Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Rating:
Many years after the reign of Caesar, a young ape goes on a journey that will lead him to question everything he's been taught about the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Cast & Crew
Wes Ball
Director
Owen Teague
Noa
Freya Allan
Nova
Kevin Durand
Proximus Ceaser
William H. Macy
Trevathan
Lydia Peckham
Soona
Travis Jeffery
Anaya
Peter Macon
Raka
Eka Darville
Sylva
Neil Sandilands
Koro
Sara Wiseman
Dar
Kaden Hartcher
Oda
Ras-Samuel
Lightning
John Paesano
Composer
Gyula Pados
Cinematographer
Josh Friedman
Writer
Wes Ball
Producer
Joe Hartwick Jr.
Producer
Amanda Silver
Producer
Jason T. Reed
Producer
Rick Jaffa
Producer
Genres:
Release Date:
10 May-2024
Run Time:
145 min
MPA Rating:
PG-13
Where to Watch:
What a wonderful entry!
N.B: This review contains spoilers for Matt Reeves' trilogy
5 years ago, Matt Reeves gave us the best entries in the Planet of the Ape trilogy. Well, after a long wait, we finally got Wes Ball's take on the franchise. "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" follows a young ape who goes on a journey that will lead him to question everything he's been taught about the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike after Ceaser's reign.
As you might have guessed by now, the story is nowhere as good as Reeves's trilogy. The drama lacked and it felt too adventurous. Don't get me wrong, it's still fun but it missed that grounded and dark feeling that we got in Reeves's movies! I really enjoyed the new characters, especially Noa. But who truly held the film together was Proximus Ceaser! Not only was he terrifying but Wes Ball managed to make him a complex and deep villain. Dare I say, he's the best villain in the entire franchise! On that thought, I have to praise Kevin Durand's performance. The moment he got introduced I instantly knew that he'd make this villain so memorable and iconic! Also, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to see underrated actors get the spotlight specifically Durand! Praise should also go towards Owen Tague and Freya Allan. Teague wonderfully brought Noa to life and Allan did an equally good job.
Last but not least, I must praise the CGI here. Everything from how their fur moved to their facial expressions blew my mind! It's seriously impressive what they did here. I mean to be able to replicate this 1:1 by looking at the raw performances is enough for me but those CG artists went the extra mile and paid so much detail to the little things which added to the immersion! Lastly, I have to address the elephant in the room which is the runtime. Clocking at nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes, the film is unnecessarily long and you can feel it especially since the second act faces a lot of pacing issues. Ball could have easily removed 20 or 30 minutes from the film and it would have made it miles better. Despite everything, it's a miracle to see a franchise stand on its legs for THAT long, and "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" is nonetheless a solid entry.