“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is the latest installment of the long-running “Planet of the Apes.” Coming off the success and acclaim of the reboot trilogy of the 2010s, director Wes Ball has ably paid homage to its storied past while also laying the groundwork for its future.
The main story takes place 300 years after the events of 2017’s highly-acclaimed “War of the Planet of the Apes.” As an ape named Noah (Owen Teague) is undergoing a rite of passage, he must form a reluctant alliance with a human girl known as Nova (Freya Allan) in order to rescue his tribe from the despotic ruler Proximus (Kevin Durand). All of this takes place in a grand scale 145-minute epic that demands to be seen on the biggest screen you can find.
While the franchise has released numerous films of varying degrees of quality, this installment is the ideal entry to connect the 2010s trilogy to the classic films from the 1960s and 1970s. On top of WETA Digital (“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy) returning to deliver lifelike visual effects for the apes, the movie is rife with set pieces and action scenes that take full advantage of the primate cast. Re-teaming with cinematographer Gyula Pados, Noah ably maneuvers through everywhere from a cliffside bird nest to an abandoned bomb shelter in what’s easily Wes Ball’s best film to date (the director is currently attached to a live-action adaptation of the “Legend of Zelda” video games).
Though you will definitely get the most out of the movie if you have a working knowledge of the franchise, the movie does make a solid entry point even if you haven’t seen previous installments. Even if Ball’s previous work on “The Maze Runner” trilogy has been viewed as divisive, it’s clear that he has already shown tremendous improvement as a filmmaker.
With the summer movie season in full swing, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is an ideal film to help get started. It’s an easy recommendation that ranks among the franchise’s royalty.
Directed by Wes Ball
Starring Owen Teague, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, Eka Darville and Ras-Samuel with Freya Allan and William H. Macy
Rated PG-13
My Rating: *****/5
