In any film saga, no matter how successful the previous films have been, a fourth entry will always be playing with fire. 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a terrific picture that stands as one of the great remakes and a textbook example of how to “reboot” an older film. 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was equally excellent, as was 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. Seven years after the third film, we have the unnecessary Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a film that has a lot to admire, but too hollow a center to leave a lasting mark.

Written by Josh Friedman and directed by Wes Ball, this is certainly the best looking entry of the reboot saga, with location filming blended with properly used CGI giving realism to the surroundings and the apes that live and move among them. The film’s downfall is how there just isn’t enough story to fill its 2 1/2 hour run time. While certainly a visual wonder featuring some good performance capture work, this is the most bland of any Planet of the Apes film incarnation.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set generations after the death of Caesar; the film opening with his funeral. This entry focuses on a young ape named Noa (Owen Teague) and his friends, Anaya (Travis Jeffery) and Soona (Lydia Peckham). The trio are a part of the Eagle Clan who are so-named for their raising and training of eagles. Theirs is a peaceful existence until the village is attacked by a violent faction of masked apes, who burn the village, take the survivors as slaves, and leave Noa for dead.

Burying his father (whom he tried to save), Noa goes in search of his mother and friends, all who have been taken to the oceanside “kingdom” of Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who twists the teachings of Caesar to create an army that will work towards finding the long buried technology left behind by humanity.

During his travels, Noa encounters a wise and kind orangutan called Raka (Peter Macon giving the film’s one great performance) who teaches him about the real history of Caesar, a moral leader who wanted apes and man to coexist in peace. The two encounter a young human, Mae (a terrible Freya Allan), who scavenges on her own and seems to be following Noa. After some good scenes, Noah and Mae find themselves captured and brought to Proximus’ kingdom, to be his slaves. Mae is paired with another human, Trevathan (William H. Macy in a thankless role) while Noa is reunited with his mother and two best friends amongst the hundreds of slave apes.

There isn’t much to the screenplay beyond the basic plot, although screenwriter Friedman tries to throw in some clunky philosophical lessons. What exists is a scattershot of good moments wedged between endless scenes of climbing and running and climbing and running and climbing again.

Where are the battles, you ask? These are a cornerstone of almost every apes film, to be sure, but the few scenes of combat that exist here are underwhelming. The most exciting sequence (where Proximus’ ape army comes to round up human slaves) is visceral greatness, but is ultimately just an homage to Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 classic, playing out almost the same way. By the time Noa and Mae decide to fight back and free themselves and all of the captured apes, the picture builds to a rather unsatisfying conclusion full of more running and more climbing in an area filled with pipes and water. Writer Friedman co-scripted Avatar 2: The Way of Water, and basically plagiarizes himself with this unimaginative finale.

What does work (and works extremely well) is Daniel T. Dorrance’s fantastic production design and the cinematography from Gyula Pados. The mixture of real locations touched up by computer imagery is seamless and strikingly vibrant. The motion-capture work is flawless, as the apes look perfect. It is the screenplay that hampers any emotional connection to these characters. Each one is written at surface level and leaves a large dramatic hole once filled by Andy Serkis’ masterful work in the previous three installments.

Wes Ball is smart in letting this be a full-on apes story with the humans being secondary, save for Mae’s important role in the final act. Owen Teague does well enough as Noa, but the screenplay fails the character. As the film’s hero, his arc and the way he is written is weak. Kevin Durand’s Proximus Ceasar suffers the same fate; a king who yells a lot but has nothing to do. By the time the big payoff of revolt comes around, director Ball doesn’t know what to do. Again, lots of climbing and running, but nothing interesting is happening. The last act is overlong and cannot deliver the thrills that audiences have come to expect from the saga.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes lands with a semi-positive review. Ball’s film is a visual and technical marvel that will have wide-eyed audiences entranced by the visual splendor. The biggest downfall is a screenplay that doesn’t seem able to follow through on the grandiose themes the narrative raises early on. The inventiveness of the first three is sorely missing, as is the depth of their main character. While this fourth entry squeaks by, one can hope the next film will find the greatness this film side steps.

Perhaps Andy Serkis can return as a newer character and bring a spark of life to future apes pictures. Perchance to dream. Hail Ceasar.

 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Written by Josh Friedman (Based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver)

Directed by Wes Ball

Starring Owen Teague, Lydia Peckham, Travis Jeffery, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, Freya AllanEka Darville

PG-13, 145 Minutes, 20th Century Studios