Apes Repeat Human Mistakes In ‘Kingdom’

The fourth installment in the modern “Planet of the Apes” movie series, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” kicks off a possible new saga.

The newest film is the 10th movie in the series of “Apes” films. It was started in 1968 with the original “Planet of the Apes,” followed by another four films. Tim Burton rebooted the original in 2001 under the same name and faced heavy criticism, although his version remained true to Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel. It seemed as though the ending to the original movie was liked far better than the novel’s ending, which makes sense, as the film’s final shot has become one of the most classic shots in all of sci-fi media.

The newest trilogy, which ended with 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes,” served as a prequel for the original five films, following Caesar (Andy Serkis), the leader of the chimpanzee takeover of Earth after years of cruelty from humans. The newest entry, “Kingdom,” takes place, as said in the film, “many generations later.”

“Kingdom” follows Noa (Owen Teague), a young chimpanzee whose clan keeps and trains birds. The appearance of a human (Freya Allan) in his village leads to the murder of his father and the enslavement of his clan by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), a power-hungry chimp who twists the original Caesar’s name. On his journey to find justice for his father and save his people, Noa encounters Raka (Peter Macon), an orangutan who has dedicated his life to preserving Caesar’s teachings. By the time he reaches Proximus’s so-called “Kingdom,” Noa realizes the dangers of humans, but also the threat other apes pose to the security and survival of the species.

“Kingdom” uses CGI technology to create realistic apes, which is a truly impressive technique. In fact, the trilogy, “Rise,” “Dawn,” and “War,” all used this technology. For “Dawn,” an entirely new technology was created to shoot on location. Actors wear special suits and perform in enclosed, camera-covered rooms, which would allow the environment to be digitally added. The new technology allowed “Dawn,” “War,” and now, “Kingdom,” to be almost entirely filmed on site, with actors merely having to wear suits and act like apes. The CGI added in post-production created hyper-realistic apes, and it is inconceivable that none of the movies in the trilogy received any academy awards, including achievement in visual effects.

This film created a believable world that was so different from, but at the same time, very obviously, Earth. The main themes of the movie were, of course, human’s destruction of the planet and, a bit more subtle, the twisting of religion and how dangerous it can be.

Although the characters we are watching on the big screen are apes, they think and act like humans, sharing our core values. Both Raka and Proximus follow the teachings of Caesar, but only Raka is faithful to his word. Proximus doesn’t change what Caesar said, but rather preaches what he believes is relevant to his world. When he first met Raka, Noa had no idea who Caesar was, which is most likely true for most apes in this world. Raka teaches the young chimp what Caesar taught, and when Noa meets Proximus and hears his interpretation of the teachings, he doesn’t know which is true.

Although it is the weakest of the newer “Planet of the Apes” movies, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is a welcome kickstart to the saga. Even though it does not include Andy Serkis, who was arguably one of the best parts of the other three, “Kingdom” is by no means a bad stand-alone movie.