WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (3) vs. AVATAR (6)

VS.

ACTING -  It’s hard to evaluate a movie where half of the cast is apes.  The apes were created through motion capture and CGI technology.  Some question whether this involves acting, but the trend is to accept the performances as acting.  This has been mainly because of the work of Adam Serkis.  He plays Ceasar in the series and was nominated for numerous awards including the Saturn Awards.  Sadly, the stodgier Academy has yet to acknowledge this type of acting.  The apes are incredibly life-like and that is due to the technology.  However, some credit must be given to the actors.  Aside from the ape actors, the only other significant acting is done by Woody Harrelson as The Colonel.  He’s a stock character, but Harrelson is fine.  GRADE  =  B

“Avatar” is similar to “Planet” in that half of the actors are motion capture / CGI created.  In this case, the actors did not have to move around like apes, so “Planet” must have been more challenging.  “Avatar” swept the acting awards at the Saturn Awards:  Sam Worthington for Best Actor, Zoe Saldana for Best Actress, Stephen Lang for Best Supporting Actor, and Sigourney Weaver for Best Supporting Actress.  Lang stands out in a role similar to Harrelson’s.  His Colonel is more menacing and hiss-worthy than “Planet’s”.  The actors get more of a chance to emote and there is not a false note in the film.  GRADE  =  A

ENTERTAINMENT -  As a war movie, “Planet” comes up short.  There is only one big battle scene and it is not humans versus apes.  The apes are amazing to watch and the characters are appealing, but the movie is predictable and has some shaky plot developments.  It works better as a revenge flick with a prison escape thrown in.  The ending is ludicrous.  The main villain is cartoonish.  GRADE  =  C

“Avatar” is more of a Western than a war movie.  It has a simplistic plot and is riddled with clichés.  The characters are mostly stock.  It bludgeons you with its morality.  All this said, it is a very entertaining movie.  It is not the biggest money maker in history for nothing.  This was mainly due to the astounding visual effects.  The plot may be shallow, but it is crowd pleasing.  It has a decent romance, suspense, and a kick-ass battle scene to finish.  GRADE = B

 

COMBAT -  “Planet” starts strong with an assault on an ape outpost, but after that there is not a lot of action until the climactic battle.  Both combat scenes are generic and mostly rely on noise.  There are no special weapons.  The combat lacks quantity as well as quality.  GRADE  =  C

“Avatar” does not have a lot of combat until the end, but then it gets real.  The attack to destroy the Hometree has plenty of fireworks.  The RDA’s preemptive assault on the Tree of Souls cuts loose a load of violience.  While aerial combat ensues in the sky, there is a land battle going on between soldiers in amp suits and regular soldier expendables versus the natives plus the animal kingdom.  The kitchen sink is thrown in.  It culminates in a duel straight out of a gladiator movie. The whole scenario reminds of the ending battle in “Return of the Jedi”, but it is done with more competency and no Ewoks.  GRADE  =  B

ENEMY -  The enemy in “Planet” is the humans led by the Colonel.  They are your typical rogue unit of mercenaries.  The Colonel is similar to Col. Kurtz in “Apocalypse Now” or any other unhinged military leader who goes off the reservation.  Compared to most of the alien enemies in this tournament, this enemy is pretty lame.  GRADE  =  D

The enemies in “Avatar” are humans, too.  The RDA is a private army for the company that is raping Pandora for its resources.  There are two villains in this movie.  The company representative is all about the bottom line and the Na’vi are effecting it.  You’ve seen this amoral executive before.  The head of the RDA is Col. Quaritch and he makes Custer look like a Indian-lover.  He eats nuts and bolts for breakfast.  The RDA remind a little of the enemy in “Planets” but they have much more firepower and those cool amp suits.  GRADE  =  C

ANALYSIS:  “War for the Planet of the Apes” is not a bad movie, but it does not fit well in the tournament. It was lucky to face “Independence Day” in the opening round.  The categories in this round did not play to its strengths.  It is entertaining to watch the incredibly depicted apes in a standard sci-fi plot, but the war movie aspects are weak.  “Avatar” is clearly a war movie.  There are opposing sides fighting for dominance on a planet.  Although basically a revisionist Western set in the future on another planet, it does have a battle with strategy and tactics.  it is certainly a better sci-fi movie than a war movie, but it is clearly better than “Planet” in this competition.

AVATAR  =  32

PLANET  =  28