Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a scifi action film, a standalone continuation of the Planet of the Apes series. Generations after the events of the previous installment apes have established various clans and humans have gone feral, mostly losing the ability for complex thought and speech. Noa(Owen Teague), part of the Eagle Clan, and his two friends embark on a coming-of-age ritual of procuring a wild eagle egg for raising. While they are out they encounter a rogue human who brings a rival clan to their territory decimating it. Noa sets out in pursuit.
Teague gives an emotive, periodically powerful, mo-cap performance as do all the supporting cast. This franchise, in general, has a stellar track record not only for its CGI rendering but for the mo-cap actors and this continues that trend with a cast of, not extremely well known but very talented roster. They are all committed and able to draw evocative nuanced characters. And Teague really delivers as the lead fulfilling the promise he showed in his somewhat uneven turn in The Stand. It's almost a shame the film isn't solely about the apes and Noa's clan just living their life as the two human actors- Freya Allan and William H. Macy- are the weak links in performance as well as the conduits by which the most obvious and predictable elements of the plot are delivered.
The film looks incredible, lush and vivid and conveys a sense or reality and immediacy sometimes undermined by this volume of CGI. The action sequences are thrilling, the soundtrack effective, the worldbuilding refreshingly subtle. As a standalone the film doesn't info dump, it provides enough context in a brief prologue to set the table but then trusts its audience enough to fill in the gaps with imagination. Its a fine line they walk with surprising assurance. It somewhat falters in the third act falling into some predictive and derivative storylines(much of which only exists to set up future installments) but overall Noa and his journey are the focus and as a result it works. The climax in particular, Noa's final confrontation with the heavy Proximus, is a homerun.
Surprisingly fun, emotional, and unencumbered.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
See It.
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