Although I’ve seen all of the Planet of the Apes films I wouldn’t consider myself a die-hard fan. My first exposure to the franchise was the 1970s TV series that I saw as a kid, and I remember collecting the trading cards in packets of, I think, bubble gum. When I finally saw the original film, without knowing the famous ending, I loved it, but I found the sequels underwhelming.

Tim Burton’s 2001 reboot was plain awful so my expectations for the first of the prequels, The Rise of the Planet of the Apes, in 2011, were low. I found that one to be refreshingly enjoyable, and it told its story in a tight 105 minutes, but the sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, was an overly long let-down.

So, on to the new release, War for the Planet of the Apes, set 15 years later. The leader of the apes, Caesar, is trying to live peacefully in a colony in the woods. A rogue army Colonel, played by Woody Harrelson, wants to wipe the apes from the planet, believing that the continued existence of the human race is dependant on that. When Caesar’s wife and child are killed by the Colonel, Caesar goes on a revenge mission with a small group of allies.

For most of its running time, this is the best of the latest 3 movies. Two great action sequences bookend the film, the stop motion effects continue to impress, and there are some performances to savour. Andy Serkis is back as Caesar, Steve Zahn brings a lot of comic relief as Bad Ape, and Amiah Miller does remarkable things in the thankless role as a mute girl, Nova.

The score by Michael Giaccino feels all the better for providing an epic scope that so few modern scores do. Woody Harrelson brings the expected unhinged intensity to his part. He was clearly reminiscent of Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now (and the US army probably haven’t appeared so bad in any mainstream film since), something that was obvious and didn’t need underlining by the graffiti ‘Ape-ocalypse Now’ being daubed on a wall. That overstatement sums up the problems the movie has, particularly in its latter stages. There are too many scenes of Caesar looking pained, too many heartfelt speeches, and that is where Giaccino’s score becomes too overblown.

Too long at 140 minutes then, as is the trend with blockbuster movies currently, but there is enough excitement to make one of the better of the big summer movies.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10