A young chimpanzee tries to save his clan from a tyrannical ruler in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Many generations after the time of Caesar, Noa (Owen Teague) is a young member of the Eagle Clan, a tribe of chimpanzees, who breed and train eagles. While searching for eggs for an upcoming ceremony, Noa and his friends Soona (Lydia Peckham) and Anaya (Travis Jeffery) find proof that humans, known to them as “Echos,” have been in the area.
However, as the elders of Eagle Clan investigate, they are attacked by an army of Gorillas led by Sylva (Eka Darville), who fight in the service of self-declared king Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand). With his clan taken away by the army, Noa follows on their trail. He is soon joined by Raka (Peter Macon), one of the last remaining followers of the original elder Caesar. On their journey, the two apes come across the human Mae (Freya Allan), who turns out to be the key to Proximus Caesar’s plan to open a vault full of human technology.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Synopsis
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the fourth entry of the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner). While remaining in the same universe as 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes, the story of the film takes place hundreds of years after the events of those films. This effectively makes Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a soft reboot, introducing a new Chimpanzee protagonist in the form of Noa, played by Owen Teague (IT, To Leslie, Eileen).
Noa is on a quest to save his family from Proximous Caesar, played by Kevin Durand (Abigail), who has corrupted the teachings of the original Caesar to mean dominance for all apes. Taught about humanity by opportunistic human Trevathan (William H. Macy), Proximous intends to acquire human technology within a locked vault. It turns out the human Mae, played by Freya Allan (The Witcher), also wants to get into the vault and seeks Noa’s help to get inside.
My Thoughts on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Taking over franchise directorial duties from Matt Reeves, Wes Ball does a decent job of making Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a soft reboot, while still keeping the previous films canon. Apart from a flashback to his funeral from the end of War for the Planet of the Apes, Andy Serkis‘ protagonist of Caesar is now a distant memory in this world set many generations into the future. The film establishes different ways Caesar’s legacy is treated, ranging from the religious order that the Orangutan Raka is a member of, the fanaticism of Proximous Caesar, and the ignorance of Noa’s Eagle Clan, who have their own set of laws.
Another effect of the future world of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is how humanity has all but succumbed to the same virus that gave the apes their intelligence, with most being seen as primitive “Echos.” However, the film establishes that there are still a few humans who are immune to the effects of the virus, such as Freya Allan’s Mae and William H. Macy’s Trevathan. The film drops hints that future installments might deal with attempts by human remnants to take back their planet.
One of the key elements of the modern Planet of the Apes franchise is the use of motion-capture CGI to depict the apes. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes arguably has the biggest ratio of the franchise with approximately 75% of the major speaking roles in the film going to ape characters. This adds more fuel to the argument that there should be more accolades for motion-capture performances, as Owen Teague, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, and others deliver fully realized characters under their digital make-up.
Altogether, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes demonstrates that this 12-year-old franchise still has legs. At this point, it seems inevitable that this rebooted franchise with match the five films total of the original Planet of the Apes franchise of the 1960s and 1970s. Time will tell if this franchise will exceed it.
