“Apes together strong”
At the end of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes, Caesar (Andy Serkis) had successfully gotten most of the apes under his care to a safe place. As he is dying from a wound sustained while freeing the apes and getting his revenge on Woody Harrelson’s Colonel McCullough, Caesar is told by his long-time friend and advisor Maurice (Karin Konoval) that Caesar’s son Cornelius would know what Caesar had done for the apes. Caesar’s legacy is the centerpiece of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Rather than a direct continuation of the previous trilogy, the film, from director Wes Ball and writer Josh Friedman jumps ahead to look at a world that has become more fully a planet of the apes. While full of great moments, particularly in the first half, the film unfortunately feels hurried and unfocused as it gets closer to the end.
After an opening recap crawl and an effective funeral scene for Caesar to remind viewers where the series stands, the new film moves “several generations” ahead in time. Three young chimpanzees, Noa (Owen Teague), Soona (Lydia Peckham), and Anaya (Travis Jeffrey) are searching for eagle eggs. These will be part of a binding ceremony, as their clan raises and cares for eagles. To get them, they make a dangerous climb to the top of old buildings, rusted to pieces and overgrown. When they return successfully to the ground, Noa notices that his blanket has been taken from his horse. The three notice a rustling nearby which turns out to be an “echo”, what this clan calls humans. The trio return home, and Noa tells his father Koro (Neil Sandilands), the Master of Birds, about his climb, and about the echo. The clan elders send out a scout to investigate, but that night, Noa finds a human in one of their buildings. She shoves him, breaking his egg, and escapes into the night. Because the binding ceremony is the next morning, Noa leaves the village to go make another climb. But he is interrupted finding several dead apes wearing masks, along with the dying scout from his village. The rest of the masked group return, and follow Noa’s horse to his village. The group burns the village and captures the apes there. Noa helps his father free many of the eagles before Koro is killed by the gorilla Sylva (Eka Darville), and Noa falls from the tower. As Sylva kills Koro, he shouts “For Caesar!”
Courtesy 20th Century Studios
When he wakes up from his fall, Noa sets out to find his clan. Along the way, he meets Raka (Peter Macon), an orangutan who belongs to an almost-monastic order which attempts to preserve books and the teachings of Caesar, who Noa knows nothing about apart from the shout of the gorilla. The two travel together, soon running across the human woman Noa had seen previously. Raka calls her Nova (Freya Allan) because “we name them all Nova”. Soon after, they come across a group of humans at a watering hole. Raka wants to stay behind with Nova so that she can be with her people and he can study them. But the masked apes return, and soon the trio is on the run again. Nova reveals that she can talk, and that her name is actually Mae. She says that she knows where Noa’s clan is likely being held, and by whom. The leader of the masked apes is Proximus (Kevin Durand), a bonobo who is fascinated with human technology. She will help Noa find his people if he will help her retrieve a book that will help the humans talk again. Continuing their journey, the three are trapped on a bridge over a rushing river by Proximus’s apes. Noa and Mae are captured, and Raka dies saving Mae from the water. They are brought to Proximus’s camp, which is outside of a huge bunker that he is trying to break open to retrieve the technology inside. His attempts to open the doors are why he has ordered the capture of the other ape clans. Along with stories of Roman history he has learned from his pet human Trevathan (William H. Macy), Proximus has twisted Caesar’s legacy into one of dominance. The rest of the film focuses on the bunker and the choices Noa and Mae make in relation to it.
The previous Apes trilogy was a showcase of incredible CGI and motion capture performances, and this film continues that streak. The film is full of fascinating, imaginative landscapes, from Noa’s village to the high-rise building/tree amalgams that the apes climb early on, to the seaside bunker. Wes Ball, coming from the Maze Runner trilogy, continues the excellent visual tradition that Rupert Wyatt and Matt Reeves set in the earlier Apes films. The actors bring real life to their ape characters. Teague’s Noa is a young ape in search of a purpose, and he conveys the uncertainty and confusion very well. Continuing the tradition of great orangutan characters in this series, Macon’s Raka is a bit of an enigma. He is wise and dedicated, but there is also mischief in him. Durand is also terrific as Proximus. He is full of bravado, fascinated with humanity (his refrain of “what a wonderful day” is delightfully odd), but dedicated to the superiority of the apes. Perhaps a side effect of the deception at the heart of her character’s story, Freya Allen never feels quite right as Mae. There’s something to put-together about her performance from the start, especially when we see the other humans dressed in rags and acting animalistically. She does have one standout scene where she lashes out at Noa, telling him that the world “used to be ours!”.
Courtesy 20th Century Studios
Where the film has problems is with the writing, particularly once the story reaches Proximus’s camp. The first hour is a nearly perfect look at the progression of this world with some excellent coming of age elements. But then everything becomes rushed. It feels like there would be at least another whole film’s worth of story in the conflict between what Noa has learned about Caesar’s true motivations from Raka and the corrupted version espoused by Proximus. But all of this is packed into the last 45 minutes of this film, along with themes of if the apes can trust humans following Mae’s betrayal, and Noa’s growth into a leader of his people. Friedman’s script seems in a hurry to dispense with all of this just to set up a sequel which looks like it will focus on another conflict with humanity – a conflict already done so well in War for the Planet of the Apes. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a solid continuation of the series, though it never quite reaches the heights of the outstanding Caesar trilogy.
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is now playing in theaters .
I’m definitely going to see this – happy to see it’s getting good reviews. I am a fan of this franchise.
I’m seeing it Monday. Aside from the tim Burton one I like every apes film and its nice to see this is keeping up with the consistency
Glad it’s good! Looking forward to catching it this evening.
It seems weird to keep this franchise going, but I’m glad that the reviews are looking solid.
Great review .sounds like an exciting and beautiful film .I will probably pass since I haven’t seen most of the Ape films
Can’t wait to check it out
I’ve heard good things. I never saw any of the OGs but maybe I’ll have to give this one a watch.
Man I already wanted to see this but your review really makes me want to see it tomorrow lol great page love getting my reviews from here
Been waiting to see this movie all season, and I’ll be watching it in IMAX this Saturday night. SA-TUR-DAY NIGHT!!
Thanks Michael Powell for your interesting film critique. I am excited to see this. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is billed as a thrilling addition to the “Planet of the Apes” franchise, offering a captivating exploration of power dynamics between humans and intelligent apes. With its impressive computer graphics visual effects and thought-provoking storyline, it looks like it keeps audiences engaged from start to finish. The film successfully expands upon the themes of the previous installments while introducing new twists and turns, making it a must-watch for fans of the series.
Great review! I really love this film. It has a lot great callbacks to the original films. I need to go back and watch the newer films again, but I really liked this one!
Better than the original concept, Community Center of the Planet of the Apes, or the Monaco production, Principality of the Planet of the Apes, or the ageist satire, Nursing Home of the Planet of the Apes. Although, Brothel of the Planet of the Apes would be bananas.
Very enjoyable entry in the Planet of the Apes saga. Story, to me, seemed fresher and more interesting than in the previous few films. Runs rather long at 145 minutes, with an extended climactic sequence involving a number of set pieces. But definitely recommend 3 of 4 stars
I am so hyped for this movie!!! Great review. Will check it out.
I saw it tonight. I thought it reasonably entertaining. I expected to hate it but was pleasantly surprised. 3 of 4 is on the money. Terrific review!