Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

 

The weather is starting to heat up (boo) and so are the summer film releases.  This week’s trip to the movie theater had me taking in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise.  Kingdom picks up briefly where War for the Planets of the Apes leaves off then picks up many generations later as we find out what Caesar’s legacy has wrought.

The good news is with a two-hour twenty-five-minute runtime, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes succeeds in delivering a visually rich, drama punctuated with great action filled sequences. The cinematography is stunning, and the film pops off the screen making for a rich world building experience. 

Overall, I feel Kingdom delivers an entertaining sequel worthy of the previous trilogy. 

Worthy but a lesser film for my money.

The film does drag, and you feel the slow pacing throughout.  There’s also a basic lack of reason/explanation.  I’m not sure why this has become a trend, but Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the latest film to through a bunch a stuff at the audience leaving you wondering about the who, what, why, how for seventy-five percent of the film only to give you a rushed, unsatisfactory answer during the last twenty-five percent of the movie. The result makes for a much thinner, less gratifying storyline.

Adding to this issue for me is the lack of characterization this go around.  We have an all-new group of characters but there isn’t much development or depth given to them.  Things are left very surface level and there’s not a lot to grab on to make you invested in their plight other than the setup of this is our hero so care about him. This is our villain so root against him. A couple of characters started to really pique my interest but are too quickly disposed of so ultimately don’t go anywhere. They’re too flat and generic. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes definitely feels like the beginning of a new trilogy and while it works well as an introduction for what lies ahead, it definitely feels hollow.  I liked it but didn’t love it and find that the more I think about it the less taken I am with the film as a whole. This is a tricky one for me.

Taking into consideration for the potential for the franchise as well as the actual film itself, I’m going to give Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a generous 7 - 7.5

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