Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 

Rating: *** 1/2

Dir: Matt Reeves

Starring: Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Nick Thurston

With the terrible taste of Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of the Charlton Heston science-fiction classic Planet Of The Apes still fresh in one’s mouth, 2011’s reboot Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes had come as a really pleasant surprise. It surpassed all my expectations by offering a credible origin story which made you care for its characters, human and (particularly) simian and delivered on the action-suspense front too. It was also powered by a terrific motion-capture performance by Andy Serkis as Caesar, the first ape to develop human-level type intelligence.

So now the bar’s been raised. And, happily, the sequel rises to the challenge quite satisfactorily. The second entry in the rebooted franchise begins 10 years on from the end of the last movie. Caesar’s tribe is growing and thriving in the Muir Woods north of San Francisco when they encounter the first humans they’ve seen in years. The encounter is laced with mutual distrust but slowly the two sides learn to work with each other. But, as ever, there are scheming no-gooders on both sides. On the simian side the danger lies with Koba (Toby Kebbell), a one-eyed chimp who had been the victim of human experimentation in the past. When he points to his scar and says, "human work" it is one of the most telling moments of the film.

From here the movie is a bit predictable but exciting nevertheless. The motion-capture performances by Serkis (he is the leading star in this specialisation - just watch his performances as Gollum in the Lord Of The Rings/Hobbit movies, as King Kong in Peter Jackson’s remake, and as Captain Haddock in The Adventures Of Tintin) -  Kebbell and Nick Thurston as Blue-Eyes, Caesar’s son are by far the best thing in the movie, expressive and moving. The humans, in contrast, are less well-developed and interesting - which, I suppose, is fitting in a movie series named for its non-human characters. But it’s not just about the performances, the CGI FX are superb and the action scenes are rousing. An ape in a murderous frenzy, bursting through a wall of fire, machine guns blazing in each hand may be one of the most enduring cinematic images of the late summer. And somebody please give Andy Serkis a special Academy Award or something already for his continuing amazing motion-capture performances.

Cut to chase: Entertaining sequel with terrific motion-capture performances.

 

The Expendables 3

Rating: **

Dir: Patrick Hughes

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes, Kelsey Grammer

The first Expendables movie was so ridiculous that it fell into the "so bad it’s good" category. Its aging action stars revelled in the macho swagger of the film and its over-the-top action but they were also in on the joke. So not that I would particularly recommend the movie to anyone but it did carry a certain entertainment value - particularly for those in the mood for some nostalgia and still carrying a lingering affection for the action stars of the ’80s and ’90s.  As such, the movie proved successful enough that it has spawned a franchise.

But it’s also a gimmick which can get stale quite quickly. And so, third time around, it just feels like more of the same with a lot less of a sense of fun about it (though there are some inside jokes such  as Wesley Snipes declaring that he was thrown into prison because of tax evasion). To try and spice things up, series originator and writer, Sylvester Stallone just keeps adding more and more stars to the burgeoning cast. The returning actors include not only Stallone himself but also Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Jet Li. Newcomers to the franchise this time around include such old-timers as Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas (as the quasi-comedy relief) as well as some younger actors like Kellan Lutz (from the Twilight films), MMA fighter Ronda Rousey, and Glenn Powell. It seems like Stallone is just throwing whatever he can at the wall to see what sticks. Unfortunately, hardly anything does.

The plot (not that it really matters) is your basic revenge drama with our team of "expendables" going after a former teammate gone rogue (Mel Gibson). There’s nothing in the screenplay which throws any curves at you and hardly any interesting lines of dialogue. Action sequences can often rescue movies of this sort but they are just run-of-the-mill here. There’s no real good reason to watch this one.

Cut to chase: The Expendables are now truly expendable.