Barring Tim Burton’s monumental misfire, I absolutely adore the Planet Of The Apes franchise from the Charlton Heston original through to the latest Caesar trilogy. Wes Ball’s 2024 entry, building off of the Caesar trilogy of Rise/Dawn/War, is one of my very favorite films of the year and continues to push the envelope of a franchise that has been challenging audiences for over 50 years. I’d argue that Kingdom does an incredible number of things that I wish other franchises would have the confidence to do, and which make this feel like something I will personally treasure each time I revisit my beloved Apes films.
First of all, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes is a full blown sequel. It’s not a legasequel or a “meta” take or an attempt at building out a cinematic universe. It simply allows the hero of the previous trilogy to stay dead, and to honor his legacy and tell a story that truly builds off of the world that Caesar created. But it has the courage to move on and introduce us to an entirely new cast of characters and set itself “many generations” into the future. I’m still a fan of the Star Wars universe and watch much of that never ending content, but I’ve been hearing for years that audiences and creators want to explore unknown corners of the Star Wars universe and yet most of what comes out remains tied to some of the major characters with forced cameos and a seeming unwillingness to see what the FUTURE of the Star Wars universe should be. Not so with the Apes franchise. Each film twists and turns and almost backs the creators into a corner with the big swings the stories take. Kingdom boldly goes where so many other universes don’t: forward.
And how quickly it succeeds! Before the title card, we’ve already been introduced to our new protagonist Noa (Owen Teague), and his Eagle Clan tribe. A coming of age narrative, Kingdom draws me in immediately with impeccable world-building and character work. We meet Noa and his friends as they prepare to undergo a coming of age ceremony in which they must obtain an eagle egg and then raise it to be their own. Visually, we see an incredible post-apocalyptic world that is so far removed from our present day as to have gone full circle back into being beautiful, if full of hulking remains the earth is slowly reclaiming. We see a culture forming among Noa and his people that follows the logical consequences of the world that was formed during Caesar’s story. While we loved Caesar, Maurice, Rocket, and even the villain Koba in the prior trilogy, Ball and his team are confident enough in their own story and characters to merely let the consequences of their actions be the effective roots of this generations-later tale.
Almost biblical in its scope and scale, Kingdom introduces us to the rich and complicated antagonist Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) and his army of soldiers who evoke the name of Caesar, and bear his symbol, and purport to act in his will. But as an audience we know they represent a corruption of this franchise’s core idea “Apes together strong”. But while our villains carry out blasphemy in Caesars’ name, our hero Noa knows almost nothing of the past, nothing of Caesar. He’s on a traditional hero’s journey. Somewhat of an empty vessel who must be filled up through the adventures we’ll witness in this tale. He must learn about Caesar, and learn the truth of what it means to lead, to risk, to trust, and to be betrayed. The team behind Kingdom certainly has to adhere to some blockbuster franchise tropes, but this generations later approach, and the theological nature of this tale, feels deeper and more free than so many franchises that feel doomed to repeat the old hits for all eternity.
Where the Caesar trilogy had pretty disposable human characters who swapped out from entry to entry, Ball seems interested in really developing Freya Allan’s Mae as a dual lead here, where if given the chance, a new trilogy might follow both Noa and Mae as a new dynamic is developed between Ape and Man, and as the franchise itself explores and determines what will be next for the two species most prevalent in this world. I liked the ever-changing nature of Mae’s character here; always a mystery. The same is true of the franchise itself. No one really knows if it feels beholden to re-tread the Heston original in future installments or if it will continue the boldness of this entry and chart new territory for the future of Man and Ape. I hope for the latter, personally.
There’s so much to adore in Kingdom Of The Planet of The Apes, from the visual effects (stellar, boundary-pushing stuff) to the motion capture performances (game-changing), to the big action set pieces that advance our characters with great pacing, to world-building details that fill the film top to bottom with authenticity that makes this fantastical world feel real. No major studio franchise is cranking out thrilling and exciting sci-fi spectacle designed for the masses which also goes hard pushing ideas about religion, legacy, and loyalty, the way that the Apes franchise has managed to go across a remarkable 10 entries over 50+ years. Kingdom doesn’t simply honor the legacy of this boundary pushing franchise, it stands on its own as one of the best entries. And I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Noa and Mae and ape and humankind.
The Package
I happened to get a brand new 4K tv for myself and by chance, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes was the first 4K UHD I had the opportunity to experience on my new set up. Anyone who saw the film in theaters will know that it is a watershed motion picture featuring visual effects spectacle that is wholly immersive and convincing. It was honestly overwhelming to experience such incredible visuals at home on my new 4K set up. It looks and sounds impossibly good.
But the much discussed “raw cut” of Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes is the key selling point for this home video release and as if my love for the film itself wasn’t enough reason to recommend this 4K disc, I’m here to tell you that I’ve simply never experienced anything like what the raw cut offers in terms of bonus features on home video. Many of us have been home video enthusiasts since the days of VHS, and some have been indulging in features like Directors’ commentaries and behind the scenes featurettes for over a quarter of a century now. It would seem there is nothing new to be offered in this increasingly niche field, right? Wrong. A wildly stimulating and almost overwhelming experience, the Raw Cut bonus feature (only on the Blu-ray disc, not on the 4K disc here) shows you the entire film on the top of the screen, matched to the raw (no-VFX) shots used in the final cut of the film on the bottom of the screen. A viewer is able to watch the entire film that way, along with an audio commentary track, and the experience is simply magical for cinephiles to understand on a deeper level the magic of visual effects, world building, motion capture performances, and more. I’ve never seen anything quite like it and this single bonus feature is so remarkable it’s almost worth recommending this physical media release based on its merits alone.
I know I’m a little more hot on Kingdom than many critics and fans were, although it did well at the box office and almost certainly proved itself enough to continue the narrative based off of its own strengths. But what I’ve tried to lay out here is why the film worked so well for me personally and why the bold swings it takes mean so much to me. You could do a lot worse than to experience this remarkable entry in a historic franchise on this pristine 4K release. I highly recommend the film and the disc as examples of franchise storytelling and niche physical media releases that continue to push the boundaries of what is possible and show us something new.
And I’m Out.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes hit 4K UHD August 27th, 2024 from 20th Century Studios.
