooted trilogy, but also one that does enough world-building that the series can potentially continue from here – and it’s a rare case where, after three movies, we’re left wanting more. Read full review
91
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 12, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes seals Caesar's place in the pantheon of movie messiahs and the trilogy's place among the finest ever. Read full review
91
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerJul 10, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes is a formidable conclusion (if indeed it is) to one of the more well-considered modern series to date. This is a film of difficult, lingering questions and painful revelations. Read full review
90
VoxAlissa WilkinsonJul 13, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes is the rare blockbuster that’s both entertaining and full of complexity. Read full review
90
SlateDana StevensJul 11, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes is a formidable achievement: not just the rare last chapter in a trilogy that maintains the high quality of the first two, but a visually lush, heart-pounding summer action movie that dares to ask hard questions about the struggle between good and evil—both on the larger social scale and within each individual—and the fate of life on Earth. Read full review
90
New York Daily NewsStephen Whitty Jun 26, 2017
The cast is all top-notch. Harrelson can peel and eat scenery like a bunch of bananas, but he’s mostly in control here. Andy Serkis is beautifully intense as Caesar, and Steve Zahn a welcome addition as the scaredy-cat Bad Ape. Read full review
90
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganJun 26, 2017
It’s engrossing every inch of the way, with casualties, infighting, character flaws, war mongering, and some delicious grandstanding from Harrelson. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJul 12, 2017
A glorious, action-and-pathos packed capstone to the rebooted Apes franchise. Read full review
88
ObserverOliver JonesJul 13, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes marks the apex of what has been a bludgeoning season of spectacle cinema. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 12, 2017
This is a vital, original, and emotionally potent chapter to one of the longest-running movie series out there. It will easily be one of the summer of 2017’s best films and, at the end of the year, it will likely find a space on many respectable Top 10 lists. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 12, 2017
Reeves achieves visual wonders even in the stillness before all hell breaks loose. It's what makes War for the Planet of the Apes such a unique and unforgettable experience – that, and Serkis's career-high performance. Hail Caesar, indeed. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 12, 2017
Gripping, visually assured and working far above its summer-sequel paygrade, War for the Planet of the Apes treats a harsh storyline with a solemnity designed to hoist the tale of Caesar, simian revolutionary — the Moses of apes — into the realm of the biblical. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 11, 2017
Serkis is brilliant and memorable and sometimes absolutely heartbreaking as Caesar. The supporting players excel, with each getting a moment or two in the sun. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJul 10, 2017
While it may be a few beats too long, especially in its multiple endings, it’s a shockingly memorable movie, the kind that gets better as you dissect and discuss how much it does right after the lights have gone up. And, let’s not forget this important factor for summer movie dollars, it’s wildly entertaining. Read full review
88
USA TodayBrian TruittJun 26, 2017
The satisfying and heart-wrenching climax is a last reminder that Caesar’s new adventure is one of this summer’s best. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJul 14, 2017
The film could have been improved by dropping a few battles, and I wish Caesar were not the only ape with the power of human speech. I, for one, would love to hear what Maurice the orangutan sounds like spouting the King’s English. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJun 26, 2017
Like Caesar and company, the films seem to be getting more intelligent and human as they evolve. Read full review
83
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezJun 26, 2017
Brimming with emotional intelligence, the human texture Reeves delivers in Apes separates his film from the rest of the tentpole pack. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnJun 26, 2017
With War for the Planet of the Apes, technological wizardry and first-rate storytelling combine into a bracing action-adventure that concludes the best science fiction trilogy since the original trio of “Star Wars” movies. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellAug 3, 2017
Foregoing breadth in favour of depth, War is at its core a character study disguised as a science fiction epic. Read full review
80
ScreenCrushMatt SingerJul 12, 2017
This movie takes big risks, and many of them pay off. War for the Planet of the Apes proves that big movies aren’t incompatible with big ideas. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 12, 2017
