“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (2024) / Z-View

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

Director: Wes Ball

Screenplay: Josh Friedman, based on characters by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver premise from PLANET OF THE APES by Pierre Boulle

Stars: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, Travis Jeffery, Neil Sandilands, Karin Konoval and William H. Macy.

Tagline: No One Can Stop the Reign

The Plot…

The planet has been ruled by apes for generations.  Most apes live in small peaceful communities. Humans have lost the ability to speak. They survive in nomadic groups… not even organized enough to be called tribes.

One ape, Proximus Caesar has proclaimed himself king.  Proximus sends his warrior apes out to capture both apes and humans to be used as his slaves.  When Noa, a young ape, returns home one afternoon, he finds his village destroyed.  Proximus’ apes have killed or captured everyone.

Noa sets out to find and free his family.  Along the way he is joined by a wise orangutan named Raka and a human they name Nova.  What they don’t know is Nova hides a secret.

Their journey takes them to Proximus Caesar’s kingdom.  They learn that Proximus is close to breaking into an ancient human facility.  If he’s not stopped, Proximus will gain power to make him unbeatable.  But what chance do Noa, Raka and Nova have against a kingdom of apes?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I’ve been a fan of The Planet of the Apes franchise since the original was released in 1968.  There have been highs and lows, but I’m always along for the ride.

Quite a bit of time is used to set up Noa’s community life.  I wish we could have gotten to Proximus Caesar’s kingdom sooner and spent more time there.  I didn’t particularly care for Nova’s secret.  It was kind of obvious and then when the reveal came there wasn’t much time to explore the ramifications.  I guess THAT sets up the next sequel.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) rates 3 of 5 stars.