I had high hopes for this 'Apes' movie. It's predecessor (Rise-2011) was excellent, the previews were good, the reviews weren't too bad and of course, who wouldn't love apes with guns riding horses?

It didn't take long before I forgot that the apes were special effects which is an unusual thing for me as I can usually spot a 'special effect' a mile away. This was essentially a war film, so there was a lot of action, of course, but there was enough quieter moments so it wasn't an all action slugfest.

The human acting was good (Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell) but the most applause should go to that motion capture genius Andy Serkis as Caesar, leader of the apes. The most touching moments occurred with the apes and was quite well done without being all soppy and contrived.

And baby apes are sooooo cute!

* Recommended