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Thursday, July 20, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS

20th CENTURY FOX 

Maurice gazes with fear

At first glance, “War for the 

Planet of the Apes” doesn’t resemble 
a modern war movie. Where most 
films of the genre trade in bloody 
action and bountiful shots of brawny 
men shouting at each other, the final 
chapter in the “Apes” reboot trilogy 
is quiet. Contemplative even. Entire 
sequences pass without a single word 
of dialogue. Large scale battle scenes 
are few and far between, replaced by 
moving character drama, nuanced 
acting and Biblical allegory. It’s full 
of brutally intense scenes, of course, 
but it’s far more interested in the 
effects of war than the fighting of the 
war itself. At its core, “War for the 
Planet of the Apes” is a story about 
hate, and for a trilogy that has always 
used characters discovering their 
humanity to tell stories of mankind’s 
flaws, it’s a nearly perfect ending.

“War” picks up some time after 

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” 
ended with the beginning of a 
conflict between the sentient apes 
led by Caesar (Andy Serkis, “Star 
Wars: The Force Awakens”) and 
the United States military. Caesar is 
struggling to manage the balancing 
act between protecting his people 
and maintaining hope for peace, 
but after an unspeakable tragedy, he 
embarks on a mission to assassinate 
the military leader responsible, 
a man known as the Colonel 
(Woody Harrelson, “The Edge of 
Seventeen”).

It almost goes without saying 

that Serkis is perfect as Caesar. The 
man is practically synonymous 
with Oscar-caliber motion-capture 

work, and his performance in “War 
for the Planet of the Apes” is no 
exception. In his first shot alone, 
Serkis wordlessly communicates 
Caesar’s weariness with the war for 
the humans but resolve to fight for 
his people. Every moment he is on 
screen, he seems to be shouldering 
a load that only grows heavier as the 
story wears on. There isn’t a single 
scene that he doesn’t absolutely 

own, though Steve Zahn (“Captain 
Fantastic”) bears mentioning as the 
delightful newcomer, Bad Ape.

The same praise goes for the 

effects that work with Serkis to bring 
Caesar to life. They’re far beyond 
anything we’ve seen on the big 
screen. The faith that director Matt 
Reeves (“Let Me In”) puts in these 
effects and his performers is obvious. 
Dialogue scenes — usually involving 
a fair bit of American Sign Language 
— are shot almost exclusively in 
close-ups to take in the subtlety 
of the acting and the breathtaking 
quality of the CGI. It’s perfect 
synergy between actor, director and 
effects artists, almost unparalleled 
in modern blockbusters.

All of this is put to work in a deeply 

human story about hate that casts 
humanity in the role of the villains. 

The new “Apes” films have always 
been about prejudice, and “War” 
finds those feelings finally reaching 
and threatening to consume Caesar. 
The journey that he goes on that 
finds him fighting those feelings 
is spellbinding and lends further 
credence to the argument that the 
character ranks as one of the best 
film protagonists of the decade. For 
all his film’s epic ambitions, Reeves 
never loses sight of the personal 
nature of the story as it relates to his 
lead.

But for all its exemplary acting, 

effects and direction, the most 
shocking thing about “War” is still 
how little it resembles a modern 
war movie. In fact, the whole 
thing functions as an extended 
metaphor for the biblical book of 
Exodus, leading to a movie that 
resembles Cecil B. Demille’s “The 
Ten Commandments” more than 
any war movie released in the last 
decade. From Caesar’s struggle 
to lead his people out of captivity 
to the hard-hearted tyrant at the 
heart of the conflict, the imagery 
is obvious but never forced.

“War” is a rare class of film no 

matter how it’s viewed. As a war 
movie, it bucks convention with 
its slow pacing and intimate plot. 
As a modern blockbuster, it does 
the same with its focus on flooring 
performances 
and 
intelligent 

script. As the third chapter in 
a trilogy, it isn’t just good; it’s a 
masterclass in character-based 
storytelling. As the credits roll 
not just on the movie, but on 
the trilogy, there should be no 
doubt that the rebooted “Apes” 
franchise ranks as one of the best 
of all time.

