KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2024)
Time for a computer generated ape empire double feature, which for some reason was a thing this year. While I will get to yet another King Kong feature shortly it's obvious that both of these franchises have already reached the limit of what's possible in prior instalments. The potential fourth part in a trilogy is usually ill-advised even if there are some ideas here that mean it's not as easy to dismiss it straight away. The issue is that said ideas are often scarce or spread over an unwieldy running time. Kong and Godzilla had solo movies then a big confrontation, so there wasn't much else left to say. Caesar's story came to an end. But as ever the movies keep coming.
Spoilers for War for the Planet of the Apes - Caesar played by Andy Serkis died. He led his people out of captivity and that was it. However, even when the opening of this film shows his funeral to make this abundantly clear they couldn't leave it alone. Letting the series lie in the ground peacefully wasn't an option so here we are. But without Serkis or the other film-makers where else is there to go? Beyond an obvious through-line that will lead to another direct remake of the Charlton Heston movie that is. The results aren't a total failure but it does come across as a bunch of separate ideas put together without enough depth or personality.
Our leads this time are the ape Noa (Owen Teague) and the human Mae (Freya Allan), neither of whom have any substance or charisma. There are a lot of other characters involved but the standout performances are from Kevin Duran as ape overlord Proximus and Peter Macon as ape preacher Raka. Unfortunately these two opposing figures never meet despite the obvious connection; they know of Caesar and the history of the world and use this knowledge for very different goals. It's never clear why the potential for conflict is never explored, but as a result each chapter of the story comes across as very detached and Noa just isn't interesting enough to bridge the gaps.
The main story involves his eagle rearing clan being attacked by the warriors serving Proximus 'many generations' after the last movie. There are some simplistic coming of age ideas as Noa struggles to become an adult in his tribe, but the first act often looks like a video-game as he searches the highest peak in the region for an egg. This rite of passage is soon cut short which leads into a road trip with Raka, before it becomes yet another escape from servitude in the finale. The effects are as good as they've ever been but something about the production design is oddly weightless and lacking grit.
The elements that offer some real food for thought come and go, mainly with the introduction of Raka and later Proximus. Both are potential father figures for Noa, both offer differing outlooks on the human survivors, and both wield knowledge in different ways. But as a lead he's just too bland and never really expresses his own thoughts on past or current events. Meanwhile Mae clearly has other reasons for tagging along (given away early since her clothes are not feral rags) setting up the same old issue of trust between human and ape. It's a shame since all these half-formed themes and ideas are so rushed so that a finale in an abandoned bunker can get underway.
Ideas comes and go, characters arrive, leave, vanish for long periods, or simply die before doing anything interesting. Individual set pieces are pretty good and things like climbing and flooding sequences are engaging. Why a military silo was built at sea level on a beach is a mystery, and so is the reason the water travelled to the upper floors. But as spectacle this is still entertaining and well paced, even if the opening might seem a little long. The world building is interesting and the visuals are impressive, it's just a shame that all these other elements are so baggy and lack cohesion as a whole.
Which in the ends sums up the experience which is a mixed bag overall. Was this made to explore good ideas and introduce good characters in a well written story... or just to keep the IP relevant? Any one of the threads presented here; the legacy of a religious figure, the problems posed by the rule of a tyrant, the preservation of science and language, could have been a whole movie by itself. But without any character chemistry and a solid core idea it's just a road trip with various disparate stops along the way. It's not terrible but it's not great, which is a peculiar starting point for yet more sequels further down the line.
3/5
BONUS REVIEW
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE (2024)
Elsewhere it's time to take a trip back to the appropriately named 'Hollow Earth'. Which was ridiculous last time around and remains so in a series that seems to have become a toy selling machine rather than anything thought provoking. Which is perfectly fine with the right tone and the right pacing, if that's the kind of blockbuster you're looking for. Godzilla as a series has often been fairly dumbed down in the past so it's not entirely surprising to see it back in tropical island mode. Even if now it's not because the budget has been cut. There are magic crystals, subterranean worlds, ships from unmade Dune concepts, and monster dentists...
Some might have called the cast of Godzilla: Minus One shallow or archetypal, but here they are firmly one-dimensional. Scientist Dr. Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and her adopted daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) are still here, in a vain attempt to present this all as a family centric story. Most of the previous cast have been jettisoned but comedy-relief podcast host Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) is still here for some reason. However, just in case the Saturday morning cartoon vibe wasn't obvious the newcomers include gleeful monster vet Trapper (Dan Stevens) and irate pilot Mikael (Alex Ferns). As ever the ensemble follows various absurd set pieces and ape-to-ape combat scenes.
The CGI may be good but it's often strangely slippery and plastic-like. Any real plot is delivered through a series of mind-numbing exposition dumps and laboured discussions about an evil ape king and an ancient prophecy. But when locations such as Cairo and Rio and flattened without remorse (despite many shots of screaming crowds) why even try to pretend this is a serious affair? A lot of this is obviously just a dumb comedy so world building is a waste of time. When the characters from Monarch are absent a fun story about Kong and his underground domain plays out, which is clearly what the film-makers were most interested in. Which means that ultimately it does exactly what it says on the tin and nothing more.
3/5
