Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes review

Director Wes Ball kicks off a new trilogy in the Planet of the Apes series that delivers plenty of promise and intrigue, leaving the door open for new exploration or potentially rehashing the same old themes.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Directed by Wes Ball
Starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon

Runtime: 2 hours, 25 minutes

Synopsis

Young chimp Noa (Teague) seeks to reunite his clan after they are attacked by the forces of Proximus Caesar (Durand), a brutal leader who claims to speak the teachings of Caesar. With the help of new friend Raka (Macon), Noa will learn more about Caesar’s actual teachings and whether he can trust humans, especially newcomer Mae (Allen) who knows more about her surroundings than she lets on.

Familiarly Immersive

If James Cameron’s Avatar series had the same level of narrative impact as the Apes movies, we would be talking about them in much higher regard. Narrative aside, what both film franchises get right is taking time to immerse you into their respective worlds. Both entries in Avatar are immersive, give you time to breathe and walk around in their world, impress you with their visual flair, and make you long to be there yourself.

The previous trilogy of Apes films did a great job with this, either through the house moments between Caesar (Andy Serkis) and Will (James Franco), showing the sign language being used by Caesar and eventually his friends / family, their daily routines in the Redwood forest, or small mannerisms and interactions between the Apes. The entire trilogy gave you ample time to dwell on these moments and become attached, connected to the characters, paying dividends later when the narrative leans on those connections.

Kingdom re-establishes a similar dynamic with Noa and his friends as they are attempting to gather eggs. Without explicitly saying it, we can figure out they are going to use these eggs in a ceremony, akin to training your own horse or dog as a rite of passage. It’s a simple thing, but it’s a very powerful device that’s used throughout the movie to showcase traditions being passed down in Noa’s tribe and what happens when those traditions are broken or disrupted by the arrival of Proximus’ soldiers. Without spoiling anything, these traditions are used in a major way near the final act and it’s creates a satisfying conclusion for Noa and his tribe.

Regarding immersion, I was worried that the middling CGI we saw in the trailer was indicative of what we would receive in the final movie, and I’m happy to report that’s not the case. It’s remarkably better than the early shots suggested and shows the team was likely working hard to polish, finalize the look. It stands up favorably with the work we saw in the previous Apes films and blends nicely between real and imagined environments. There’s also little details that just boggle the mind, like ash, snow, or water particles on Noa’s hair in a few scenes, or an entire fight sequence that takes place during a flood, showcasing just how dynamic their character models are. It’s amazing how far the technology has come in a short period of time and exemplifies what teams can accomplish when given the time and resources, rather than cramming unrealistic time frames down their throats and then being surprised by the results (looking at you Marvel).

Budding Performances

Comparing the new team’s performance to Andy Serkis will never be fair, as he had years of mo-cap experience (motion caption- actors performing in green or gray suits and dots to capture their motion and performance for CGI) and he quickly became the driving force behind that trilogy. I will contend however, that Owen Teague’s performance is solid for a fairly new actor, especially given their inexperience with mo-cap work. Many of his mannerisms come through well and if this series continues, I’ll be incredibly interested to see where he takes the character of Noa, either through his emotionality or physicality.

Teague is surrounded by a cast of superb contributions, most notably from Macon (as his mentor Raka) who does a great job emoting and delivering wisdom, and Durand (as Proximus) bringing every bit of his physicality and nuance to this role. Most of my experience with Macon has come from this time on The Orville and Durand recently with the ridiculous horror flick Abigail. In full transparency, I wouldn’t have conceived either of them nailing the nuance that their roles needed, so this was a pleasant surprise and I’ll look forward to seeing what they get cast in next.

Freya Allan as Mae (you may recognize her from Netflix’s Witcher series) does a serviceable job, and she might have done more, but given the narrative constraint on their character speaking and interacting with the apes (this will make more sense when you watch it), it’s hard to tell if she’s been stunted because of the narrative or she has a hard time connecting.

An Interesting Dilemma

In Dan Murrell’s review for Kingdom, he noted his hope / desire for the series to move past the human stories, and chart something new for the franchise. I have to agree; we have witnessed 4 different visions with the original film series, the TV show, the Tim Burton reboot / reimagining, and finally the Andy Serkis trilogy, and yet it still feels stuck in the past or beholden to previously established dynamics.

What eventually happens in the original series, TV show, and Burton reboot are effectively rug pulls or narrative twists. These three entries tie back to the major plot twist established in the first film, where Charlton Heston learns the truth about the ape’s past and current Earth. Though it should be noted, this dynamic was actually established in the original novel 1963 by French writer Pierre Boulle. By the end, we learn the entire tale has been recounted by a pair of orangutan’s hanging out in a spaceship, who doubt the veracity as they hadn’t encountered any humans like the one’s in the story. We see variations of this twist multiple times through the early films, TV series, and divisively in Burton’s adaptation, which ultimately left fans comparing it to the original film twist.

When there’s no rug pulls to worry about however, the original movie series is focused on making Cold War-era nuclear political parallels, which would be fine, except they beat that drum over and over again to the point the final two films, Conquest and Battle, feel rather redundant considering

The Serkis series largely avoids twists or overdoing modern-day parallels since the narrative is more straight-forward, and features less science fiction elements compared to the original entries. But they also repeat some narrative threads (like the humans infiltrating Caesar’s home) that become a bit stale in the third film. While the trilogy is largely immaculate, it’s valid to point at the third film for redoing some threads we’ve seen before, and invoking threads from earlier Apes films (Caesar’s being hunted, persecuted on Earth).

Kingdom‘s runtime may be spent reheating the same “will they, won’t they” issue between humanity and apes but the conclusion offers a chance at something fresh and new. Noa questions why humanity won’t accept that apes time has come, regardless of how it came about, and that’s the final question that we’re left with as the credits start to role. It’s not clear if that means a sequel would just stray back into the same mess than Caesar faced in Dawn, when humanity and apes were still at odds with one another, wielding enough firepower to act on those odds. However there’s enough energy and narrative threads for this story to move into new territory if they choose to.

Conclusion / Recommendation

Backed by great performances and the keen visual eye of Wētā FX, Kingdom largely succeeds in justifying it’s place among the Apes, leaving us hopeful for new stories that will ask intriguing questions and avoid landing this series in reboot / sequel hell.

If you loved the previous Apes movies, then you’re going to be fond of and mostly enjoy Wes Ball’s direction for the series. I would recommend seeing this on the best screen available to you so you can support the fantastic artistry by the Wētā FX team and increase your immersion.

Score: 8.6 out of 10

• Stunning CGI Yet Again- 10
  • Wētā FX should give everyone on their team a raise; what a spectacular feat and continuation of the work they did in the previous 3 films.
• Stellar New Performances- 9
  • No, these performers aren’t household names, but that’s not holding them back from providing great moments throughout the entire film. They will certainly grow on you and coupled with the visuals, they manage to knock it out of the park.
• Worthwhile Story?- 7
  • The only knock on this film is whether is justifies continuing the ideas of Caesar, and extending that trilogy onward. It mostly does, but some elements may feel like we’re treading water just a little bit.

Thoughts?

Hey movie fans, I’m always curious to hear what you think. If you join the Nerd Union Discord, you can reach me and send your questions. Or if you’re supporting us over on Patreon, you can always send me a request there and I’ll be happy to discuss this film, others I’ve reviewed, or start a new conversation on something you’re currently watching.

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