Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
2024 · Directed by Wes Ball
Original language: English
- science fiction
- adventure
- action
The story
Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all he's known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
What it’s like
Wide, sun-bleached landscapes dominate this film: overgrown ruins of San Francisco swallowed by green, rolling forests, and huge open vistas of sky and river that give the apes' world a grand, lived-in scale. The camerawork is mostly steady and composed, with long tracking shots through canopy and across open ground, and the motion-capture performances are rendered with a naturalistic warmth that makes the apes' faces feel expressive rather than uncanny. The score swells with orchestral brass and percussion in the big moments and drops to quiet, reflective strings in the calmer stretches, while birdsong and wind carry the ambient layer. Its vibe is epic but earnest, a blend of wonder and unease, and the pacing is deliberate, building through long stretches of travel and observation before sharp bursts of action. Violence is present and fairly intense: battles with spears, fists and bows, some blood, and a few brutal confrontations, though it stays short of gore. Emotionally it follows a young ape learning hard truths about his inheritance and choosing where his loyalties lie. It suits viewers who enjoy big-scale science fiction, fallen-civilisation landscapes, and a thoughtful story about power and belief, rather than anyone seeking something gentle.
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