What’s It About
The new Apes movie is set many years after the conclusion of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. Many apes societies have grown from when the Moses-like Caesar brought his people to an oasis, while humans have been reduced to a feral-like existence. Some ape groups have never heard of Caesar, while others have contorted his teaching to build burgeoning empires. In this setting, one ape leader begins to enslave other groups to find human technology, while another ape, who watched his clan be taken, embarks on a journey to find freedom. A young human woman becomes key to the latter’s quest, although she has plans of her own.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a story about Noa, a young chimpanzee who lives in a tribe of apes in a mountainous wilderness many generations after Caesar’s death. He is the son of Koro, the Master of the Birds. We are introduced to his friends, Anaya and Soona, climbing cliffs to remove eggs from an eagle’s nest. Their tribe’s perfect life is threatened when Noa notices a feral human woman, and Koro sends out a scouting party to locate her. Noa follows them and encounters helmeted gorilla horse riders led by the savage Sylva, who attacks the eagle clan and kills Koro and many others while carrying off some as captives. Alone and determined to rescue them, Noa ventures out to find the captives, encountering Raka, an old orangutan who venerates Caesar’s teachings and intends to instruct Noa. They befriend Mae, a woman Noa had seen earlier, who reveals herself as intelligent and articulate, unlike others of her species. They resume the journey, only to encounter Sylva and his forces as they try to cross a bridge. Noa and Mae survive but are captured. Raka falls into the water and is presumed killed. They are taken to the realm of a land ruled by the vain tyrant, Proximus Caesar, an ape who styles himself as Caesar’s successor, though his ambitions are far different. Proximus is willing to sacrifice anything to open a gigantic vault that he believes houses human learning and technology that can help him prevail over any rivals and jump-start ape evolution. Mae, Noa, Anaya, and Soona undertake a mission to derail Proximus’ plans. Still, one of the conspirators has a secret agenda, and the explosive result is a flood threatening everyone. A final confrontation follows, showing that Noa has proven himself worthy of assuming his dead father’s leadership mantle in the tribe and the revelation that Mae isn’t the only human who’s avoided the debilitating effect of the virus. Overall, The motion-capture work is masterful, allowing the actors to give sensitive, soulful performances in their computer-generated ape suits, and although the CGI got messy in long shots, especially in the big finale, it’s barely noticeable within the beautiful filming locations.
OUR RATING – A HAIL CAESAR 8
MEDIA
- Genre – Fantasy
- Street date
- Digital – July 9, 2024
- Blu-Ray/DVD – August 27, 2024
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2.39:1
- Sound – English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks
- Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras
- Inside the Forbidden Zone: Making Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (HD 23:25)
- Deleted Scenes/Extended Scenes w/ Optional Commentary (HD 32:15)
- Noa, Soona, Anaya Climb First Ledge
- Noa, Soona, Anaya Post-Egg Climb
- Noa/Soona Hammock Talk Lightning & Sylva on Hunt
- Eagle Clan Prisoners
- Noa Dreams of Father
- Noa Meets Raka in Temple, Raka Shows Him Out
- Lightning & Sylva At Noa’s Campfire
- Noa & Raka Leave Airport
- Noa Chases Down Mae, Encounters Marauders
- Noa & Mae Talk About Dreams
- Entering Silo
- Anaya Stumbles
- Beach Walk – Ape Exodus
- Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut (HD 2:24:47)
- Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut Audio Commentary featuring Wes Ball, Dan Zimmerman, and Erik Winquist