20 Best Movies Of 2017

14. War For The Planet Of The Apes

War For The Planet Of The Apes
20th Century Fox

No one really thought Planet of the Apes needed a reboot when Rise hit back in 2011, and while Rupert Wyatt's Rise was a smart way of kicking the new trilogy off, it was Matt Reeves' Dawn that showcased the true potential of this reboot.

It's Reeves who fulfils that with War, a sequel that completes this as one of the century's finest movie trilogies, and so much more than your standard blockbuster action movie.

Being War, there is of course a lot of action, but Reeves' elevates it above simply being a load of CGI shots and a cacophony of noise and bullets. He foregrounds character in the action, made all the more impressive by the fact the ones we truly care about are motion-captured apes (Andy Serkis presumably won't be in the Oscar mix, but he really should be), and combines that with a dazzling spectacle and bombastic score from Michael Giacchino.

Caesar is once again at the heart of this, and it concludes one hell of a journey for him in powerful and surprisingly poignant fashion. It's a grim, morally complex tale, and all of the splendour and effects are in service of the narrative and characters, marking this as one of the year's smartest big-budget flicks. It wraps things up and yet leaves you wanting more, and regardless of what's going on with DC and Ben Affleck, will leave you excited for a Matt Reeves Batman film.

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Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.