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<\/p>\nMore monkey business. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is another reboot \u2026 reset \u2026 reconfiguration of the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes, which starred Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall. In fact, this is the tenth picture in the extended franchise (and was mostly shot in Australia). But does it live up to expectations? \u201cYes\u201d and \u201cno\u201d, but more of that later.<\/p>\n
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The story takes place several generations after the great ape Caesar died. He was the one who oversaw simians and mankind living in harmony. But things have since gone backwards. Noa (Owen Teague) is a young ape who knows nothing of the outside world or about Caesar. He lives in a busy clan that sings to and trains eagles to fish for them. The group\u2019s rite of passage begins when the young are tasked with securing eagle eggs high up in the mountains and then nurturing them. Noa\u2019s imminent coming of age ceremony is upset by the arrival of a human female named Mae (Freya Allen). Their encounter results in Noa undertaking a grand and dangerous adventure.<\/p>\n
He first encounters a wise old ape called Raka (Peter Macon), an orangutan who remembers Caesar\u2019s teachings of decency and morality. Raka preaches tolerance and peace. Noa\u2019s adversary is a powerful and imposing gorilla named Sylva (Eka Darville), who heads an ape army. His army is beholden to the narcissistic Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who craves technological knowledge that Mae has. He has embarked on a quest to capture her, and tasked Sylva to bring her in. Sylva will stop at nothing to track Mae down and that includes raiding and torching other clans – like Noa\u2019s. When his family and friends are captured, Noa is determined to fight back. At the same time, he has a decidedly uneasy relationship with the smart Mae. He doesn\u2019t know whether he can trust her. Also in the picture is human captive Trevathan (William H. Macy), who accepts the new status quo in which apes rule \u2026 and teaches the primates history.<\/p>\n
Wes Ball (The Maze Runner<\/a> series) directs Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes from a script by Josh Friedman (Avatar: The Way of Water<\/a>). It\u2019s undoubtedly a good looker. The visuals are impressive. Cinematographer Gyula Pados (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle<\/a>) has done a fine job. The sound design adds to the gravitas in the film. I enjoyed the tentative \u201cdance\u201d between Mae and Noa, which carried on throughout the film, as the pair continued to feel each other out. Noa gains insights as the narrative evolves, while Mae appears to want to reestablish human control \u2026 or does she?<\/p>\n