Adapted from Words Like That S2 Ep. 4, originally released July 8, 2024.
I am a huge Planet of the Apes fan. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the original 1968 Charlton Heston version. I liked all of the original films, even the lesser entries in the series. I watched the ‘70s live-action TV show. Heck, I even enjoyed the 2001 Mark Wahlberg/Tim Burton version, which was objectively terrible. And I thought the most recent trilogy was one of the best sci-fi sagas of this century so far. Consequently, my expectations were high for the latest installment, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Off-hand, I would say it mostly met those expectations without being quite as good its immediate predecessors. However, I usually end up rating these films higher after a second watch, so my estimate may rise on subsequent watches.
First, motion capture technology has gotten to the point at which the audience immediately accepts these digital apes as real without hesitation. Truly an incredible feat of modern movie making. The director, Wes Ball, whose work I am not familiar with, performed his duties competently, although the framing and cinematography weren't particularly special, unlike Rupert Wyatt's and Matt Reeves’s work in the previous trilogy.
The film effectively established the world and backstory—showing instead of telling—although the first 30 min. were a little slow because more was shown than was necessary to convey the points of Act I. This early pacing issue was magnified by the apes’ choppy speech. Since several generations had passed since the end of the last film, I think a normal, smooth “human” diction for the apes would have been believable and helped speed up that first act. When Act I reached its climax, however, the pacing picked up, and, overall, the film became gradually better from there.
There were few surprises, as the narrative beats were recognizable to the point at which an average person with a basic understanding of storytelling could guess the upcoming plot developments. But the plot points were executed well enough to avoid feeling cliche, and aside from a couple of moments that may have challenged the laws of physics, the flick sported few contrivances and no forced subversions of expectations. It felt like a throwback to a good time at the cinema.
The film raises one problematic question, though: Can the franchise go anywhere from here?
Let’s start with the lead human character Mae, who is properly introduced in Act II. Initially, she felt very much like a stand-in for Charleston Heston’s character from the original film. In many ways, it seemed the makers were introducing a version of Heston’s character, Taylor, but from the apes’ perspective instead of the humans’ perspective, goind so far to include a direct callback to one of the famous scenes from the original in which the apes hunt and round up the docile humans. In fact, at first, I thought that this movie was going to end up being a spin on the original, in which the only survivor of the space ship crash was the female astronaut, Stewart, instead of Taylor. That would have been an interesting way to re-mix the original—hearkening back to the familiar while also delivering something fresh.
But the filmmakers didn’t go that route. Instead, they’ve set up a background for more conflict between normal, intelligent humans and hyper-intelligent apes—a conflict which we’ve already seen in the last two movies. The last three, if we’re counting the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Meanwhile, War for the Planet of the Apes, which served as the closer of the previous trilogy, perfectly teed up the world that we saw in the 1968 original: post-apocalyptic landscapes, subordinate population of dumb humans, dominant population of intelligent apes. So, at the moment of War’s ending, the franchise options seemed to be either A) end it all, or B) reboot the original film. Instead, the makers of this new installment chose to craft a story that does nothing to keep the mythos interesting or moving forward. We’re essentially set up for more of what we’ve already seen. And if the studio decides to move forward with a remake of the original, they’ve already re-tread a lot of that ground in this movie, while employing what would have been an excellent device for keeping it fresh (swapping Taylor with a female protagonist). So, now, they’re either going to have to re-tread that ground again, contrive something to keep from the franchise from feeling like a re-hash, or avoid a reboot in favor of another continuation.
I think the only element from the original franchise that hasn’t been alluded to in the new films and that could be subsequently mined for future installments is the telepathic, A-bomb-worshipping mutants from Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Maybe they’re setting up a variation of that plot thread with this new group of intelligent humans we’ve been introduced to in the new movie. But for me, the mutants were the worst and weirdest element of the original film series, and a writing team would have to work a miracle to make that plot point palatable and believable within the framework of the new reboot continuity.
I give Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a 7/10, and I’ll be watching with cautious curiosity to see what comes next for the franchise.
What do you think? Have you seen this movie? If not, are you planning to see this movie? Are you interested in seeing the franchise continue? If so, where do you think it’s going go? Let us know in the comments or send us an email to randominerecords @ yahoo.com (no spaces), subject line: Words Like That.
Cole Powell is an arts and media commentator and award-winning singer/songwriter from Jayess, Mississippi, USA. Powell holds degrees in computer technology and liberal arts and sciences and wants to be a comic book artist when he grows up and learns to draw.