Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Eight years on from the Matt Reeves-directed and Andy Serkis-starring fabulous, seminal trilogy-ending War For the Planet of the Apes the franchise returns without both its stars behind of the camera. Reeves is moving onto The Batman franchise and in front of the camera, and Serkis is going into the director’s chair and returning to Gollum, once again, in the Lord of the Rings franchise. In their place arrives Maze Runner director Wes Ball and a litany of unknown and breakout cast, seen in the likes of Owen Teague and Freya Allen, in three hundred years later follow-up Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which finds tensions with tribal apes and Caesar’s teaching taking on differing evolutionary viewpoints.
Ball’s feature not only carries significant anticipation due to its predecessor but has major trepidation of carrying itself, not only as another soft reboot of the surprisingly beloved trilogy (does lightning strike twice?) but also as a sequel/prequel to a larger body of work. It shouldn’t necessarily come as a shock with how strong the foundations are that Kingdom is yet another stellar entry into this elongated franchise that takes an engaging and intriguing next step, albeit one that is a little too safe. For starters, it’s hard to have confidence in any visionary director following on from Reeves and, with the quite early announcement of Wes Ball in the directors’ chair, it’s fair to say that expectations were undoubtedly throttled while maintaining a level of optimism. The biggest shock or surprise here – although Stan Maxance Vincent would have it thought otherwise – is how confident and affirming Wes Ball is behind the camera. Ball’s ability to intertwine what feels shakeless camera work and world-building with VFX work is nothing short of fabulous. He never overdoes the visual effects or camera work to evoke ego but issues such when sequences and set-pieces demand it, in often varied tonal ways. An opening climb sequence is wide, takes quick cuts together, scrambling for intended tension. Yet in the climax, much like the water used throughout it, the editing and flow feel seamless and tight in the visual and design of its production working in unison: both frantic and anxious yet powerfully slow to drown the audience into the tension that unfolds. It’s all pretty terrific work and, while those who might state Ball is hiding behind the genre-defining Ape CGI, Ball very much makes the luscious green scenery and iconography of an overgrown new dawn world to his own needs.
One thing that audiences will undoubtedly state is that, at times, this could be considered both slow and steady. To argue the latter would be to explain the notion of this being a soft reboot, in which Ball has the task to indulge both new audiences and those coming back into the world Reeves and Serkis made iconic. This does not take many risks, tonally or thematically. It makes quite large leaps in terms of narrative and depth, with major ripples and significance for this franchise to evolve narratively. However, it weirdly feels like it never wants to take that next step and leaves it quite late to overtly suggest these elements will come to fruition next time around but what is that but to suggest that the two and half hour film audiences have just watched is merely a caveat and nibble tray for the real thing? It all feels a little skittish and unfulfilling after an eight-year gap and the chance to take a real stab at the material. To go for the former point of being slow, it’s quite a rewarding experience to just see this world intimately and at a pace, in which discussion and dialogue are given back and forth, seeing the small nibbles of influence and character be registered and emotional connections formed in a feature that seemingly has no problem just taking its time to its destination. It’s undoubtedly what thickens and makes such depth rewarding and fulfilling for Teague to stand his ground as the future lead within this world and for performances in his own career. Teague is fabulous in both emotive immersion and engagement, feeling every heartbreak and slow victory in defiance of what is right and crafting a moral compass in the face of adversary. It’s often thrilling and almost constantly endearing. It does come at a dissonance, however, as so much time is spent following his arc and the time everything is said and done it actually feels fulfilled and complete with Noah finding peace but further disposition at the Pandora’s box he’s opened – having his tribe at peace but at a further cost of jeopardy in its future. Where the writers will take his character, who knows, but to further bring him back into this circle might be overtly forced where they leave him.
Where this will go, no doubt, is in the direction of following Freya Allen’s Nova. The less said about this arc, the better, not only for great treats and surprises but for the perfect full-circle notion of what started this simian evolution in a pivotal scene for Serkis’ Caesar now reversed in yet another terrific sequence that has major consequences for this franchise. The character is incredibly interesting and the moral grey area of how it is written causes great entertainment value of unpredictability and shock of where this goes next. The only major issue is that Allen has real trouble on occasion evoking between the internal and external emotive prowess and conviction of when her character demands it. The intimate is often overblown and external far too reduced for dramatic impact and while any sequels will certainly have her engage in great sorry arcs, here it all feels a little stifled and struggled in which character to actually follow after the ninety minute mark. Although what a struggle to have with three and perhaps even four characters being so engaging to follow as the lead. One such would be Kevin Durand’s Proximus Caesar who can only be given the oxymoronic statement of being in this just enough but needing to be in every scene. It’s a scene-stealing pantomime villain who is playing the audience with the intention of little skill or talent but deep down like the performance itself covers a multifaceted and complex character of manipulation and deceit.
When it’s all said and done, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is, once again, a great entry into a surprising franchise that still feels it has more to give thematically and narratively. The world and and evolution that has rocked it is both thrilling and fascinating with terrifying parallels of the apes now becoming more human that ever and the latter seeing in only black and white with little emotion found, much like the fallout of Reeves’ War. Which, surprisingly, Kingdom falls almost to a blueprint check list and framing. Perhaps a little too close, but again, echoes those aforementioned sentiments of being too safe but granted when put side to side the narrative and story feel a little too close to call this a coincidence. Alas, the Pandora’s Box of chaos between Apes and mankind has taken its next step, with Kingdom dropping just enough intriguing and nutritious breadcrumbs to keep viewers at bay and in anticipation for its planned two sequels. And while Kingdom undoubtedly places itself on a strict course of meeting its 1968 original with the inevitable closer now than ever, it still feels as if this material can make itself more unpredictable and exciting as what has come before it, hopefully with everyone including Ball returning as the biggest surprise here is just how well he handles this world and camera work.
