Sadly, it was only until a few years ago that I finally saw the OG Planet of the Apes from 1968.
My reasoning was mainly due to the fact that I had already had the famous plot twist spoiled for me as a kid (most likely from The Simpsons), and was unfortunately introduced to the idea of talking apes in Tim Burton’s disastrous 2001 film. Thankfully, the 2010s gave us a trilogy (all of which I just recently revisited) that was nothing short of solid entertainment, to the point I was worried this new film would be a de-evolution, as it were.
After the last two films were helmed by Matt Reeves (director of The Batman), Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is under the command of Wes Ball from The Maze Runner films (and apparently about to helm a live action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda). The film takes place “many generations” after the life of Caesar, who is now seen as a God like ancestor to most apes. The exception is that of the Eagle Clan, the home of Noa (Owen Teague), the eventual heir to the clan.
One day, the secluded clan is ambushed, and Noa (the only one left) is forced to go beyond the tunnel (which is restricted to his clan) to save what survivors are left of his clan. It does not take long for Noa to discover not all has been as his elders have told him: He only begins to discover who “Caesar” was by meeting Raka (Peter Macon), an older ape who is one of the last to truly follow in Caesar’s teachings. Along with a young human girl they named Nova (Freya Allan), they venture to discover the leader of another clan under the thumb of Proximus Caesar (a nicely cast Kevin Durand), whose views of the original Caesar are a bit twisted.
Before the film, I saw a trailer for Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King (don’t get me started). A prequel to the live action remake from 2019, I was thinking of how that film, despite having great CGI, was criticized for the animals not having any facial expressions to truly show their emotions (among other issues with the film). That is not the case with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (or the recent Apes trilogy). Granted, it may be due to the fact that humans have so much in common with apes, but that should not take away from the film’s special effects. They are so stellar you don’t even think once about special effects throughout the run time.
The film is really a transition piece, as it moves from the Caesar trilogy into newer territory. Though not the film’s fault, the lack of Caesar (and Andy Serkis) is what hurts the film the most, as the Caesar character was one of the most underrated in recent film memory. His arc was borderline brilliant.
Another fault is that of the character played by William H. Macy, as a sort of assistant teacher to Proximus Caesar (teaching the ape leader about human history). This is nothing against Macy as a performer (he is always great to see in movies), but his character (who reminded me a little of the Dennis Hopper character in Apocalypse Now, minus all the drugs) seemed a bit superfluous and a tad underwritten.
Parents, the film is a rather light PG-13 rating: it is mainly the action violence (all on par with the recent trilogy, if at all) to watch out for. No sexual content or heavy swearing (minus a few four letter words heard by every pre-teen these days). Middle school and up are fine.
From what I have heard (and gathered from the films I have seen in the series), Kingdom does continue a tradition in that the ending does have you wanting to find out what happens next (even the 2001 Tim Burton film did, in a weird way). As it stands alone, it may not be the strongest branch, but it is still proof that the films are strong together.
Just like apes.
Overall:
Nothing else to say 