<P> War for the Planet of the Apes is a 2017 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Mark Bomback and Reeves . A sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), it is the third installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot series . The film stars Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson and Steve Zahn, and follows a confrontation between the apes, led by Caesar, and the humans for control of Earth . Like its predecessor, its premise shares several similarities to the fifth film in the original series, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, but it is not a direct remake . </P> <P> Principal photography began on October 14, 2015, in Vancouver . War for the Planet of the Apes premiered in New York City on July 10, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 14, 2017, by 20th Century Fox . The film has grossed over $471 million and received critical praise, with many reviewers highlighting the acting (particularly Serkis), visual effects, story, musical score, action sequences and direction . </P> <P> Two years after the U.S. military was called to fight off an increasingly intelligent and dangerous tribe of apes, starting a devastating war between the two species, the apes' clan, led by the chimpanzee Caesar, are attacked in the woods by a rogue paramilitary faction known as Alpha - Omega, led by a mysterious Colonel . Alpha - Omega also has in its service apes they call "donkeys" that had previously followed Koba, a maniacal, human - hating bonobo who led a failed coup against Caesar and started the war after leading a vengeful attack against human survivors in San Francisco . During the attack, the Alpha - Omega soldiers are met by heavy ape resistance, and four soldiers, including a "donkey" gorilla named Red, are captured by the apes . Caesar arrives and orders the human soldiers to be released, with a message to the Colonel that he did not start the war and he killed Koba for doing so, and that he desires peace between the humans and apes . Caesar, out of spite, orders that Red is to be imprisoned but he escapes, injuring albino gorilla Winter . </P> <P> Soon after, Caesar's son, Blue Eyes, and his lieutenant Rocket return from a journey to find a safe haven for the apes . They report that they have found a place across the desert that is perfect for the clan . Winter, still frightened from the soldiers' attack, wants to leave immediately, but Caesar does not think they are prepared to leave so soon . That night, a group of Alpha - Omega soldiers, led by the Colonel, infiltrates the apes' home behind a waterfall . The apes discover their presence and kill them all except the Colonel, whom Caeser encounters preparing to escape . Discovering that the Colonel has killed his wife Cornelia along with Blue Eyes, an enraged Caesar lunges at the Colonel but fails to prevent him from escaping out of the waterfall . Upon discovering that Winter has disappeared, Luca, a gorilla and Caesar's secondary lieutenant, believes that he has betrayed them out of cowardice . </P>

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