Summary
- Director Wes Ball revamped
Apes
series tone in the new film, maintaining maturity while lightening up. - Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
introduces new generation of characters for upcoming trilogy. - The young protagonist brings themes of leadership and survival in a less intense, yet still meaningful way.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is giving director Wes Ball a moment to shine, and as the movie lands in cinemas he revealed that he was told by the studio to make one major change to the film from pervious Apes movies. Although the trilogy of films that began with Rise of the Planet of the Apes was hugely successful both in terms of critical praise and box office takings, 20th Century Studios wanted the new movie to deliver something a little lighter than 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
4/5
Set several years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the next installment in the Apes saga. Ape clans have taken up residence in the oasis that Caesar sought to colonize, but humans have reverted to their animalistic nature in their absence. Now battling between enslavement and freedom, outliers in the Ape clans will take sides in a newly burgeoning society.
- Release Date
- May 10, 2024
- Studio
- Disney Studios Australia, Twentieth Century Fox
- Tagline
- No One Can Stop the Reign
Speaking with SlashFilm, Ball revealed that he was specifically told to incorporate a tonal shift into the new movie, while not losing the emotional heart of the franchise. While not an easy task, it is one that the director appears to have successfully achieved with his addition to the franchise, which jumps 300 years into the future from the conclusion of the 2017 movie. He said:
“That was the only thing that the studio asked, was could we find a tone that was a little lighter, I suppose, without compromising all the things that made these movies great — which is mature storytelling and real stakes and real drama and conflict, all that stuff. And I was happy to go there because my instincts naturally go there anyway.
“We thought of this more as an adventure movie. It’s a young character this time. He’s very innocent, and that’s probably where the humor comes from, is that innocence. Or that sense of being behind on the knowledge of things. And there’s more that we actually had to cut out for time, but maybe we’ll get in there for another version of the movie or something.
“But yeah, just try to give people a good time in the theater. Try to have some nice, contemplate big ideas next to a campfire, but also run into the fields being chased by giant gorillas and also just some fun moments where you can smile and have a good time and meet these characters, fall in love with these characters. We tried.”
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a New Chapter in the Franchise
While War of the Planet of the Apes brought the story of ape Caesar to a close in a tense, dark and dramatic way, Kingdom essentially begins a new story, the first in a planned trilogy, and that means many new characters to introduce to audiences. The new generation of apes include young ape named Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) who is taken on an epic journey as he encounters both a mysterious human woman, Mae (Freya Allan), and a tyrannical ape named Proximus Caesar (voiced by Kevin Durand).
While the dystopian nature of the Apes franchise has often led to a bleak style of storytelling, the new film’s young protagonist allows this installment to take a less intense route. However, while Noa’s journey is one of wonder and discovery, there are still incorporated themes of leadership, survival and the struggles of humanity to be dealt with, and it seems that the new movie has straddled all of this with ease.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Review: A Great Continuation & Epic Beginning
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a worthy follow-up to the Caesar trilogy that skews closer to the original 1968 film and sets up a new trilogy.
As always, the decision over the future of the Apes franchise will be ultimately decided by the box office performance of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which began with one of the highest previews of the franchise on Thursday and looks to climb to the top of the charts this weekend.
