Any director would find it challenging to follow up on the highly underrated Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy, especially when said trilogy was perfect from start to finish. Each successive film from the legacy started by Rupert Wyatt and completed by Matt Reeves, with Andy Serkis’ motion capture performance as Caesar, was better than the last. So rather than just pick up where the trilogy left off, Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes marks the beginning of a new era that takes the conflict to new places while deepening the mythology created by its predecessors.
The Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy captivated audiences while continually raising the bar on visual storytelling and motion capture performances. It saw the Dawn of a leader in Caesar, the Rise of Ape-kind and the downfall of humanity in a post-apocalyptic world, and the War for survival in the conflict between apes and humans. Audiences connected with Caesar’s internal struggles to create a peaceful coexistence between his species and the humans whose population numbers and intelligence were rapidly decreasing. And while the finale was a bittersweet ending of a fantastic character arc, it left the door wide open for the franchise to go on in new directions.
And so, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes reminds us of Caesar’s legacy by opening with his funeral. The loss is immeasurable, and a large gathering of chimps, apes, gorillas, orangutans, and more gathered before Caesar’s funeral pyre. Their leader is gone, but his vision for the long-term survival of his kind remains, as noted by a circle with a diamond pattern etched into the face of a rock.
Three centuries years later, the earth has healed itself with greenery wrapping around the hollowed remains of buildings. Wide camera angles reveal the beauty of an unperverted Earth and eagles soaring against the blue sky. We are then introduced to Noa (Owen Teague), leading his two chimp friends, Soona (Lydia Peckham) and Anaya (Travis Jeffery). The three scale the building and use its remains to sling themselves to unreachable places.
The chimps’ arduous journey is a rite of passage that would get them recognized by the elders of the Eagle Clan. Though they found three eggs, they were taught to leave one. A selfless Noa gives the egg to his two friends but discovers another nest resting on a higher part of the building. Getting there would be much more of a challenge, considering there are fewer things to hold on to, and a protective mother eagle glides above the nest. Still, a fearless and somewhat stubborn Noa uses all of his limbs to hoist himself upwards to nest and his destiny.
The chimps’ journey home also introduces us to the boundaries they are forbidden to cross and the existence of echoes (better known as humans). Living up to their names, these echoes move swiftly as they know their place within the hierarchy. Still, one was bold enough to take Noa’s precious blanket. So, the three traverse the forest in search of this blanket before arriving at a tunnel. The tunnel represents the border that they and any member of the Eagle Clan should not cross. Still, the blanket is in sight, and Anaya nudges Noa to grab it like a kid would dare another to enter a forbidden place. It’s a scene that helps us better understand the close friendship the three have with each other while establishing the world surrounding their quiet village. Though a brave Noa successfully retrieves what was stolen, they all run away while celebrating their victory.
Noa, Anaya, and Soona receive a warm welcome from their small, remote village hidden from echoes and other clans. Soona and Anaya revel in their victory, but Noa is concerned with whether or not his success will meet Koro’s high expectations. As the master of eagles and Noa’s father, Koro believes that he still has a lot to teach Noa and that Noa still has a lot to learn before he can earn the respect of the eagles they have tamed. Nevertheless, he is impressed with what his son was able to accomplish.
Unfortunately, the echo returned to steal the blanket and ran away with it, breaking Noa’s eagle egg. Angry with what transpired, the chimp gave chase but stumbled upon a rival clan that killed a few of the Eagle clan’s scouts. These hostile apes noticed Noa’s unattended horse and used cattle prods to shock it, leading them to its camp.
Many are taken captive, while others are killed. Noa valiantly attempts to rescue as many of his fellow villagers as possible and defend his father from a gorilla leading the charge. Unfortunately, his efforts are futile as the gorilla overpowers the young chimp and defenestrates him from one of the towers that house the eagles. Left for dead, Noa awakens to see his village burned to the ground. As such, he solemnly vows to his father that he will bring everyone home. To make matters worse, the eagle that belonged to Koro refuses to listen to Noa and often taunts him on his perilous journey.
On his quest, he comes across Raka (Peter Macon), a lone orangutan who is a part of the Order of Caeser – a group dedicated to protecting the words and lessons of their first elder who wrote the ape laws. His mission is to preserve that history and protect the harmony between apes and humans.
Then there’s Mae (Freya Allan), a human who is much more than she appears to be. She is mercilessly hunted by a Costal Colony that is ruled by Proximus Caesar’s (Kevin Durand) iron fist. The ambitious bonobo king believes uses human technology to enslave other clans and perverted Caesar’s teachings to manipulate them into doing his bidding – which includes trying to open a vault that holds the key to expanding his kingdom even further.
