Three hundred years give or take after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, a peaceful clan of apes live in isolation and have mastered the art of using eagles to do their hunting. When his father is killed and his mother kidnapped by a group of savage apes lead by the tyrant Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), the young Noa (Owen Teague) sets out to get her back. Along the way, he crosses paths with a human named Mae (Freya Allan). But can Noa trust her, or does she have her own agenda?
Kingdom has a nice little thematic hook. If we view Caesar as say, George Washington, and Proximus is, uh… Donald Trump, it shows how politicians can twist history to meet their own ends, and we see how they keep the masses as ignorant as possible to help them achieve their goals. Director Wes (the Maze Runner movies) Ball wisely resists the temptation to beat the idea over the audience’s head, but it’s there if you look hard enough. (Also, unlike Trump, Proximus’ plan involves tearing down a wall instead of putting one up.)
The early scenes work best. Seeing Noa’s community’s daily routine is intriguing and his friendship with a knowledgeable ape named Raka (Peter Macon) is nicely developed. It’s also refreshing that Ball doesn’t try to breathlessly throw you into one mindless action scene after the other the way some directors of major tentpole summer movies do. In fact, it’s surprising just how quiet much of the film is, especially for the ninth part of a franchise.
And… well… maybe it’s a little too quiet at times. While I enjoyed the intimate scope and smallish scale of the film, I have to say I was expecting a little bit more fireworks here. That’s a minor quibble though. I mean they all can’t end with the Statue of Liberty in rubble or atomic bombs going off. While it may come up short compared to the previous trilogy of Apes films, it’s a solid flick through and through, and the final scene certainly holds promise for the future.
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