Susan Granger’s review of “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Studios/Disney)
Opening with a brief funereal prologue, mourning the death of the peaceful prophet known as Caesar (Andy Serkis), this sci-fi fantasy skips ahead to “many generations later” – as primates rose to power after a virus deprived humans of their intellect and ability to speak.
Deep in the jungle, Noa (Owen Teague) is coming of age. His chimpanzee clan breeds eagles and is renowned for their falconry expertise. One day – as he and his friends are climbing steep cliffs, searching for coveted eagle eggs – his peaceful village is invaded by armored ape horsemen who capture his family and friends.
Determined to find and free them, daring Noa ventures into forbidden coastal territory where he’s befriended by wise old orangutan Raka (Peter Macon), a faithful follower of now-mythic Caesar with his “ape not kill ape” legacy, and Mae (Freya Allan), a mysteriously mercurial human female on a mission.
Their nemesis is Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), the dominating bonobo King who is determined to break down the huge iron door of an ancient seaside fortress to retrieve hidden treasure locked inside
Chanting “Apes together strong,” he’s counseled by treacherous, opportunistic Trevathan (William H. Macy), a scholarly human scavenger.
Cleverly scripted by Josh Friedman (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) with ape-verse producers Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, it’s adroitly directed by Wes Ball (“The Maze Runner”), utilizing Peter Jackson’s Weta FX Company’s now-perfected performance-capture technology to ‘humanize’ simian characters as the thought-provoking, suspenseful plot progresses.
Kudos also to cinematographer Gyula Pados, special consultant Andy Serkis and Daniel T. Dorrance’s imaginatively crafted production design, filled with evocative, emotional details referencing previous productions, harking back to Charlton Heston’s launch of the franchise back in 1968.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is an epic, adventurous 8, playing in theaters.
