Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) – Review
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B+ – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is another excellent entry into the recent Planet of the Apes canon. Director Wes Ball has created a methodical and thrilling adventure film that features excellent performances from Owen Teague and Kevin Durand. Watch it on the biggest screen possible.
The most impressive thing about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is that it has earned its spot alongside the 2011-2017 trilogy that ended with the critically adored and financially lucrative War for the Planet of the Apes. It’s a tough act to follow, but director Wes Ball and his crew have created a world building adventure that features some of my favorite action set pieces in recent memory (there is an incredible water fight that made me very happy). The visual effects by WETA are once again jaw-dropping and the cinematography by Gyula Pados (Control, Predator, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) expertly captures the Australian wilderness that most of the movie was filmed in (The on location work is admirable). It’s the total package, and despite some claims about it being too long, I think audiences will appreciate the visual smorgasbord.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes focuses on the journeys of a young chimpanzee named Noa (Owen Teague – excellent), who is determined to save his friends and family from a clan of vicious apes who destroyed his village and wrangled his clan to be slaves for a megalomaniacal bonobo named Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand). Proximus and his gorilla enforcer Sylva (Eka Darville), need extra ape-power as they are trying to open up a massive steel door to a bunker that holds tanks, missiles and weapons that a power hungry bonobo shouldn’t have. To get to Proximus Caesar, Noa is helped by a charming orangutan named Raka (Peter Macon – who gets all the best lines), and Nova (Freya Allen), a human who wants Proximus Caesar dead because his clan killed her family. Together, they battle Sylva and his cronies during several fun set pieces that feature horse chases, dangerous rivers, and lots of running (Wes Ball directed the Maze Runner trilogy so he’s good at filming running).
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes works because it puts a lot of focus on the characters and never seems to be in a hurry to move to the next action scene. The opening 20 minutes features gorgeous world building as we are introduced to Eagle-clan, a group of peaceful apes who train eagles and live amongst skyscrapers and towers that are still standing after the collapse of society. I’d pay to watch an entire film featuring Noa and his friends climbing amongst the skyscrapers and just hanging out in the community (it would be a super chill movie). The human element isn’t the strongest aspect of the movie as Freya Allen’s character is meant to be mysterious, but that makes her character feel less dimensional than all the apes around her. All the ape/human shenanigans build to something that could carry several sequels, but now that WETA’s technology can make a film 100% about apes, I’m not sure I want to watch pesky humans battling the evolved apes again – I just want to enjoy the beautiful world created by WETA, and Wes Ball. I know this type of film would make about four dollars at the box office so it won’t happen, but one can hope! Either way, I’m excited for more.
Final thoughts – Watch it on the biggest screen possible.
Movies, Films & Flix 
A great review. This is definitely one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I’m a big fan of the original POTA series starring the legendary Andy Serkis. Serkis set such a high bar with those films through his groundbreaking use of motion capture technology to create realistic apes. With his absence, I’m a little skeptical about how this latest film would turn out. I recently had chances to see “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and loved it. Here’s why I adored that film:
Thanks! Will make sure to read your review.
Thanks for the review! Sounds as good as I had hoped. Hopefully I can see it on the big screen.
You’re welcome! It really is worth a watch in theaters. It looks beautiful.
Good review. For me, I liked this movie. I thought it delved into an interesting narrative that still carries the same type of cinematic pedigree with the already previously established Planet of the Apes universe, but still paves the way forward to a new future franchise storyline. Is it better than the Caesar Planet of the Apes movies? No, but it’s a great extension of it.