Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

Despite the fact that money powers everything, it was still something of a surprise when a fourth installment of the recent Planet of the Apes franchise was announced. The trilogy surrounding the reign of Caeser began in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and culminated with War for the Planet of the Apes in 2017, with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes coming in between in 2014.

All three were directed by Matt Reeves, who proved such an excellent choice in the role he was then recruited to helm the Batman property, a decision which to me worked rather well. Reeves isn't back in the directors seat for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a fact that had my hackles up, not least because a fourth film seemed like nothing but a cash in.

What a pleasant surprise then, to announce that Wes Ball's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a blast. Ball was a left field choice having helmed the Maze Runner series (2014-2018) and nothing else, but he proves a steady hand with material that needed a shake up to produce anything original or interesting.

Set generations after Ceaser's reign, we're immediately left in no doubt we're still in the same series with very brief images of his funeral before planting the action to the present day (in terms of this franchise) Apes have established numerous clans while humans have become feral, and we join a young ape called Noa who lives with his falconry-practicing clan on the outskirts of what appears to be somewhere in California (but nothing has confirmed this theory yet). Noa's clan is attacked by a group of Ape Raiders, who destroy their home and kill Noa's Father, taking his Mother and two friends prisoner whilst leaving Noa for dead.

We then follow Noa on a quest to save his clan, who we eventually learn are being held along with many others clans as slaves for a new self professed King, Proximus Caeser, who has been selling his own evil propaganda as the teachings of Caeser.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has been accused by critics of being ponderous in its first hour with some questionable effects, but I couldn't disagree more. There's no doubt that attempting to continue Reeves' legacy by beginning what is to be a new trilogy seemed an invitation for skepticism, but to accuse the film of not being good enough just because it's not Reeves' trilogy is lazy criticism. The same could have been said for Rise of the Planet of the Apes back in 2011, but the film took the series in a very different direction with interesting ideas that were good enough to create a trilogy. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes follows suit, providing us with interesting new characters, an intriguing new world, and a set up that promises much from upcoming installments.

Whilst Kingdom doesn't hit the heights of its predecessors, neither does it tarnish their reputation; instead providing us with much to look forward to, and although Noa's presence in the series might be easily telegraphed, he's a character that I believed in and am keen to see more of. Also intriguing is human character Mae (a terrific Freya Allan), a human who can speak (leading to questions about how many more of her kind there are) and whose character arc ends in potentially the most beguiling way.

So all in all, Kingdom proves a more than suitable starting point for a new trilogy, bringing enough heft and ideas from the previous three films to create an interesting concept for what might be to come. Far from being the dud many thought it might be, the new apes installment holds its own while keeping you engaged throughout. 7.7/10