Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

 

“Apes together strong.”

Expansive, engaging and ape-solutely fantastic, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes continues the legacy of the previous trilogy with consistent emotional pathos, groundbreaking VFX and moving motion capture performances plus enthralling worldbuilding, all whilst asking deep questions about humanity, history and identity, in a bigger bolder blockbuster entry for the franchise that establishes exciting new possibilities. 

Discussion Points:

What a perfect example of how to continue a story, after its initial arc has already concluded. The previous trilogy of Apes films stand as one of the strongest and most consistent trilogies in recent memory. So a fourth was always going to need to stand alone whilst honouring that which had come before. And thankfully Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes feels both imbued with the identical DNA of its predecessors but also feels like an original and fresh story that establishes new exciting future possibilities. By picking up significantly after the events of War, Kingdom is able to establish a new world, with new characters, new opposing forces, and new ideas with the film unafraid to explore complex themes of political and religious ideology, and the ways power corrupts truth and virtue. The film is also so well balanced, emotionally and visually, with quieter moments and exhilarating action sequences with moments of tension, emotion, and humour that meld perfectly together. Plus the motion capture and CGI is seamlessly blended with live action elements, to deliver some of the best visual effects since Avatar: The Way of Water. This is a hugely satisfying and exciting film, and I’m super impressed with how well this film continues the past and teases the future. Ape-solutely amazing!