A sequel that feels like a spin-off that opens the horizon to infinite possibilities without however hitting the mark.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Release Year: 2024
Director: Wes Ball
Genre: Science fiction, Action
Runtime: 145 Minutes
Veni, Vidi, Vici recited Julius Caesar following his victory against Pharnaces II in 47 BC, but can the same be said for Planet of the Apes? A saga that began in 1968 and was officially renewed in 2011. With Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the new series worked among others and followed the adventures of the chimpanzee Caesar, becoming an idol and leader of the domination of the apes over men. The new chapter, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, takes place many years after the death of the revolutionary leader, starting a new narrative arc to be explored starring Noa (Owen Teague), a chimpanzee from a tribe who has lost the memory of own origin.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: Caesar's Legacy
In a world where human beings have not only lost their importance in the food chain but find themselves in a condition of primordial unconsciousness. Here we meet Noa, a chimpanzee belonging to a peaceful tribe linked to the breeding of eagles for hunting and "religious" purposes. The environment as we know it no longer exists: traces of man have almost disappeared under the infinite vegetation that covers every corner of the globe.
For Noa, the rite of passage to adulthood begins which involves the capture of a wild eagle's egg through the ruins of what once was human greatness. Returning victorious from the hunt, Noa's group realizes that they are being followed by what must necessarily be a human. The chain of events that follows leads a group of apes led by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) to destroy and enslave Noa's tribe, accused of hiding the human being who turns out to be a girl named Mae (Freya Allan), a girl who hides an important secret.
With a protagonist who barely stands out from the frame, generally well-created by the special effects department, we find ourselves faced with a story that wants to emancipate itself without taking too long steps. The idea perhaps was to make the character grow through future products, without however giving particular space to the subplots that open up and remain perfectly suspended, without any real development, and without contributing to the resolution of conflicts. The human figure remains (and must remain at this point) a secondary, even tertiary force, which gives way to a narrative more similar to films like Avatar. What we perceive is a mutual experience of insipid realization of the story combined with a group of characters with questionable stage presence.
In the screenplay (Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver) no character or situation stands out. Everything is flattened and leveled to a film of hackneyed masks with easily forgettable dialogues. Even the two elements at the top, but which should appear more paradoxical and therefore in evidence, do not lack this reputation. We are talking about the character Mae, who as we remember is played by Freya Allan and Proximus Caesar. The first with a repertoire of infinite clichés and an interpretation that lacks relevance on a dramatic level, while the second aligns itself with a tyrannical rhetoric that could arouse curiosity but in fact, has very little relevance both in the story and in the very duration of its presence, is of almost total lack of influence.
A new chapter that has already been seen
In the approach to the study of films of this kind, it is difficult not to take into account that the directorial and photographic presence of the film, in this case, directed respectively by Wes Ball and Gyula Pados, have no less importance compared to traditional products but nevertheless altered. Many scenes are entirely reconstructed in CGI, the human presence is reduced to a minimum and the dynamics that are typically valid in a story are often missing. In short, it has always been a little strange in past films to see gorillas with machine guns in their hands, so it wasn't wrong to return to a more "primate" direction and environment.
What makes us turn up our noses, however, is the obvious contrast between the previous film, The War - Planet of the Apes, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, lacking effective narrative and ideological continuity. While the direction tries to faithfully follow the characters, almost disappearing in their natural course, the photography inevitably highlights the perennial artifice above these anthropomorphic apes, especially in the longer shots and in the most exciting scenes.
There is no shortage of scenes of great work and importance in the graphic field, but not even poorly refined scenes. With this dual condition of being a product strongly linked to CGI and the enormous importance of aesthetics in this type of production, one finds oneself turning up one's nose too many times compared to the moments in which one fully enjoys the success of a particular sequence.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: conclusion and evaluation
The next films will probably take on a more serious, more adult character, and will therefore be further closer to the previous trilogy. But today Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes hardly holds up against its premises. We can only hope for a shakeup, especially in terms of writing, which brings back or in any case improves the franchise. For the rest there is little to add, it will certainly have a natural course of filling the theaters with an audience split between those who will claim to have enjoyed the film and those who will not appreciate it from various points of view. Less superficiality and more content. Please. Released in theaters on May 10, 2024. Produced by 20th Century Fox and distributed by The Walt Disney Company.