Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the latest installment in the modern Planet of the Apes franchise. Taking place hundreds of years after the reign of Caesar, Kingdom follows Noa, an ape from a falconry clan trek down the new king ape, Proximus Caesar, to save the rest of his clan.Â
These movies have been one of my favorite trilogies made thanks to incredible CGI effects and emotionally gripping performances by the actors. Kingdom picks immediately and satisfies everything I would’ve wanted from this sequel.Â
I have to start with the visuals. The franchise picks right back up with incredible visual effects. I love how real each ape feels, I love how you can feel them interact with their environment, even knowing it’s just actors against a green screen. The movie is incredibly bright too, which I think helps keep it so engaging to look at. The other movies didn’t have these problems but I really appreciate how they didn’t try to dim the movie to give it a certain aesthetic. This is a new chapter for the franchise and I’m glad that visually they’re starting hot.
Andy Serkis is a legendary motion capture (mocap) actor. His work as Caesar is phenomenal. It is a high bar to clear but I was so impressed by Owen Teague (Noa) and Kevin Durand (Proximus). Seeing them behind the scenes and during interviews really shines a light on how dedicated these actors and actresses are to making these movements as accurate as possible. Â
Even though she wasn’t in Mocap, Freya Allen is a great newcomer. She plays Mae, a human who despite the destabilization of the human race, still has her intelligence. I can’t imagine what it’s like to act with people acting as apes, but she continues the trend of these movies having compelling human characters to balance with the apes.
Matt Reeves has passed the directing torch to Wes Ball, who did all of the Maze Runner movies and I have no complaints. Some people have been critical of the first half being too slow but I was alright with taking the time to get acclimated with our new characters in this new environment. The last half of the movie makes up for a slow first half with great, fast-paced action and a riveting conclusion.Â
FINAL THOUGHTS
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is another great entry into this franchise. The performances are all great and are so visually stunning to watch. It’s been announced that they were looking to make nine of these movies in total, and this movie ends in a place where I am very excited to see what comes next.
