Solid movie, with great special effects but a bit too much ambiguity in the climax. The film has a solid, but generally predictable plot. The human characters are well acted, but never truly fleshed out. Only Gary Oldman seems to have any standout emotional beats. The ape characters have much more interesting story arcs. The combination of great CGI and acting by the motion capture artists create moving character moments between characters that don’t really exist. The effects over all are well done. Close up appear flawless and only a few moments, like scenes with fast movements, come off looking fake. My only real complaint is that it’s hard to pick a side in the conflict between the humans and the apes. Both sides are just doing what they need to survive and, with the exception of a few individuals, should be able to peaceful coexist.
*** out of *****