War For The Planet Of The Apes Review: 10 Ups & 1 Down

8. The Comic Relief Is Perfectly Placed

Though War indeed has a mostly funereal tone throughout, it is mercifully peppered with some welcome comedy, mostly by way of Steve Zahn's wonderfully aloof, parka-clad new ape character, who refers to himself as Bad Ape.

Bad Ape's goofiness could easily have dragged the film's tone all over the place and made it feel somewhat schizophrenic, but instead his antics inject just a sliver of lightness into an almost unremittingly bleak film, ensuring it never quite veers into misery porn territory.

More to the point, Bad Ape ends up one of the entire series' most memorable and likeable characters, accentuated by Zahn's fantastic performance.