Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

There's a part of me that asks if we need another Planet of the Apes movie, particularly after Matt Reeves' trilogy was so fantastic. There's even the question if audiences want another trilogy set in this world. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a direct, but distant sequel to the Caesar-based story of the original. It's a product of the world he built where humans are scarce and apes rule the land as the most intelligent species. They're still early in their evolution with crude structures, some social hierarchy, etc. The premise of a post-human world with our footprint is interesting and the whole thing reminded me of the Horizon videogames on more than one occasion.

Much like the first trilogy, I found my hesitation was unfounded. Not to the degree of Reeves' later films, but Kingdom is a very solid 4th film in this franchise and lays groundwork for interesting premises that I would see the 5th and 6th film if the quality remains high. It has its issues, but none are detrimental or ruin it, but they prevent it from being something as memorable as War or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Much like the beginning of the last trilogy, this is a good kick-off, with a lot of groundwork being laid, that likely will be the weakest of any 3 within a new trilogy. That sounds like low praise - perhaps it is - but it's more so because I have faith future installments will be very interesting and move the story forward in this ape-ruled world. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes main issue is that it feels like its oversized runtime. 2.5 hours is fine if you're the finale, but for a starter to a new franchise, it feels long by nearly half an hour. The pacing is an issue too and the plot really doesn't feel like it gets going until the final act. That doesn't mean that what happens along the way isn't interesting, it's just a sign of there being a need for a more streamlined story. These slower moments offer us worthwhile character work, as these Apes films are known for, but I couldn't help but feel at the end that the time invested into character moments didn't leave me quite as attached as something from the previous trilogy. Summarizing my main issue into a rather more blunt one: the movie is too long for the story it's trying to tell. 

But that's really the only issue with it. The remainder of things that go into a movie - acting, cinematography, special effects, etc. - are all top (or near top) notch. It's special effects remain convincing and impressive. The motion capture is extensive, more so than any of the previous films, as this is a truly all-ape world. But the film never buckles under that pressure or comes across looking cheap. Core performances from Freya Allan (the "lone" human), Kevin Durand, Owen Teague, Peter Macon, and others provide some of the best work of their careers, just as apes instead of humans. Teague's Noa is a potentially captivating protagonist that will be interesting to see how he evolves with future stories. By the end of the movie, the human element and potential trajectory is what leaves the stakes incredibly high (and interesting) so I foresee Allan continuing to play a large role in this franchise that has historically moved on from its human stars each iteration.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes isn't the best in the series. That award still goes to the tremendous War for the Planet of the Apes, but this progresses the story in ways that feel worthwhile. It's a lot of groundwork with a pretty good story that's only fault is staying too long and living in the shadow of some really good films before it. I for one will be there for movie 5 and 6 (assuming they get made). 

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 7.5/10