With an untrustworthy human by his side and a mad king persuading to bend the knee, Noa must make a decision that could affect the future of human and ape-kind.
Noa’s odyssey doubles as a journey of self-discovery as the young chimp has to accept the grim reality that his village elders did not teach him everything there is to know about the world. At first, he didn’t have much of an identity beyond his friendship and aspirations to live up to his father’s expectations. However, he becomes inspired by Caesar’s laws that ape shall not hurt other apes, that apes are stronger together, and knowledge is power after learning about it through Raka.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 300 year gap between itself and War for the Planet of the Apes allows the newest chapter of the franchise to start fresh while staying within the continuity that the reboot trilogy has established. However, starting anew also means the pacing is considerably slower now that it needs the time to develop the world, set when it takes place, introduce us to new characters, and remind us what is at stake.
The gap between the end of War and the start of Kingdom is also a bittersweet reminder of the accuracy of the transpiring events can be lost throughout the passage of time. Caesar’s laws and teachings are no longer a path towards peace, but utilized as weapons to enslave other clans or kept secret from others to protect them from the outside world and further isolate them.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes uses that 300-year gap to distance itself from its predecessor while also using its Caesar’s legacy as a thread to tie into the continuity of the franchise. By doing so, it gives fans of the reboot trilogy a reason to continue to return to this franchise and those who are new to it a reason to watch the three that came before. As such, the film serves as a bittersweet reminder of what was left behind when Andy Serkis’ magnificent performance capture work as Caesar came to its epic conclusion and how the actor revolutionized the technology to be more of a tool than enhances the performance and less of a gimmick. And Serkis’ legacy permeates throughout the film in the cast’s emotionally nuanced motion-capture performances. Furthermore, the trilogy set the bar high for those who dared try to reach it or go higher.
Teague now carries the torch lit by Serkis. The actor pours himself into the role and embraces the physical and vocal demands required to be an chimp He wasn’t just mimicking a chimp or mirroring what Serkis did, he was adding emotional nuance to the character. The character’s naivety and youth juxtaposed with the realities of the world they live in and Caesar’s legacy.
Macon’s Raka provides is the one who plants the seeds of revelation for Noa. As the sole member of the Order of Caesar, he is self-charged with protecting Caesar’s teachings, even though he doesn’t have anyone to share it with. The character is the voice of reason in a world that is still at war and serves as the bridge between the end of one saga and the beginning of another. He’s seen how ape-kind has strayed from those words with the passage of time and believes Noa could be the one to preserve Caesar’s legacy. However, those lessons can only take root if the young chimp can open his mind to his teachings and have compassion towards humans who are merely trying to survive in a world where apes are trying to wipe them out.
Allan’s Mae is an enigma, which is the source of the contentious relationship between herself and Noa. He can’t trust her because she hides so many secrets from him. Though the marketing revealed that not all of humanity has become feral, she is on more than just a mission to tear down Proximus’ kingdom.
Durand’s Proximus Caesar steals more than a handful of scenes with his terrifying performance as a mad king who uses human technology and a subversion of Caesar’s words to force his subjects to do his bidding. Though he rules with tyranny, the king doesn’t see himself as a villain because he knows that a king is nothing without a people, but a people without their king would be lost. So he uses Caesar’s words to give them a purpose in his kingdom. Durand’s commanding voice pulls you in with that commanding voice work and his physicality is enough to make you quiver in fear.
Ball, along with cinematographer Gyula Pados, and editor Dan Zimmerman, creates an uncharted world full of splendor and wonder that has yet to be explored. It’s a recurring image with these films as each progressively shows the planet’s regression from the pinnacle of human civilization to something pure, natural, and untouched. With Kingdom set 300 years after War, there’s a beauty to the planet that wasn’t there before to show how its transformed the dynamics between ape and human.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does suffer from a few pacing issues. It spends a lengthy amount of time establishing itself within the timeline, introducing us to new characters, and creating new stakes. Raka’s presence serves as the bridge between the past and the present, as well as key to unlocking the door to the truth for Noa who is oblivious to the outside world. Though he is a vital narrative piece, it is better served for those who are unfamiliar with the trilogy reboot. And even though John Paesano is a frequently collaborates with Ball, his music doesn’t hold a candle to what Michael Giacchino did in Rise and War.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a beautiful coming of age story and journey of self-discovery framed around the idea of legacy and what happens to it when it’s lost to time or subverted by the wicked. Ball’s approach may not come close to what Wyatt and Reeves accomplished with their films, but it’s still something that can be enjoyed by all. If anything, the fourth installment proves that the franchise has lots of potential to grow into something epic.
8.5/10