Fifty-five years, 10 films and two TV shows later, “Planet of the Apes” is, somehow, still as breathtaking as the first time we met Cornelius and Zira.
The fantastic “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which comes seven years after the last movie, “War for the Planet of the Apes,” continues this damn dirty science-fiction franchise’s reign as one of the best out there.
Directed with visual splendor by Wes Ball, the meaty film’s combo of flawless zoological effects (unlike this year’s inferior primate picture “Godzilla x Kong”), superbly crafted characters and a timeless story of emerging civilization and the fight for survival is remarkably riveting for what sets the groundwork of a whole new trilogy.
This enduring series proves that, when handled properly, you just can’t beat talking monkeys.
And yap, they do. “Kingdom,” thank God, marks the first entry in the reboot-prequel-whatever-this-is series to actually take place on the futuristic earth populated by super-intelligent chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans that we loved from the old Roddy McDowall films.
Teasingly peeling back the banana, Ball’s film shrewdly forges connections to the classic 1968 original in clever ways. The score nods to Jerry Goldsmith’s memorable drum- and horn-heavy music and we reunite with some iconic imagery, both nostalgic and ominous.
Caesar — Andy Serkis’ brilliant monkey creation who became smart after a lab-leaked virus spread around the globe in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and then led his species’ violent revolution — is now dead and gone.
No matter. The plot advances “many generations later,” where every monkey chats, and disparate clans occupy an overgrown earth. The memory of alpha humans is a long-forgotten myth, and the few remaining guys and dolls can no longer speak.
Our Curious George is Noa (Owen Teague), the sensitive son of a peaceful tribe’s leader, known for taming eagles and hunting with them.
Scrappy Noa becomes an unwilling hero after his village is sacked by ruthless gorillas, and he goes on a journey to find his captured friends and family.
Journeying on horseback — remember those simians in the saddle? — he finds Raka (Peter Macon), a funny orangutan historian with a soft spot for mankind, and Mae (Freya Allan), a mysterious human woman with sneaky motivations.
At first, you’ll think Mae is awfully well put-together for a nomadic person who lives in the woods and doesn’t use conditioner, but her beautifully manicured eyebrows become less brow-raising later on.
On a familiar beach, Noa encounters a snarling love-to-hate villain in Proximus (Kevin Durand), a self-styled king who’s worshipped by helpless apes he’s kidnapped to do his bidding. Proximus also keeps a sniveling, traitorous human (William H. Macy) around to help crack open a giant cliffside vault.
As much as “Kingdom” borrows from the 1968 film, Ball has also clearly been influenced by what’s come since in the genre. For instance, the interplay of recognizably modern machines and nature, and skirmishes between indigenous peoples and nefarious men, make this into something of an “Ape-atar.”
That’s great. The merging of innovation and iconography is what keeps the film fresh.
I’m no fan of franchises that overstay their welcome — hi, “Jurassic Park”! — but if “Planet of the Apes” can continue to keep up this level of quality, it doesn’t yet deserve the kong.
Rather, gong.
