'The Batman' (2022) Movie Review

If Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight movies were a tad too upbeat, festive, short, and well-lit for you, don’t worry The Batman is here to rectify all that. Directed by Matt Reeves (Dawn and War for the Planet of the Apes), the latest tale of Gotham’s Caped Crusader is a lot of movie—in terms of runtime, in terms of storylines, in terms of plot, and brooding, and fistfights, and set pieces, and… Some of which works well, some of which never comes together in a satisfying way.

'War For The Planet Of The Apes' (2017) Movie Review

The big special-effects-laden tentpoles studios release during the summer months have a reputation for being empty spectacles and little more. That’s not always the case, but we see a lot of loud, stupid trash in theaters this time of year (cough Transformers 5 cough). Over the last two movies, the revamped Planet of the Apes franchise has shown audiences that there’s room for intelligence, emotion, and nuance in the warmer months, and they prove it once again with War for the Planet of the Apes.

Gritty First 'War For The Planet Of The Apes' Trailer Didn't Start This War

Like many film fans, when I hear Hollywood plans to reboot a franchise I love and adore, my immediate reaction is not positive. That said, there have been incredible reboots and re-launches, and for my money, the best is the revamped Planet of the Apes saga. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was better than anyone expected, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is legitimately great—it wound up on my top ten list that year. The next chapter, War for the Planet of the Apes drops summer 2017, and if this first trailer is in any way representative of the finished product, good golly we’re in for another fantastic ape-versus-human adventure.