Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Review | Franchise Extension Done Through Timely Reinvention

The first three films in the Planet of the Apes franchise had an approach where we would be curious to know how things would evolve in a world dominated by the apes. Even though it showed all the power politics within the tribe, there was a layer of spectacle that drove us toward those films. But in the fourth film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the perspective is more political, and it was very exciting to see them taking the story forward to make humanity realize the kind of brainwashing that is happening. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is more dramatic and political. And very rarely do we get to see these franchise-extending films having a distinct quality and identity of their own.

The story now unfolds at a different time in the future, generations after the death of Caesar. Noa, a young chimpanzee, and his clan are the focus of our story. A day before the coming-of-age ceremony in Noa’s clan, they got attacked by a more powerful ape clan and they took all the apes of Noa’s clan as hostages. Noa’s efforts to save his clan from the prison of the powerful ones and the various people he meets during that journey is what we witness in the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. 

Wes Ball, who previously directed the Maze Runner trilogy, is not trying to create a visual spectacle through this fourth installment. In Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, because the movie is happening in the future and generations have passed since the death of Caesar, one could see a lot of parallels between ape evolution and human evolution. The antagonists in this story are the followers of Caesar, and the character of Raka tells Noa at one point that these people have deliberately misinterpreted Caesar in order to have power. It’s like almost all parts of the world can find a parallel in that story, politically and religiously.

Just like the previous films, motion capture technology has been used in this movie as well. Owen Teague has done a commendable job of portraying the emotions of Noa who wasn’t really a fighter in the first place. Kevin Durand has done the motion capture acting for the antagonist Proximus Caesar, and it was good. The other major role that involved motion capture technology was the character of Raka portrayed by Peter Macon. The human presence in this movie is very minimal and the major human characters are played by Freya Allan and William H. Macy.

It is the political and philosophical layer that really makes this movie a compelling watch. In terms of the nuances, the detailing is extremely careful and you are basically transported into that world. The ape leader Proximus Caesar wants to get to know the technology created by human beings, and how he uses the Caesar tag for his benefit would really remind you of the religious evolution of the human race. Human beings are the minority in this universe, and the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes actually works as the beginning of the human rebellion. There is this beautiful moment in the movie where Noa confronts the girl Mae and asks her whether you want us to go mute again. Moments like these that look at the greater picture of the whole thing make this movie very fascinating, and the excitement you get is purely from the concept rather than the scale. The visual texture of the movie complements the mood of the story and the quality of the visual effects is also superior. 

When most movie franchises hit a burnout phase by the time they reach a fourth or fifth installment, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has managed to do the opposite. It is a well-made movie that knows the need to reinvent the approach to keep it appealing to the viewer. Even though it is set in the same universe where Caesar lived, the gaze of this new film is broader, and the parallels one can draw with the real world give it some relevance too.