Directed by Wes Ball; Written By Josh Friedman; Starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, & William H. Macy.
Set 300 years after the reign of Caesar, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes follows a young chimpanzee named Noa (Owen Teague). He embarks on a journey alongside a young human girl named Mae (Freya Allan) to determine the future for apes and humans alike. This is the 10th installment of the Planet of the Apes franchise overall. I myself don’t have that much familiarity with this saga. I only saw the 1968 original film once many years ago, but don’t have strong memories of it. I haven’t seen any of its sequels nor Tim Burton’s 2001 remake. Although I really liked the recent Andy Serkis-led reboot/prequel trilogy, which began with Rise in 2011 and concluded with War in 2017. Now we’re entering a brand new storyline set in this universe.
Under Wes Ball’s direction, everything is very well put together. The visual effects by Wētā alone are so out of this world. I could barely tell what was real and what was digital the whole time I was watching this. It all looked so lifelike. Daniel T. Dorrance’s crafts such imaginative production design while Gyula Pados’ cinematography is astonishing. The overall soundscape is incredible. Effective musical score by John Paesano. The editing by Dirk Westervelt and Dan Zimmeran may be slow moving, but it never actually feels boring. Although emotionally, this movie tells a very human story (that just so happens to be about apes).
Josh Friedman’s screenplay not only takes time to tell the story, but it also smartly introduces new characters little by little as it goes on. Owen Teague gives quite a compelling performance as Noa, who also has some heartfelt moments as well as a great character arc. Freya Allan is very strong as Mae. When you first meet her, she’s mostly a mute. Yet she slowly comes out of her shell throughout the remainder of the film. Kevin Durand gives such an epic presence as Proximus Caesar, the villainous bonobo monarch. Peter Macon proves to be a comedic highlight as Raka, an orangutan whom Noa befriends. William H. Macy is pretty memorable as Trevathan, an opportunistic human who teaches human history to Proximus Caesar.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes successfully continues this legendary franchise. It may not reach the highs of the recent trilogy 100% of the time, but it’s still really good. This particular installment has a ton of sequences that are action packed, suspenseful, and heartfelt. The ending will definitely leave you wondering where this saga is gonna go next. Be sure to catch this on the biggest screen you can find.
Rating: 4/5
Set 300 years after the reign of Caesar, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes follows a young chimpanzee named Noa (Owen Teague). He embarks on a journey alongside a young human girl named Mae (Freya Allan) to determine the future for apes and humans alike. This is the 10th installment of the Planet of the Apes franchise overall. I myself don’t have that much familiarity with this saga. I only saw the 1968 original film once many years ago, but don’t have strong memories of it. I haven’t seen any of its sequels nor Tim Burton’s 2001 remake. Although I really liked the recent Andy Serkis-led reboot/prequel trilogy, which began with Rise in 2011 and concluded with War in 2017. Now we’re entering a brand new storyline set in this universe.
Under Wes Ball’s direction, everything is very well put together. The visual effects by Wētā alone are so out of this world. I could barely tell what was real and what was digital the whole time I was watching this. It all looked so lifelike. Daniel T. Dorrance’s crafts such imaginative production design while Gyula Pados’ cinematography is astonishing. The overall soundscape is incredible. Effective musical score by John Paesano. The editing by Dirk Westervelt and Dan Zimmeran may be slow moving, but it never actually feels boring. Although emotionally, this movie tells a very human story (that just so happens to be about apes).
Josh Friedman’s screenplay not only takes time to tell the story, but it also smartly introduces new characters little by little as it goes on. Owen Teague gives quite a compelling performance as Noa, who also has some heartfelt moments as well as a great character arc. Freya Allan is very strong as Mae. When you first meet her, she’s mostly a mute. Yet she slowly comes out of her shell throughout the remainder of the film. Kevin Durand gives such an epic presence as Proximus Caesar, the villainous bonobo monarch. Peter Macon proves to be a comedic highlight as Raka, an orangutan whom Noa befriends. William H. Macy is pretty memorable as Trevathan, an opportunistic human who teaches human history to Proximus Caesar.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes successfully continues this legendary franchise. It may not reach the highs of the recent trilogy 100% of the time, but it’s still really good. This particular installment has a ton of sequences that are action packed, suspenseful, and heartfelt. The ending will definitely leave you wondering where this saga is gonna go next. Be sure to catch this on the biggest screen you can find.
Rating: 4/5