A Reel Review: KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

The first three films in the rejuvenated, hi-quality PLANET OF THE APES franchise followed the rise of Caesar, the first super-intelligent, speaking ape and leader of a revolution that would free his kind and lead to the downfall of the human race. The newest and fourth film in the franchise, KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, boldly takes place 300 years after the death of Caesar, setting the stage for a new slate of stories. 

 

Apes rule the world and humans are nearly extinct or feral. During this time, Noa (Owen Teague), sees his clan and family wiped out by a warring clan of apes led by Proximus (Kevin Durand), who are hunting a young human girl called Nova (Freya Allan), who is one of the few humans left who can speak. 

 

Directed by Wes Ball, KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is picking up the pieces left by the first three films while exploring what may come next for apes and humans. Noa is on a mission of revenge and in search of a way to restore his clan, while Nova seems to have other ideas in helping her fellow humans. Proximus hunts Nova for her intelligence and possible help in obtaining some hidden human tech left behind centuries ago, and KINGDOM mostly unfolds as a massive chase film. 

 

The legacy of Caesar, whose teachings have either become lost in time or warped by Proximus’ want for power, turns the once-leader into nearly a myth. KINGDOM explores this lightly, but it is mostly set aside for standard blockbuster spectacle. While that spectacle does deliver in sight and sound, we can’t help but to feel there is a missed opportunity for something deeper. 

 

Where KINGDOM may go light on depth, it goes heavy on visuals. The apes and their surroundings look spectacular, and the human-qualities that the apes have to show emotion really work. World-building is done very well, with traditions of the different clans and state of the world fleshed out nicely. The score by John Paesano is excellent. 

 

The motion-capture work here allows the actors to really turn their ape characters into characters. Owen Teague does very well here as Noa. The show is stolen by Freya Allan who is a revelation. 

 

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES doesn’t resolve a whole lot as far as the big picture is concerned; at the end the apes still rule, and humans are still in the trees. But the apes finish with a new perspective and the humans have some new hope for survival…which means we are probably due for more APES movies to tell this story despite being four deep now. That’s okay, as long as this quality keeps up. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it