Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

• Directed by Wes Ball
• May 2, 2024 (TCL Chinese Theatre) / May 10, 2024 (US)
• Based on characters created by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver and the premise from Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

A young chimpanzee embarks on a journey alongside a human woman to rescue his people from a ruthless bonobo who seeks to get his hands on abandoned human technology. Sounds like a crazy day at the zoo!

How many movies can they make out of Planet of the Apes? So far ‘ten’ is the answer. I rolled my eyes when I first heard about yet another movie in the series. I thought the previous trilogy ended much better than it started. It felt like there was no story left to tell. What more is there given the events of War? Apparently they found something.

From the start Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes breaks no new ground. It is an apes versus humans story with multiple nods to the original film. We see border markers very similar to those that were first encountered in the original film. Several scenes also in some way mirror that very film as well as music that sounds as if it’s taken directly from the original. Yet it’s not so overt that they’re rubbing your face in it. It’s simply an acknowledgment of the past and a treat for observant fans.

In multiple posts I feel I have made it clear I am not a fan of CGI usually. Sometimes it is overused. Sometimes it just looks fake. In both cases it breaks the illusion that must be created for the viewer to care. What effects Kingdom gives us are absolutely amazing. More often than not the apes look disturbingly real though there are a few moments where it just doesn’t click. This takes place amongst the ruins of human civilization that are quickly being reclaimed by nature and they do an excellent job of selling that. I find it impossible to tell what was done with some level of location shooting and what was crafted on a computer.

Our story involves a young ape named Noa (Owen Teague) who after surviving an attack on his village must set off on a journey to rescue his people. Along the way he learns some lost info (to his people anyway) and must mature into a leader. He starts out the film as a little bit lost. His mistakes and short-sightedness are the cause of the village’s problems to be honest. Rather than just accept the situation of the broken egg and wait till next season, he decides to go out in the middle of the night which causes him to pretty much lead the enemy to the Eagle Clan. Oops!

He encounters on his travels a Bornean orangutan named Raka (Peter “Bortas” Macon) who enlightens him on the teachings of Caesar whose existence is unknown to his people. I am just trying to figure out how the founder of your civilization is forgotten. I could certainly see a legend built up but historical amnesia seems weird. As a figure Caesar is unknown completely to the Eagle Clan.

There is also the inclusion of a mysterious human (Freya Allan) who dresses nothing like the few other wild humans we do see who not only causes the destruction of Noa’s eagle egg which forces the situation but tags along on Noa and Raka’s journey. They just assume she is as mute and primitive as the other humans they know of clear evidence of complex textiles on her aside. Stitching and complex weaves did not raise any suspicions? Obviously she has a few secrets.

The main threat of the film is Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) who is trying to open a vault that I guess he learned of from a human named Trevathan (William H. Macy). Neither shows up until well into the film. With Proximus Caesar the story takes on dimensions of authoritarianism and manipulation of religious doctrine. He uses the words and philosophy of Caesar to motivate loyal and coerced followers to do his bidding of opening the human vault.

Based on a mildly distorted view of evolution gained from Trevathan, Proximus Caesar believes whatever is inside will give him an evolutionary boost which when he describes it is really just levels of technical superiority and general knowledge above others. He’s confusing evolution with power. I liked that bit. He was smart enough to see the opportunity but not quite understand it.

Some have called the main human eventually called ‘Mae’ the real villain of the story. I am not quite there on that. Humanity is all but extinct and she is on a mission to prevent that. And her actions at the vault in the immediate future benefited all apes as well as humans in a broad sense. Not that this is much of a spoiler, but her actions stop Proximus from getting his hands on superior technology that would make him unstoppable to a world operating largely on spears. Some might even bring up the gun, but her actions caused a few innocent deaths and there was no telling how Noa would react when he saw her again.

Mercifully for most of the film (but not all) the ape characters talk rather than do sign language. That got really annoying previously by the time of War. I am bothered though with the stilted English they use like they’re struggling. They’ve had enough time for Caesar to drift into legend or completely be forgotten so I think their language skills should’ve improved. They don’t necessarily need to be talking like they’re in a Shakespearean play, but something a little better than what we got here.

The pace of the film is slow and steady. And that is something to be applauded here. It takes its time to build the characters and the world they function in. Information is slow to come but it’s consistent, steady world building. They are attempting to set up the new scenario so they can create a new conflict and do a new trilogy. And they put in a great deal of setup in here.

Is there any major drawbacks? It feels like a beginning. It is a mostly self-contained story, but it’s clearly a set up for more movies. It ends with goodbyes and the mission being ultimately completed. And the ending ending comes off a touch like the closing of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Just without the threat of an arriving military.

That little quibble aside Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a good start to a new series. If you liked the previous trilogy or even the original films I think you’ll have something to like here.