Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the tenth Planet of the Apes film and a follow-on from the prior Caesar prequel trilogy. Many generations have passed since the time of Caesar, and the apes are now the dominant species on Earth. We follow Noa, a young member of Eagle Clan (a small group of apes who rear eagles), as he is forced to step into the role of leader after the capture of his clan at the hands of a dangerous new ape: Proximus. Noa's journey will take him across a world that has become more alien, and force him to trust the most unlikely ally: a human.

 

This movie invites us back in to a world that feels so substantially different once again, now we see the apes as creatures with their own language, civilisations and technology. How the world has adapted post-humanity and how the apes live now; how even Caesar's teachings have evolved and been remembered with time is such a fascinating thread to follow throughout. Even when you see the antagonist, Proximus, warp what there is to be learned from humanity to impose his own sense of empirical tyranny, you can't help but be impressed with how creatively this new world has been imagined and developed. The manner with which this movie links back to the Caesar prequels while also bearing threads to the original Planet of the Apes movies shows a very strong dedication to this series. The story arc around young Noa is excellent, his growth from an optimistic and promising young ape eagerly awaiting his bonding day to becoming the ape who leads his clan and overthrows Proximus is well captured. It's a coming of age narrative that feels fitting for these movies, and I found Noa to be a worthy protagonist following Caesar.

 

I am in awe of how these films are captured, there is such extensive motion capture and CGI imagery that it sometimes feels easy to forget just how much goes into the cinematography. The way these big epic sound stages are caught, and the action doesn't lose a shred of momentum, has my jaw on the floor. The really impressive part is the visual effects, the motion capture work to get every ape performance is uncanny and a level of realism most high quality blockbusters should be striving for. 

 

Kevin Durand, who played Proximus Caesar, has given us one of the greatest antagonists of the Apes series, I feel; Durand crafts this figure who feels entirely deluded and volatile with his human history obsession. William H. Macy, who played Trevathan, is compelling for a cowardly role; he never feels entirely menacing or hostile, but he is a nice counterpoint to Allan's character. Lydia Peckham, who played Soona, is one of the gentlest figures in the film; her kindness and connection with others makes her the quiet heart of the film at times. Peter Macon, who played Raka, is one of the more impressive characters in the cast; Macon crafts a role who is eccentric and even comedic, but also feels like a conscience in his own right. Sara Wiseman, who played Dar, feels so kindly and nurturing; Wiseman really embodies an elder who guides not only her on-screen son but also her people. Eka Darville, who played Sylva, was a really threatening character the whole way through; Darville brought an edge to scenes that upped the stakes immediately. Travis Jeffery, who played Anaya, was quite the cheeky humorous character; Jeffery's role was so full of life so the moments in which his character was having a tough time you really felt it as an audience.

However, the best performance came from Owen Teague, who played Noa. This is a role that really had a lot of weight placed upon it; it's not easy to be the next ape performer leading the series after Andy Serkis. But from the moment Teague appears, we are presented with a soft-spoken and compassionate new protagonist who feels inclined towards leadership and courageous acts. I liked that he didn't start out a fighter or rebel in his own right; in some ways he was certain of himself but was still growing into his identity. But as the movie goes on, Teague lends Noa some range; the anger and hurt over what happened to his father and clan most notably. But also the way he had to learn compassion for humans and form an uneasy bond with Allan's Mae. Watching Teague forge these points of compassion, righteous anger and hurt into something more revolutionary at the end when he stands against the antagonist is the stuff of a good Apes protagonist. I look forward to seeing if Teague is coming back in the future, I'm certain he'll continue to put on one hell of a show.

 

There is something to be said for a hard act to follow, and I don't envy Wes Ball, the last Planet of the Apes trilogy was such a master-class in cinema that whoever helmed the next one was always going to be contrasted to these three films. And to be clear, I don't think Kingdom manages to get there, but it's far closer than you might expect. I was disappointed by the second act, which dragged on something wicked, taking pauses and forging character bonds at a pace that took all the urgency out of the plot until the bridge scene sent us hurtling into the more even-paced third act. I was chiefly disappointed by Mae and the human storyline in all of this. It just didn't really work in a film set generations after the Caesar storyline. This idea that there were humans hiding out with technology, language and a societal structure that resembled what we saw last in War of the Planet of the Apes was puzzling. It felt like the easy option, have humans who aren't so different from who we are as a people right now; but it just left a glaring chunk of the plot that felt out of place and irrelevant. In this world of sequels, I might be convinced Mae's story will have a place in the future, but for now I really didn't much care for the plot when it veered away from the apes. 

I failed to be particularly impressed by the score of the film, the music never really elevated beyond blockbuster backing noise for me, which was a shame. This probably would have felt like a new Apes epic with the right composer in the mix.

Freya Allan, who played Mae, is my least favourite performance of the feature, which is significant given just how much of it she is in; Allan just doesn't have enough range to drive the entire human storyline on her own and make it compelling for the audience. Neil Sandilands, who played Koro, lends quite an odd garbled voice to his character; I felt his take on an elder in the village was a bit more simplistic and generic.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a brilliant new step for the franchise with a ton of potential; though it sadly can't shake the long shadow cast by the previous trilogy. I would give Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a 7/10.