Revisiting the Planet of the Apes after three centuries was an incredible experience. Wes Ball took on the challenge of following up one of the greatest trilogies ever with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes… and it mostly delivered with a rich story, a familiar world that feels lived in, and great characters, though it’s not without its flaws.
This article will contain minor spoilers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
With a poignant opening scene that damn near brought me to tears (maybe I love fan-service after all) showing Maurice (Karin Konoval), Rocket Terry Notary), and the other apes lighting Caesar’s (Andy Serkis) funeral pyre after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes and giving him a send-off, Kingdom set the stage for the epic, emotional journey to follow. The film closes the book on this chapter of the Apes saga and begins another, set 300 years into the future.
A lot has changed in three centuries. This isn’t the Planet of the Apes we once knew; the hierarchy has completely changed. Apes are now the dominant species, humans, now called echoes, are said to be lower than boars.
The reboot trilogy felt as if we were experiencing our world through the eyes of the apes, watching it fall and watching them rebuild. Now, however, I felt like a newcomer into this world. By far, the film’s strongest element is its world-building. The sense of wonder and discovery it created was excellent. The world of Kingdom is so beautiful and captivating. The groundwork laid in this is great, and I very much want to see it built upon in a sequel.
Kingdom follows Noa (Owen Teague), a young ape of the Eagle Clan, who must travel across the country in search of his family and friends after his village is attacked by a group of slaver apes. These apes serve Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), a false king that rules with fear and manipulates the words of Caesar to justify slavery.
Proximus stands shoulder to shoulder with other villains in the series. Menacing and fascinating and always a treat to watch when on screen. My only complaint with him is that he’s severely underutilized. In Dawn and War, Koba and the Colonel are major parts of the narrative and have ample screen time befitting their roles. Proximus, unfortunately, has very little screen time; the film needed a lot more of him.
On his journey, Noa encounters and is accompanied by Mae (Freya Allen), a mysterious echo being hunted by Proximus’s apes, and Raka (Peter Macon), a wise orangutan and the last remaining member of the Order of Caesar, a group dedicated to preserving the teachings of Caesar.
While this is a brand new story, the presence of Caesar is felt throughout like a ghost, haunting the narrative. The revolutionary ape we followed is now mystified and deified, revered by many, forgotten by some. Caesar may be gone, but his influence and impact is ever-present and I absolutely loved the way the film paid homage to his story.
Raka is a wonderful character and I loved the way the film utilized him to ground the series to its roots in the trilogy. He also gets much too little screen time, I would’ve loved to see more of him. Nova, on the other hand, I was not a huge fan of. The film again makes the same mistake of having uninteresting human characters, but this time they’re downright unlikable, compared to human characters in the trilogy that were simply underbaked. Nova is actively working against the apes, not just Proximus, but all the apes, yet the movie wants us to sympathize with her.
Kingdom is the longest in the series, as of yet, at 2 hours and 25 minutes, and unfortunately I did feel its length at times. It is somewhat oddly paced, with some very slow stretches and sudden bursts of action. My biggest issue with the film was its ending which felt anticlimactic to some extent. The 2 hour buildup promises an epic, grand climax, but what we instead got was a very short sequence which is pretty cool in and of itself, but as the resolution to the movie, did not work for me.
With these complaints aside, I think Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is another successful entry in the series and a very worthwhile follow up. While I don’t think it comes close to any entry in the modern trilogy, it stands very well on its own legs. It left a lot to be desired, but there’s a lot to love here as well. I am very excited to see where this series goes next. Check out our breakdown of the ending and sequel speculation here.
Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was released today and is in theaters worldwide as of now.
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