Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Review)
Summer season continues in week two. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is here to serve as the latest installment in the decades long franchise. The previous film wrapped up a solid trilogy back in 2017 with War for the Planet of the Apes that began with Rise in 2011. Kingdom is now the beginning of a new story, taking place generations after the events of War. Does it fit in well with the story? Let's dive in and find out.
In the film, many years after the reign of Caesar, a young ape, Noa, 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.
I was curious to see how much of the previous trilogy was going to be acknowledged here, and surprisingly it's a lot. Right in the beginning, the film provides a brief, but acceptable scene that shows what occured after the final shot in the previous film before the title is revealed on screen. The film then continues to acknowledge several events that occured in the previous films, assisting in pushing this story forward nicely.
Once the main plot begins, the ape we follow is Noa, played by Owen Teague. Teague's performance is fantastic. Full of heart and charisma that shines throughout and makes you feel on board with the development as the story flows. Noa experiences so much in such little time and he must adapt to his surroundings rapidly. Always keeping not only him but audiences on edge, something I think screenwriter Josh Freidman did well. Along on this adventure is a human girl and another ape, Mae and Raka, played by Freya Allan and Peter Macon. Both also solid in the film. I'll admit though, I was not a fan of Mae's development throughout, as it sets her up to potentially be responsible for catastrophic events to come in future installments. But I suppose that is something these Ape films know how to do, show how humanity is the destroyer of itself.
While I was a fan of the main protagonists, I struggled to care at all about the "villain," Proximus Caesar played by Kevin Durand. I don't hate Durand's performance, I just dislike the character but not the way one should. I felt that he was very wishy washy and truly had almost nothing going for him. I am not sure if it is because he is not introduced until late into act two, or if it is just the way he is written. I guess time will tell on that upon more re-watches. I am disappointed because I thought that he was going to play a much larger part to the plot and have more to do and say as a character.
Wes Ball does an extraordinary job at directing. The film is stunning to look at and part of that is due to the visual effects team that build this world beautifully and the wonderful director of photography, Gyula Pados. The Apes look legit enough to make you buy into the fact that it's not just performers in a suit, but like they are real characters. Lots to love here visually and directionally.
The third act is where the film falls flat. While I was fully invested in the first two acts with the set up and the character development, act three fails to provide a payoff. Something that is integral with set up. Everything feels rushed as if they had a limited number of time to get it done, or they had to shave some major sequences off of the edit in post. I wanted to see more conflict between Noa and Proximus, but what we get is a bland attempt to have a final confrontation. I wish we would have been able to see more.
In the end, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a solid entry to this franchise. It contains a chilling message about the world humanity created on its own, leaving apes as the dominant species and humans as the "animals." It nicely details that the films that came before it are integral to this plot. Questions are answered for Noa that allows him to develop his own mind set on how he wants to lead his apes in the next chapter that we are sure to see. The story is beautifully written for the parts of the movie that need the development, but where it lost points for me was with the villain and that third act. Great time at the theater nonetheless.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is coming to Disney+ on August 2.
