Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, 2024.
Directed by Wes Ball.
Starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, William H. Macy, Eka Darville, Travis Jeffery, Neil Sandilands, Sara Wiseman, Ras-Samuel, Lydia Peckham, and Dichen Lachman.
SYNOPSIS:
Many years after the reign of Caesar, a young ape goes on a journey that will lead him to question everything he’s been taught about the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
The Planet of the Apes franchise has been going for over half a century since the release of the original Charlton Heston led sci-fi classic in 1968. Most recently the franchise had one of the most significant reboots in recent memory with the Andy Serkis and Matt Reeves led trilogy depicting the fall of human society and rise of ape dominance anchored by Serkis’s Caesar. Rise, Dawn and War proved smash hits at the box office and with critics but Caesar’s story was rounded off in War so the announcement of continuation films without Reeves and Serkis caused some scepticism.
The latest entry in the series from The Maze Runner’s Wes Ball, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, picks things up many generations after Caesar’s death after we open with his funeral. While its unclear exactly how many years after it is, the remnants of human society are now few and largely rendered mute. This recalls the humans in the 68 original with their outfits even similar rags. The apes meanwhile continue to prosper, splintering into separate communities, we follow young ape Noa and his clan who have a strong bond with Eagles, training them.
Noa’s village is attacked by forces working for Proximus Caesar who has twisted Caesar’s ideals and seeks control of the apes and knowledge for himself. This sets Noa, Raka a wise and humorous orangutan and a human companion Mae/Nova on a journey to find his tribe and bring them home. This stretch of the story is most compelling, showing how the world has changed since Caesar’s time and introducing concepts from different tribes and how the apes have either forgotten Caesar or used his words and memory to their advantage.
The opening 90 minutes especially brings the sense of spectacle and visual wonder of the previous trilogy, setting itself apart as the remnants of human society become overgrown. Noa is captivated by an observatory, this doesn’t feel dissimilar to some of the visuals from The Last of Us games and TV series.
When we reach Proximus and his waterside colony things begin to crumble, one of the most interesting elements of the previous films was the balance between human and ape ideals with the likes of Jason Clarke, Woody Harrelson and Gary Oldman as the human characters. There is less of this here with the majority of the action between the apes themselves and Proximus a less compelling villain than others in the series, his goals feel less developed and more cookie-cutter.
The new performers do well and the motion capture work is as impressive as we’ve come to expect, however, it can’t help but feel there is a Serkis-shaped hole in the film and Freya Allen as Mae and William H. Macy’s Trevathan feel underdeveloped compared to previous human characters in the franchise.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a visual marvel and enriches the world developed in the previous films. The story and central conflict pale in contrast to Caesar’s journey however making this at times frustrating and at 145 minutes it feels its length, struggling to maintain its footing in its second half. The abrupt ending certainly sets up further instalments and depending on the performance of this film the franchise will keep rolling with this new generation of characters. There is plenty to admire but this is an often frustrating film that never reaches the greatness within its grasp.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chris Connor
