Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
One of the truths about the “Planet of the Apes” franchise is how it is immediately applicable to the times in which the movies are made. The cycle of five films from the ’60s and ’70s look at the hot button political topics of the time- war, racism, subjugation and peaceful protest- in ways that are not always subtle, but are always effective because, the way in which the story unfolds is a rich one, with the ability to look at the universe from multiple perspectives. The Caesar films from 2011-2017 rebooted the franchise for a new political landscape, where science and man’s hubris is more responsible to its downfall, and the challenges in leading a divided populus are brilliantly portrayed. Now, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is set to upend the world of ape supremacy in a big way that is compelling, and has so much potential in the future.
There were a lot of potential traps that writer Josh Friedman and director Wes Ball could have gotten caught in as they expand the breadth of the world created in “Rise,” “Dawn” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.” The choice to have “Kingdom” set long after the events of “War”- and the death of Caesar- allows them to reflect on Caesar’s legacy, and show how it can lead to multiple interpretations. Caesar is not unlike his Roman namesake in this film, with his life but a myth that is passed down by leaders who view him as either a pragmatic leader to emulate; a spiritual guide to the world; or someone whose power came from his ability to overtake humanity. We see examples of each viewpoint as we follow Noa (Owen Teague), a young chief’s son who must take a perilous journey when his village is destroyed by a violent army of gorillas, lead by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), whom is driven by power, because he sees that as Caesar’s way.
The more one follows politics, the more you sense that leaders mean different things to different people. Everyone is reacting to something about that person, or maybe multiple things. We’ve seen that deeply this summer in the US Elections, and it’s not necessarily about whose reaction is correct or incorrect, but which ones gain the most traction. In a way, none of the perspectives on Caesar and his “teachings” in “Kingdom” are wrong, because we can all look back at those three films focused on him, and see that side of him. Noa is the audience member in this film, having their preconceived notions of this world challenged every time we turn around, and we see as he interacts with his family and clan- which is bonded to falcons, a sign of Caesar’s respect for nature- how that has transformed his values, along with the leadership and teachings of his parents (Dar, played by Sara Wiseman, and Koro, played by Neil Sandilands). After their village is destroyed, he finds himself on his own when he encounters Raka (Peter), an orangutan for whom Caesar’s wisest philosophy was his most defining, “Ape shall never kill ape,” as well as Mae (Freya Allan), a young human woman whom joins Noa on his journey, and challenges his engrained views on humanity. Power structures make violence inevitable, however, and humanity is easily corruptible, especially when ambitious tyrants like Proximus want to use human technology to control. Proximus’s views on Caesar are not just born out of the memory of the ape leader, however, but readings of the history of the ancient Roman leader, which he gets from Trevathan (William H. Macy), a human who is one of Proximus’s main advisers.
That is a lot of narrative and thematic shoe leather, isn’t it? “Kingdom” is a hefty (perhaps too hefty) 145 minutes long, and has definitely gone big in expanding on the world we got in the Caesar trilogy, and it is a thrilling piece of adventure filmmaking. I don’t really have any strong feelings for Ball’s “Maze Runner” films, but you can see how he was tapped to continue the “Apes” franchise, and he does a fantastic job alongside production designer Daniel T. Dorrance and cinematographer Gyula Pados in giving us a stunning landscape to get lost in. Add to that the seamless motion capture effects to bring the characters to life- arguably even more impressive than they were in the Caesar films- and this is the type of cinematic science fiction epic I love watching. Ball and his collaborators understood what mattered in this franchise, and the results are a worthy continuation of one of the most substantial franchises in movie history. And based on where this film leaves things, we could- hopefully- get more in the future, and more “Apes” is never completely a bad thing.
