On May 9, the action-adventure film «Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes» was released in cinemas. This is the sequel to «War for the Planet of the Apes», which was released in 2017, and the fourth film in the latest reboot of the ape franchise in general. It is supposed to be the first part of a trilogy, which, according to director Wes Ball, «fits into the legacy of» the three previous films. In the review below, we discuss whether «Kingdom of the» has the groundwork to launch the next trilogy.
Pluses:
a likable protagonist Noah, who, however, emotionally does not yet reach the level of Andy Serkis' Caesar; impeccable visuals; in general, not the worst blockbuster you can give a chance
Minuses:
the authors do not shy away from spending time on character development and character interaction, sacrificing action dynamics, and this is very good, but in return they do not offer a meaningful story, but only give too much exposition for the next films; an uninteresting cardboard antagonist-dictator; in general, the film looks less exciting than its predecessors from the latest trilogy
«Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes»
Genre sci-fi action adventure
Director Wes Ball
Starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, William Macy, Eka Darville, Dichen Lachman
Premiere movie theaters
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb
Many generations after Caesar led his tribesmen to the green valley, humans seem to have finally gone wild and degraded, settling in the swamps, and apes have become the intelligent species that dominates the planet. Three, it should be emphasized, «teenage mutant monkey ninjas» Noah, Anaya and Suna carefree jump around among the high mountains in search of eggs, and not even for 17 UAH, but absolutely free. Because all they need to do is get to the eagles’ nests, and then go through the sacred ritual of their clan, which breeds eagles.
Unfortunately, the planned celebration is not to be, as the peaceful ape settlement is attacked by a warlike clan led by Proximus Caesar, who has distorted the legacy of Caesar the ordinary and seeks to take possession of human technology from the past. Noah, who miraculously survived the attack, swears on his father’s grave that he will find his kidnapped relatives. Along the way, he meets Raka, an orangutan with knowledge of Caesar’s humanistic philosophy, and Nova, a hungry human girl who is being hunted by Proximus’ soldiers for some reason.
If in March you didn’t get enough of aggressive monkeys roaring at the top of their lungs in the «Godzilla x Kong» or there were not enough monkey tracks in the April «Monkey Man», at your service «Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes». The film offers a new story within the series rebooted in 2011 and risks launching another trilogy. The Hollywood assembly line, that’s how it is.
Given what we’ve seen so far, the fourth film looks more like a degradation than an evolution of the modern franchise. «The Kingdom» — is the weakest of all its parts and seems more like a long preface to something bigger.
Unfortunately, the new characters, at least for now, can not fully replace Caesar in terms of empathy, and the villain is too primitive to care much about his silly antics. That is, if you are a fan of the latest «Planet of the Apes». If you didn’t care about the fate of the movie apes before, the situation will definitely not change with this movie.
The problem is that this idea didn’t turn out to be a completely engaging entertainment because during the almost two and a half hours of running time, there are very few dynamic adventures that would negate any boredom. After all, watching numerous, not so meaningful dialogues between monkeys is not the most interesting thing to do in a movie. In short, it doesn’t take your breath away. The dramaturgy is not embarrassing. And the local flood, not in the presence of Noah, is not impressive.
From complete indifference, we are saved by isolated action scenes, excellent visuals and the infinitely beautiful gaze of young Freya Allan, which Gyula Pados’ camera appropriately captures in close-ups.
Among the remnants of the former human civilization, the abandoned skyscrapers of ruined Los Angeles and the buildings and roads drowned in green thickets. It is difficult to see a once flourishing world ruled by humanity and scientific and technological progress. The devastated landscapes look as convincing as possible, as does the image of primates captured using motion capture technology. In short, the special effects of the avatar type are at the highest level.
New to the franchise, director Wes Ball (not to be confused with the cult a video game adaptor ), who worked on a teenage dystopian trilogy «The Maze Runner», and a blockbuster screenwriter with bizarre subplots «Terminator: Dark Fate» and «Avatar: The Way of Water» Josh Friedman tries to delight viewers with eyewear of varying degrees of recognizability.
Here we see that the main character Noah inherited many noble virtues from the star of the previous trilogy, Caesar, played by the incomparable Andy Serkis, which in a way builds a bridge between the stories. The friendly orangutan Raka calls a stranger Nova, or, for example, in the «forbidden zone» monkeys find a talking doll — these are easter eggs to the original «Planet of the Apes» from 1968.
The general concept of the local world order also refers to the novel of the same name by Pierre Bull, which was the basis for the old movie. And in one of the scenes, the authors give a natural Hitchcock, inspired by his outstanding horror. Add to this the over-the-top authoritarianism, dotted with proud «red» flags, and you get an attempt to take over someone else’s technology and a fairy tale about a bright future led by a comrade dictator.
But no matter how pleasant it is to read certain allusions, or simply admire a high-quality picture, it does not help to brighten up the generally weak narrative with an eye toward «the most interesting thing is ahead». There is no revelation in the fact that the apes are stepping on the same rake as humanity. Everything goes in a circle, which means that local conflicts are not something new.
In the end, the painting asks an interesting question «can apes and humans coexist?». Even if so, it is only if the Russians are deprived of all possible technologies.
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