Film review: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
A review of the tenth film in the Planet of the Apes franchise.
The cinema’s air conditioning is a welcomed surprise as my dad and I step in from the 23ºC outdoors. The building is a year older than me and hasn’t changed a bit since its grand opening, right down to the 1990s patterned carpet. My dad has never been here before, he’s visiting me this time, and we’re both looking forward to seeing how Wes Ball will bring us back to the Planet of the Apes.
*If you have not seen the trilogy reboot of Planet of the Apes you will struggle with this film. While it’s a standalone piece, there are many references to the trilogy and it will really benefit you to have watched the previous films. They are all currently available on Disney+, so give them a watch before you head to the cinema!*
From hereon in I will refer to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes as KOPOTA, as my dad so affectionately named it (pronouncing it “ka-po-ta”), to save us all some time.
Set 300 years after War for the Planet of the Apes, the series’ latest film follows new characters, explores a developed ape-led world and pays homage to the franchise’s roots.
The story follows Noa, a younger ape of the “Eagle Clan” which trains birds and lives in the forest, in fear of “echoes” - humans. When we meet Noa, he is stealing eggs from an eagle to be used in his “bonding ceremony”, clearly an important affair for his tribe but particularly him, as the son of the clan’s leader.
Caesar, the main character in the rebooted POTA trilogy, holds a strong presence in the film and has become a religious-like figure over the generations. In KOPOTA we see how different groups have interpreted Caesar’s ways, with some using his name for their own benefit.
This includes Proximus Caesar’s clan, who attack the Eagle Clan in a bid to take prisoners. This is where Noa’s adventure begins, as he narrowly escapes capture and must track down and rescue his loved ones. Of course, we meet some new characters along the way, but I won’t give away too much…
Now, I am a big fan of the POTA franchise - including the original films and Tim Burton’s standalone movie - so I was a little worried going into this… did we really need another film?
That answer is “no”, but I thoroughly enjoyed KOPOTA. The first half of the film is steadily paced while it lays out the plot and touches on what has happened over the past three centuries, and at times I felt the storyline was a bit choppy with a lot of different things happening in quick succession. With all of that said, I had so much fun watching this.
The VFX were excellent, the characters well plotted and I felt it gave a nod to POTA’s 1960s roots, particularly in some of the music choices and scenery. I actually enjoyed the slower first half; while it was not particularly action-packed it was interesting to learn how the world had developed in those 300 years since the last film took place.
We didn’t see it in IMAX (remember when I said my cinema hadn’t changed a bit?), but I would recommend you do so if you can. I’m sure the picture and sound design will be incredible on a bigger screen with more powerful speakers.
KOPOTA will likely not be the best POTA film you’ll ever see - to be fair the rebooted trilogy was a masterpiece, so it had some big shoes to fill - but it’s lots of fun and is a great reason to pay a visit to your local cinema. It’s a good standalone and it’s left some room for a potential follow-up film too, so there may be more to see from our primate pals…
Have you seen KOPOTA yet? What did you think? And what is your favourite Planet of the Apes film of all time?
I didn’t realise there were ten films! I’m sure my husband will drag me to see this one and I’m glad it is entertaining. 😅 I lost my father this year so what a blessing for you to share this cinema experience with him. 🫶🏻🥰 Thanks for the review.