Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes (2024) Dir: Wes Ball
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Wes Ball's blockbuster sequel to the successful and acclaimed reboot trilogy was one of my most anticipated films of the year. I love the previous films, especially the two sequels, so I couldn't wait to see what this new film, set far in the future, would bring.
It was very interesting to see Ball's interpretation of what the future of the Planet of the Apes looked like. The world's evolution made for some fascinating visuals. The naturalia of the previously urban landscape was breathtaking. These sequels have all looked exceptional, but this one topped the lot for me.
The story was not what I had anticipated it, though I still enjoyed it. There was less conflict, but I quite liked the journey that the characters went on - it certainly made for some effective world building. I quite enjoyed the lore that the film built up, and I can definitely see room for further expansion and ideas, through means of subsequent films.
I think I preferred the narratives of 'Dawn' and 'War'; they had a more direct approach to the storytelling and paths of their characters, whereas this film set out to explore something else, to serve as the beginning of something new. Wes Ball has said that there are at least two sequels planned, which doesn't surprise me at all - I think my main criticism of this film is that it feels like a set-up more than its own story.
I was very pleased with Owen Teague's leading performance. He, like Andy Serkis before him, had the motion capture movements down wonderfully - allowing him to feel and act as realistically as possible. He showed growth well and made his character feel like a learning and evolving hero to root for.
Freya Allen was an interesting one. I had expected her performance to be a little more one-note than it turned out to be. I liked the vast majority of her acting, particularly once she got to show more variety. I definitely enjoyed seeing her interact with the ape characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed Kevin Durand's portrayal of 'Proximus Caesar', which, by the way, is a really cool character name. He felt grandiose, empirical and charismatic - it really worked. He had an intimidating presence which made him a believable and compelling villain - I wished he could've had more screentime, though.
Peter Macon gave a wonderful performance, and provided one of the most interesting and endearing characters in this modern iteration of the franchise thus far. I would also like to hand out praise to the likes of William H. Macy, Eka Darville, Travis Jeffery and Lydia Peckham for their respective performances.
Overall, while I don't think this quite lived up to my hopes, nor the previous sequels in this rebooted franchise, I still thought it was a pretty good film, which blew me away with its impressive visuals, and set up more exciting stories in the future.
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