Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Caesar is dead, but his legacy lives on, albeit in a twisted form! Although I haven't seen War for the Planet of the Apes, I went to the cinema to see the latest entry in the post-apocalyptic ape saga, as it is a fresh reboot(?) of the franchise. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is another audiovisually captivating spectacle, standing out in particular for its amazing CGI apes. Story-wise, the film doesn't have much to surprise, but it was still very easy to watch thanks to the attractive visuals and the regularly dosed action. I was intrigued by the character of Raky and also by the line with the breeding of eagles (it reminded me of the ikrans from Avatar). I wonder if there will be a sequel in the coming years, which I certainly wouldn't be averse to. (05/30/2024)

I love this whole monkey franchise, I love Wes Ball and I love his Labyrinth films, so this was a clear guarantee of quality, which was confirmed from the first minutes. If something is flawless, it's the visuals of the whole film, because we get absolutely realistic monkeys, whose quality increases with every episode and this is probably the imaginary peak, it can’t get better than this. Then there is the excellent depiction of the colorful world around, the forests, nature, the eagles!! I have no words for this aspect of the film. Equally, I have to commend the story, which explains in the introduction where we've come since Caesar's time, and which solidly portrays the various current "factions" on the ground and who's really against who. So as a visual treat, along with the globe-trotting and unraveling of the story, the film is great. My only problem, though, which also puts me off the full score, is the lack of any major action, a grand finale or mass battle (which in previous films was almost always a big finale...), as well as the story being perhaps a little too forcefully directed towards that fateful rocket landing (which we all kind of saw coming), so the viewer actually probably knows roughly who's going to win, what's going to happen and how it's all going to end, which kind of spoils the surprise moment. Although the impression is overwhelmingly positive, the film is still lacking some more closure, a better villain or more fatality, so I guess we can only hope that Wes will take it properly and bring more carnage in the coming episodes. Oh, and I commend the eagles and the originality of that element, as they were really good. (05/11/2024)

A script that could easily have taken 100 minutes of running time. At least in the first third of the film, the heroes are sometimes groping in a breathtakingly made visual arrangement full of crumbled skyscrapers in an overgrown jungle, and it takes a hell of a long time before it starts to have any momentum and any systematic direction in which the new Apes want to go. The umpteenth sequel, which thankfully doesn't degrade in the style of Fast and Furious and other similar mega-sagas, but still maintains a spare, relatively minimalist storyline and very reasonable action that doesn't come at the expense of storytelling. The ending got it moving solidly, but it lacked top speed. Plus, in some moments, the filmmakers took strong inspiration from recent contributions to the Mad Max franchise. (07/12/2024)

Yes, it's true that the last third doesn't live up to the two previous ones, although it really tries to, but otherwise it's basically a repeat of the 13 year old surprise from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which I wasn't expecting much from either. This time, we've finally reached the stage where the apes are playing the lead and humans have taken second fiddle (although it may be different again in the sequel), and it's great. The visual effects work their magic again, the characters are 100% believable, the story is interesting and exploring an alien but familiar world definitely has its charm (05/16/2024)

To be honest, I have to say that I got exactly what I expected. And while I wasn't looking for a miracle, I definitely intended to enjoy a smart, good-looking sci-fi adventure at the cinema, and that's what Wes Ball delivered. This is the first installment of a new planned trilogy, so a lot of time is spent on world building (which has changed quite a bit from the last film) and introducing the main characters. And just the first scene with them is enough to blow you away, because Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes looks gorgeous, and Ball also makes great use of the attractive setting of the ruined cities that nature is taking back. But that's just the beginning. What's most interesting about Ball's new release is the ape society itself, hinting at the ways and directions in which the new civilization and each ape community is evolving. Noah is also quite a likable hero, different from Caesar and to some extent a bit more ordinary and with simpler motivations, but he serves well as a guide in the journey through a world we actually have to rediscover, as does his human partner Freya Allan, with whom it's unclear for a long time how they will work with her. The only problem is that because of the long exposition and introduction of the world, there is not much time for the plot itself, which is a bit rushed in the last third. The ambiguous villain could have done more interesting things with a better script, and the moral issues facing some of the heroes deserve more space, but again, I understand that you can't cram everything into two and a half hours. What Ball has crammed in is amply sufficient for a satisfying sci-fi adventure that can easily stand alongside the previous installments. And I hope he gets a chance to continue telling his story (05/09/2024)