ReviewKingdom of the Planet of the Apes movie review: looks great, but story of Freya Allan teaming up with apes is too slow

Name: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | Final Trailer
Uploaded: 2024-05-08T15:00:27.000Z
Description: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | Final Trailer

Many generations on from where the last Planet of the Apes movie left off, a group of apes and a human hunt down a tyrannical ape ruler, voiced by Kevin Durand

The computer graphics are impressive, and the pacing allows for nice slow-burn moments, but the film drags at key moments and is ultimately unfulfilling

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Noa (left, played Owen Teague) in a still from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (category IIA), directed by Wes Ball and co-starring Freya Allan and Kevin Durand. Photo: 20th Century Studios

James Mottram

Published: 11:00pm, 8 May 2024Updated: 12:38am, 9 May 2024

3/5 stars

Seven years after War of the Planet of the Apes brought the rebooted “man versus monkeys” series to an apparent close, the simians are back.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins with the funeral of Caesar, the dignified leader who died in sacrifice for the ape cause, before moving forward “many generations” to a time when these talking apes are now the dominant species.

The humans that are left are feral and mute, infected by a man-made virus that spread across the globe.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | Final Trailer

Directed by Wes Ball, who was behind The Maze Runner series, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes tries to do something similar to the recent Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which relegates humans to supporting roles and lets the creatures do the fighting.

Here we meet Noa (Owen Teague), a young hunter chimpanzee who lives in a peaceful community until a rival clan storms in, setting fire to his village and enslaving its inhabitants.