Such images are inextricable from this film, from its very premise and from the cinematic legacy on which it draws, and its reliance on apes as a stand-in for those oppressed, at this troubling moment in American history, makes it a deeply racist film no matter how loudly it declares its intentions as the opposite.
This is a film replete with scenes of noble slow-motion sacrifice and superficial symbolism, and one that, despite all its clunky efforts to tell a story that makes viewers sympathize with the oppressed and root against the people and systems that oppress them, is so clumsy and cliche-ridden that it undermines all its own efforts, and wades right into replicating deeply racist images of white supremacy. War crosses that mark within its opening 15 minutes, practically screaming at viewers, “Look at all the Vietnam war imagery we’re so meaningfully replicating!” It then continues on for another two hours of unmitigated heavy-handedness before finally, mercifully reaching its conclusion. Of course, not every film has to be subtle, but at a certain point, enduring a movie that repeatedly bludgeons you with sledgehammers of obvious meaning becomes a numbing experience.
War for the Planet of the Apes may be the least subtle film I have ever seen.
