REVIEW — “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”

Following the recent release of Monkey Man and Godzilla x Kong, Hollywood must think primates are all the rage right now. Well, third time’s a charm, as Twentieth Century Fox delivers with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, giving audiences an intelligent and entertaining ape film set many generations after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes.

Hundreds of years after the reign of Caesar, apes have evolved into speaking hunters and gatherers that live in familial communities, each with their own cultures, customs, and ceremonies. However, many apes have forgotten the teachings of Caesar: “Ape must not kill ape.” Meanwhile, the humans that have survived a world ruled by apes are now referred to as “echoes,” a speechless, primitive species restricted to live in the valley beyond.

Directed by Wes Ball, the film follows Noa (Owen Teague), a serious young chimpanzee who belongs to the Eagle Clan, a tribe of apes that live in a tall treehouse village among the ruins of human civilization. Noa’s tribal leader father, the Master of Birds, has learned to domesticate predatory birds, a trait that Noa struggles to hone.

While Noa is soft spoken and serious, he is also noble and has many other Caesar-like qualities. When a warring tribe of apes, led by an aspiring ape tyrant, ransack and kidnap members of Eagle Clan, Noa must go on a harrowing quest to rescue them. On his journey, he comes across Raka (Peter Macon), a wise orangutan who forces Noa to question everything he’s been taught about the past. An endearing and quickly beloved character, Raka educates Noa on Caesar’s forgotten teachings of mercy, decency, morality, and compassion towards humans.

Noa must put his newfound qualities to practice after encountering Mae (Freya Allan), a young and hungry stray human that the pair reluctantly take in and nickname “Nova.” However, the mysterious girl may know more than she lets on as she is being hunted by the same savage clan of damn, dirty apes.

Their quest ultimately leads them to an oceanside kingdom ruled by the knowledge- and power-hungry Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), a gregarious yet fearsome despot with delusions of grandeur who enslaves other apes and forces them into labor to unearth a secret that may permanently shift the balance between apes and humans for good.

While Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a lighter film that lacks the darker tones and tragic drama that built over the course of the previous trilogy, the film is high quality sci-fi and a worthy entry in the ongoing “apes” series that presents compelling action, dramatic peril, and emotional tension throughout due to its brilliant direction by Ball, captivating script by Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Patrick Aison, and nuanced motion-capture performances from its talented cast that includes Travis Jeffery, Lydia Peckham, and William H. Macy (in an unnecessary human role).

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an engaging adventure with a truly human story at its core. More so than any of its predecessors, the film takes a closer look at the dystopian role reversal between human and ape and its moral implications. The result poses fascinating questions like: “Can man and beast equally coexist?”, “Are humans inherently dishonest or can they be trusted?” and “Is this the start of an exciting new trilogy in the ongoing Planet of the Apes franchise?” Hopefully, the answer to all three is yes. 4/5

Rated PG-13 with a running time of 2 hours and 25 minutes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opens in theaters on May 10, 2024.