Movie Thoughts: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

• Released: May 8, 2024
  
• Directed by: Wes Ball
• Running time: 1h 25min
• Rating 3.5/5

Synopsis

Many generations after Caesar's death, a chimpanzee named Noa is in peril after his clan gets captured by a rival kingdom of apes, which is insistent on accessing a mysterious vault. Noa is joined on his journey by an orangutan named Raka and a human named Mae.

My Thoughts

Okay so when I am posting this I will not have posted my Movie Thoughts for the other Apes movies yet, but they are coming. But I have already seen them (the 2010s trilogy, I mean) and noted down my thoughts.

This movie is a bit of a reboot for the series, while also being a continuation. However it can be watched separately without having seen the prior trilogy and still be enjoyed (proof: my Dad went into it like this and understood things fine). 

Overall I had a great time watching this movie. It's probably not my favorite of the series, but it does a lot of things right and I like it better than War of the Planet of the Apes. I really found myself liking the characters and getting into the story, while also being continually impressed by the great visuals of the movie. They really have perfected the looks and movements of these apes by now. I also really gotta give a shout-out to the animation and design of the eagles: they look great as well.

I also really liked the acting and think the actors did a great job. I particularly thought whoever played the villain Proximus Caesar did a great job. The same goes for Raka's actor, but overall I think most of the acting was really good.

The characters really stole the show for me this time around, though. They were already good in previous Apes movies, but I especially found myself getting attached to apes like Noa, Raka, Soona and Anaya. And while I'm not the biggest fan of the human subplots in the apes films, I think Mae was an interesting and nuanced character as well. My favorite character had to be Raka, though. I don't know what it is about these movies, but they always make the orangutans the best characters.

I also just want to say that after three movies of very little female characters of note, this fourth installment in the modern series at last introduces quite a few major female characters. The previous Apes films always felt a bit lacking in that department. But they finally rectified that here which is nice.

Overall this was a pretty darn good movie if you ask me. Maybe not the best in the Apes series, but still a strong installment. The ending leaves room open for a sequel, so I look forward to what comes next.