It is perhaps important to state from the outset that I consider Matt Reeves’ two Apes films, i.e. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War of the Planet of the Apes, as modern sci-fi masterpieces that even a decade later (in Dawn’s case) are still intelligent, gorgeous and sublimely produced. To me they mark a modern sci-fi landmark and are as much a human achievement as a technical one.
It is therefore quite risky for director Wes Ball to pick up the thread 300 years after the end of War of the Planet of the Apes and attempt to continue the story where Reeves and actor Andy Serkis so effectively buried it. But that is exactly what Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is, a direct continuation in the same universe where Serkis’ Caesar is still idolized among the intelligent apes, but also an attempt to set up a new adventure.
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It makes me incredibly happy to realize that this fourth chapter, despite several generation changes and director changes, is yet another proof that 20th Century Fox is on the right track and that the Apes films are still among the most well-constructed blockbusters on the market today.
300 years have passed and Caesar is now a myth, but like so many other deceased leaders throughout history, his words, his doctrine, have been interpreted and the intelligent apes who remain the most dominant species on the planet disagree about how they should be understood. We follow Noa, who lives in a secluded valley with his clan, but his relatively safe existence is suddenly interrupted when an invasive clan comes looking for a certain human, one of the few survivors, and worst of all, they come in Caesar’s name – they say.
From here begins a journey through the ruins of American civilization in the company of Noa, masterfully played by Owen Teague, Raka, played by Peter Macon, and of course the human, played by our own Ciri, aka Freya Allan. The story is thought-provoking and imbued with a precarious balancing act between big and small questions, some of which are quite philosophical in nature. It is about biology, about hero worship and mythical figures, about doctrines and laws and about whether man’s total dominance over the environment means that he actually deserves the subordinate position he has in this reality.
I frantically searched for that person in the film crew responsible for creating authentic acting performances. Terry Notary and Andy Serkis shaped the general framework of the previous trilogy, but the closest I come here is movement director and choreographer Alain Gauthier. The point is that all the actors here, and especially those wearing the motion capture suits, are absolutely sublime. Dialogue, intonation, body language – everything is so subtle, so believable and so endlessly entertaining. In fact, Teague in particular, and the villain played by Kevin Durand, are so good that a person like Freya Allan falls through. Perhaps it says something about how good these monkeys are, that the humans among them seem more artificial.
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There are of course some points of criticism. A length of two hours and 25 minutes is mostly made up, and there are certain aspects of the story that could have been cut down a bit. William H. Macy also makes an appearance, and he too is a bit out of place, especially next to such brilliant performances from the motion capture apes.
But apart from that, this is a soulful, exciting and thought-provoking blockbuster that I sincerely hope will do well in cinemas, if only to see what the filmmakers can come up with in a possible sequel. It is not necessarily the case that this film universe will remain engaging and exciting forever, but for now it is clearly an effective platform that can deliver different stories. Go see Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
