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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the newest addition to the Planet of the Apes franchise, serving as a stand-alone sequel to War For The Planet of the Apes. This film takes place 300 years after Caesar’s reign, and follows a young chimpanzee named Noa (Owen Teague). In an attempt to help apes and humans learn to live side by side, he works alongside a woman named Mae (Freya Allan).
During the film, Noa is a very likable character. As someone who watched a couple of the Planet of the Apes films, it was refreshing to get a different main character after Caesar. Noa makes many relationships throughout the film, like meeting Raka (Peter Macon) who becomes a dear friend. He’s shown to have a close bond with his mother, Dar (Sara Wiseman), and his father Koro (Neil Sandilands). It is also made quickly known that someone that is taking over the ape community. The leader of this new faction is Proximus Cesar (Kevin Durand).
On the human side, Mae meets another human named Trevathan (William H. Macy). Trevathan seems to have been on the island for a long time, and has a lot of knowledge about the apes. He’s shown as someone who spends his time reading a lot books that have been abandoned by the human population.
A lot of the visual effects are heavily noted in the film, especially as it’s needed to see all the ape’s expressions. Motion capture continues to be used in this film, allowing the audience to take in all the movements of the apes. I actually liked all of the expressions, and I was able to understand their emotions during each scene. Most of the visuals of the entire movie were pretty good. There’s a heavier use of beautiful green scenery, especially with the apes continuing to live in grassy, forest areas. But what got me intrigued was being able to see elements of human life that can still be found within the environment apes live in.
What I enjoyed about the film is that friendships and relationships are all the characters have. It’s a theme that flows throughout the film, and I liked that. However, I thought Proximus Cesar would be more of a threat, but instead felt underwhelming. Mae is another character that I thought needed more backstory as I wanted to know more about her previous interactions with apes. Other than that, this film was pretty good. I am curious to see where Noa’s journey takes him next and I’m sure there will be a continuation of this epic adventure of The Planet of the Apes.
I give this film a 8.5/10.
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