Flawed but impressive, War for the Planet of the Apes finds its place comfortably, and near the top, of a surprisingly satisfying summer season. It’s a smart take on the old films, making this a series that can stand alone in its own right. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJun 29, 2017
The monkey business is somber, brutal and utterly persuasive in this dazzling third entry of a sci-fi series that's only getting better. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekJun 29, 2017
It’s not going to change the summer-blockbuster landscape single-handedly, but at least it comes by its thrills honestly: This is a spectacle that trusts us to think. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJun 26, 2017
The fact that a genre entry of this nature, with no intrinsic need of being philosophically nuanced, goes out of its way to endow even its ostensible villains with comprehensible motives rates as a notable achievement. Read full review
80
EmpireJames DyerJun 26, 2017
The conflict here is one of morality, identity and the boundaries of humanity; all the guns and napalm, while present, are secondary to War’s purpose. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJun 26, 2017
Reeves marshals more than his fair share of battle scenes and sweeping set-pieces, but never forgets the flicker of a face can provide all the spectacle that cinema requires. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 26, 2017
It’s an engrossing, forthright adventure. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartJul 13, 2017
Apologies to Charlton Heston loyalists, but War for the Planet of the Apes is a good example of how today’s movies sometimes beat the hell out of the oldies. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 12, 2017
In the new film, War for the Planet of the Apes — the best of the series, by far — the series’ viewpoint comes into focus, and it’s a lot more intricate and enlightened than some unthinking death wish. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 12, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes plays like a mash-up of about five different movies, but at least one of them feels like a masterpiece. Read full review
75
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonJul 12, 2017
The contributions of the actors now blend more seamlessly with the animation to create digital characters, and the characters are being integrated more successfully and believably into the landscape — director Matt Reeves works on a big widescreen canvas of sweeping, picturesque exteriors. Read full review
75
Paste MagazineTim GriersonJul 10, 2017
What we’re left with in War for the Planet of the Apes is an absorbing, intelligent finale. The film builds to an ending that, although not particularly surprising, feels appropriate—even inevitable—considering all that’s come before. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenJul 10, 2017
Serkis again proves that in the highly specialized realm of performance-capture acting, he has no peer. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJul 10, 2017
The end result is too boxed in by the demands of the franchise era and the usual restrictions of a PG-13 rating to qualify as art. It can’t show morally troubling violence or embrace hopelessness, and its day trip into the heart of darkness has to end with a ray of sunshine—“The horror, the horror...” in quotation marks. Read full review
75
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJun 26, 2017
It’s not just the CG that’s visually impressive here; “War” boasts some extraordinary set pieces. Read full review
75
Slant MagazinePeter GoldbergJun 26, 2017
The psychological wars that have made the prequels simmer with tightly wound tensions are given their most cutting treatment yet. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJul 17, 2017
The main problem with War for the Planet of the Apes is that, although it rouses and overwhelms, it ain’t much fun. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoJun 26, 2017
While War for the Planet of the Apes's third act is a bit hairy, the sequel helps cement the franchise as one of the more exciting mainstream properties worth watching. Read full review
60
Total FilmMatt MaytumJun 26, 2017
This solid if unspectacular finish to the Apes trilogy features an A-game Andy Serkis and incredible VFX, but its darker excesses threaten to suffocate at times. Read full review
58
The Film StageJordan RaupJun 26, 2017
War of the Planet of the Apes has all the bombast and sense of finality seemingly required for the end of a trilogy, but there’s an underlying emptiness that nags with each scene. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 11, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes manages to be both alienating and sappy, and the biblical finale seems to come from a different universe altogether. It’s an awesome, dull movie. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 3, 2017
To me, it’s just another “Jurassic World,” technology and production design on a whole new plane, story, dialogue and characters that we’ve seen before (too often), the entire hyped and over-rated enterprise half-forgotten before it hits Netflix. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 26, 2017
It’s fitting that the visual effects have advanced so dramatically since 2011, as it allows the series to suggest that its ape protagonists have evolved to an equivalent degree, and yet, “War’s” story is beneath their intelligence. Read full review
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