Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – 2024
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the fourth newer movie about how humanity lost its grip on the world and how the apes rose to domination of the planet. I have seen all the other of course, but I’ll be damned if I can remember every detail about them. I can’t. What I do know is that they follow a logical path. First Ceasar, the ape who finally said NO, is subdued. Later he becomes the leader of the uprise, and in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, he is a legend. Many generations have come and gone and the respect for other apes as well as humans has been somewhat forgotten.
It takes a while for this movie to get going, but I’d say that those minutes are the best of it. It’s better to develop characters we care about than to throw in conflicts right from the beginning. And Character development we get. It doesn’t take long until we know the good and bad of the main Apes in the storyline. Whilst it can be difficult to recognize them by looks only, you can certainly tell the difference in other qualities like bravery and wisdom.
Towards the original film
To make a long story short Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a movie that seems to move towards the original 1968 film. The Apes rule the world but they make the same kind of mistakes as the humans did. They enslave and seek power. They twist Ceasar’s words for their own gain. Either because they don’t know better or because they want all the power for themselves. Maybe fear that the humans once more will put apes in cages is also contributing to the paranoia.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes starts out in a quiet village. There Noa, the main character in this film lives with his friends Soona and Anaya. They are about to collect eagle eggs as the tradition suggests. But during their quest, they also encounter clothing that smells of humans. This brings out the fears in the elders and a patrol is sent out to investigate. What they find is not humans but rather another group of Apes that works for the self-acclaimed “new Ceasar”. He wants to create a kingdom and those who aren’t killed in the attack are taken prisoners.
The Vow
Noa vows to bring his tribe home. In his quest, he encounters an old wise Orangutan who teaches him about the true words of Ceasar. Noa is taught wisdom, compassion, and dignity if you will. He also encounters a human which he at first has no sympathy for but later evolves into a friend. From one point of view, they have the same agenda and the same enemy. Yet they’re on the opposite side when it comes to some future development.
All in all, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes brings just what you expect. There are likable characters, villains, and great CGI. It’s not good enough to not be fooled by it. But the scenery is stunning and it works. The Apes are alive even if it’s obvious that they are computer-generated. I like all of these newer Ape-movies but I don’t remember enough to really rank them against each other right now. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an entertaining one for sure, but the second half is somewhat less interesting.
