The well-laid-out and often quite beautiful Planet of the Apes prequel "trilogy" now gets a fourth installment -- namely Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Needless to say, I didn't see the use for it; having now watched it, I feel about the same, even if I appreciate the attempt to mimic the weight and patience of Matt Reeves' films -- as well as their seminal VFX work.
However, there are certain downgrades. Instead of Andy Serkis' iconic mocap performances as Caesar the ape, the new movie treats us to comparatively unmemorable sapient simians. Instead of trusting audiences can pay attention to a film that's largely silent and reliant on sign language (part of why 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes was my favorite of the bunch), the apes in this one talk up a storm. (They don't perform "Dr. Zaius", alas.)
So basically, at this point in the timeline, we are closer to the future that Charlton Heston saw in the original Planet of the Apes -- which, of course, he at first thought was an alien planet in his own time, learning the truth in what might be the most spoiled and unconcealable twist in cinematic history (yes, possibly including Luke's relationship with Darth Vader and the significance of Kane's last words).
As the movie begins, apes have all but seized control of the Earth. Those human colonies we saw in the prior film are wiped out and what few humans remain are feral -- for the most part. One exception is William H. Macy's character, Trevathan, who teaches the vicious ape leader Proximus Caesar of the old world.
Another important player is Mae, a human who befriends our hero, a young ape warrior named Noa. Mae, too, can communicate just fine, which startles a friendly, knowledgeable orangutan in one of the funnier scenes. Noa's loved ones have been taken; Mae, or "Nova" as she is nicknamed, knows where to go.
The movie has appreciably better action sequences than a lot of other blockbusters, managing to make these scenes of CGI animals going at it seem more real, weighty, and tactile than many modern action scenes that feature real humans. (They also mop the floor with recent action sequences that do primarily involve an onslaught of CGI creations -- see last year's astoundingly soulless Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.) And while we're talking of the CGI, the animation of the animals still manages to be quite astonishing to look at, even as we've grown used to seeing computers produce photorealistic apes and monkeys.
It does still look a bit "off" to see these seemingly real animals speak with human mouth movements -- yet, I feel as if their facial expressions and emotive subtleties are even more impressive than in the prior films. Several years ago, in my review of the Jungle Book remake, I wrote that talking animals are never going to look wholly natural. Now, I'd say we're getting there.
In short, it's a fairly enjoyable blockbuster. Even so, I can't imagine we'll remember anything from it quite like we remember those pivotal moments from the older films. Matt Reeves gave us a mute girl bonding with a gorilla over the beauty found in nature, distilled in a single tree blossom. Matt Reeves gave us the paralyzing sequence from the first film in the trilogy where Caesar speaks for the first time. Matt Reeves gave us Kobo. Nothing here is at that level, but I say check it out.
However, there are certain downgrades. Instead of Andy Serkis' iconic mocap performances as Caesar the ape, the new movie treats us to comparatively unmemorable sapient simians. Instead of trusting audiences can pay attention to a film that's largely silent and reliant on sign language (part of why 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes was my favorite of the bunch), the apes in this one talk up a storm. (They don't perform "Dr. Zaius", alas.)
So basically, at this point in the timeline, we are closer to the future that Charlton Heston saw in the original Planet of the Apes -- which, of course, he at first thought was an alien planet in his own time, learning the truth in what might be the most spoiled and unconcealable twist in cinematic history (yes, possibly including Luke's relationship with Darth Vader and the significance of Kane's last words).
As the movie begins, apes have all but seized control of the Earth. Those human colonies we saw in the prior film are wiped out and what few humans remain are feral -- for the most part. One exception is William H. Macy's character, Trevathan, who teaches the vicious ape leader Proximus Caesar of the old world.
Another important player is Mae, a human who befriends our hero, a young ape warrior named Noa. Mae, too, can communicate just fine, which startles a friendly, knowledgeable orangutan in one of the funnier scenes. Noa's loved ones have been taken; Mae, or "Nova" as she is nicknamed, knows where to go.
The movie has appreciably better action sequences than a lot of other blockbusters, managing to make these scenes of CGI animals going at it seem more real, weighty, and tactile than many modern action scenes that feature real humans. (They also mop the floor with recent action sequences that do primarily involve an onslaught of CGI creations -- see last year's astoundingly soulless Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.) And while we're talking of the CGI, the animation of the animals still manages to be quite astonishing to look at, even as we've grown used to seeing computers produce photorealistic apes and monkeys.
It does still look a bit "off" to see these seemingly real animals speak with human mouth movements -- yet, I feel as if their facial expressions and emotive subtleties are even more impressive than in the prior films. Several years ago, in my review of the Jungle Book remake, I wrote that talking animals are never going to look wholly natural. Now, I'd say we're getting there.
In short, it's a fairly enjoyable blockbuster. Even so, I can't imagine we'll remember anything from it quite like we remember those pivotal moments from the older films. Matt Reeves gave us a mute girl bonding with a gorilla over the beauty found in nature, distilled in a single tree blossom. Matt Reeves gave us the paralyzing sequence from the first film in the trilogy where Caesar speaks for the first time. Matt Reeves gave us Kobo. Nothing here is at that level, but I say check it out.