‘Apes’ trilogy ends perfectly

 JEREMIAH VANDERHELM

 Daily Arts Writer

Tyler, the Creator 
at Agenda Festival

Long Beach, CA — Agenda 

Show arrived in annual fashion 
this 
past 
weekend, 
uniting 

industry-insiders from streetwear 
and performance gear for two 
days of flaunting at the Long 
Beach Convention Center, but 
this year the SoCal trade-show 
came with added muscle and 
extra events, opening its doors 
publicly on Sat., Jul. 15th for a 
concert headlined by Tyler, the 
Creator. At the inaugural Agenda 
Festival, attendees could shop 
at or interact with hundreds of 
booths by skateboarding, surfing 
and lifestyle brands before hitting 
the show, which also included 
sets from Ludacris, Cam’ron and 
Lil Dicky.

The pop-up mall’s roster of 

exhibits spanned from buzzy 
fashion labels like Rip N’ Dip, 
Staple and The Hundreds all the 
way to record shops, Rainbow 
flip-flops and indoor skateparks. 
Some booths offered souped up 
shopping 
opportunities 
while 

others set up simple, inoperable 
photo-ops. At Champions, custom 
embroidery was available on 
purchased items and at Herschel, 
a limited number of festival tote 
bags were given out. Yet, the 
flashiest finds were at nationally-
acclaimed vintage collectors like 
Versus ATL — that’s where I saw a 
Louis Vuitton x Supreme sweater 
marked at $2,000 and some 
vintage rap t-shirts with not-so-
distant price points.

It’s foolish to shop lavishly at 

an Odd Future fans’ get-together 
though, especially if you plan 
on standing anywhere close to 
the stage. At Agenda, Tyler, the 
Creator’s fans flocked to the pit 
immediately after Lil Dicky’s 
set ceased, Golf Wang garb 
acting as a nearly unanimous 
uniform 
and 
foreshadowing 

their 
impartialness 
towards 

other 
upcoming 
acts. 
While 

festival 
organizers 
seemed 

intent 
on 
curating 
a 
truly 

multifaceted 
experience, 
it 

became progressively apparent 
throughout the afternoon that 

Tyler was the main attraction.

Cam’ron came out next, but 

even with his figurehead-status 
in hip-hop fashion offering an 
apparent bridge to the youth, 
he failed to ignite the crowd 
of teens and 20-somethings to 
its full potential, a key sign of 
the afternoon’s disjointedness. 
Opening track “Killa Cam” and 
other dated hits like “Down & 
Out,” “Oh Boy” and “I Really Need 
It” earned somewhat emphatic 
reactions, as did the Diplomats 
songs “Bout It III” and “Dipset 
Anthem.” Yet, beyond their hooks, 
few audience members seemed 
familiar with the songs’ lyrics, as 
was the case on deeper cuts “Wet 
Wipes” and “Get It In Ohio.”

Dressed in baggy designer jeans 

and a careful combination of black 
and yellow, from his sneakers 
to his Simpsons t-shirt and 
backwards hat, Cam’ron looked 
like an artifact left over from a 
former era of hip hop, especially 
while performing the sexually 
aggressive “Suck It Or Not,” 
which fails to translate overall in 
2017. He couldn’t truly connect 
with the audience until he landed 
on “Hey Ma,” the crowd-favorite 
singalong from his otherwise 
macabre discography, and by that 
time, his set had ended. Next up 
was Ludacris.

“Where the real Ludacris fans 

at?” 
the 
rapper-turned-actor 

asked the crowd after opening 
with “Welcome To Atlanta” and 
his verse from the gimmicky DJ 
Khaled hit “All I Do Is Win.” 
“They probably just ‘Fast & 
Furious’ fans,” he told his DJ. “I 
think we gotta test them out!” 
Throughout the next 40 minutes, 
Ludacris tore through a series of 
hits that spanned across three 
decades and two genres — pop & 
hip-hop. “Act A Fool,” “Southern 
Hospitality,” “Area Codes” and 
“Roll Out” appeased his oldest 
fans, while hits like Usher’s 
“Yeah” and his own “Pimpin’ 
All Over The World,” “Money 
Maker,” “How Low” and “My 
Chick Bad” excited the entire 
audience.

Ludacris engaged with the crowd 

SALVATORE DIGIOIA

Daily Arts Writer

“War for the 
Planet of the 

Apes”

Ann Arbor 20 + 
IMAX, Goodrich 

Quality 16

20th Century Fox

CONCERT REVIEW
FILM REVIEW

See CONCERT REVIEW, Page 8

