Wes Ball | 2hr 25min
Although the primitive simians of the Planet of the Apes prequels take great pride in their distinction from humanity, the parallels drawn between both species are apparent. “Apes together strong!” chimpanzee Caesar proclaims in Rise, asserting that their union behind shared values of peace and cooperation will herald a fresh start for planet Earth, while in Dawn prejudiced bonobo Koba seeks vengeance for his past traumas.
These are parables of evolution, constantly tugging intelligent beings who strive for greatness between their most inspiring and destructive instincts, but perhaps most compelling of all is their primal need to congregate around a prophetic leader. Much like Moses, Caesar was saved at birth, led his people to liberation, and established a doctrine of ethical commandments. Now in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes though, his legacy is splintered among quarrelling factions. Their fight over upholding versus exploiting his message bears striking resemblance to the religious schisms of human history, each seeking survival through conflicting interpretations of their ancestor’s teachings.
It is hard to ignore the impact that the departure of Matt Reeves and Andy Serkis has had on this franchise, especially given that their strengths were uniquely matched to its visual and technical innovations. Nevertheless, the new crop of talent that director Wes Ball leads in Kingdom is dedicated to building on their predecessors’ foundations, making incredibly expressive use of motion-capture technology while shooting on location to build out its post-apocalyptic world. Beyond the lush, overgrown city that young chimpanzee Noa calls home, Ball’s long shots marvellously establish dense forests, abandoned structures, and rushing rivers, taking our protagonist on a journey through the wilderness to rescue his clan from a party of ape raiders.
Noa does not immediately recognise the name shouted by these marauders, but the wise orangutan he encounters on this quest knows it well. They do not truly follow Caesar’s tenets, Raka claims, as he imparts the truth of this ape luminary upon his pupil. Meanwhile, their meeting with young human Mae endows them with a greater perspective of the world before the rest of her species devolved into feral savagery, establishing her as a model of redemption when one’s own people appear beyond saving.
Only when Noa finally reaches the coastal settlement where the ape raiders live do Kingdom’s considerations of idolatry and ambition start to take shape, as Ball introduces the Caesar-worshipping tyrant, Proximus. Large, rusted husks of ancient ships host his followers along the shoreline, standing tall as monuments of a once-great civilisation that fell its own ego, yet Proximus remains blind to their symbolic warning. To attain humanity’s former glory, he believes that apes must claim their advanced weapons technology, aggressively asserting themselves as the planet’s dominant species.
Like Caesar, Proximus genuinely admires human achievements, but lacks the same desire to break their cycles of cruelty and hubris. Conversely, Noa does not seek to become another Moses, but is rather modelled after another ancient prophet instead. Given his readiness to separate the virtuous from the wicked, as well as the arrival of a biblical flood in the final act, it doesn’t take a particularly deep reading into his name to identify whose arc he will follow in future instalments.
Noa’s characterisation may be underdeveloped at this point, but Ball’s allegory for human history is promising, shifting the series into a fresh era of cross-species relations. As this world approaches the one established in the original Planet of the Apes film, so too does it continue bearing greater resemblance to our own, revealing the primal impulses that underlie society’s thin veneer of intelligence. Despite feeling like a small step back in quality, Kingdom’s development of this majestic civilisation through the legacy of its ancestors is admirable, setting up a new generation of apes who simultaneously live under, respect, and seek to escape the long shadow of Caesar.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is available to buy on Apple TV, YouTube, and Amazon Video, and is currently streaming on Disney Plus.
