Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - 4K Digital Review

Movie
The Planet of the Apes franchise has been one of large popularity, turmoil, and more retconning than you could shake a stick at. The original 1968 film with Charlton Heston was absolutely ground breaking sci-fi, with some of the best special effects and practical makeup applications of the time. People may not remember (and even myself, as I wasn’t born then) but Planet of the Apes was a HUGE thing back in the 60s. The ending was a shock twist based upon the fear of nuclear annihilation that was still present in the 50s and 60s, as well as an interesting take on what would happen if humanity was not the dominant species anymore. However, like all films that become super popular, the lure of sequels appealed to the dollar signs in studio executives eyes, and 54 more sequels were penned for the next several years. What came next was a back and forth seesawing, with one film being written to allow the audience to sympathize with the apes, and the next having them sympathize with the humans. And around and round it went until in 1973 they decided “enough was enough” and let the series die out.

However, that didn’t stop Hollywood, as in 2001 they tried one more time to reboot the franchise with Marky Mark at the helm. Sadly (I was one of the five people who actually liked that film) it was a major theatrical dud, and once more the groundhog returned to slumber for another season. And that season came in the form of 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which went back to basics (sort of) and told the story as seen from the very creation of the infamous ape Caesar, and the apes rise to actual dominance. I know it shouldn’t have actually worked, but it spawned another two sequels that each built upon the story that came before it and made a trilogy that really surprised many.

Now the series is back once more, with Fox attempting to keep the momentum going and starting a brand new trilogy. I personally actually wondered how a new trilogy would work, as War for Planet of the Apes ended things in a way that wasn’t THAT conducive to many more films. The way around this is actually really easy, and actually one of the most basic elemental traits of the classic 68-73 film series. Make an enormous time lapse, and tell the story from the point of view of completely new characters.

Jumping forward roughly 300 years into the future, the world is now basically 100% under ape control (at least that’s what is to be believed). The apes have split apart into different clans, with different factions and desires for control of the planet. One such clan is where we find our protagonist Noa (Owen Teague) who finds out that other apes are not nearly as nice as those in his clan when a neighboring warlord ruled over by the vicious Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) comes in and wipes out his entire village looking for something. Heading out on a trip to avenge his fallen family members, Noa is forced to open his mind when he comes across a young human girl (dubbed “Nova” by the wise old elder Raka, voiced by Peter Macon) who turns out to actually be able to speak. Shocked that a mere “human” could speak (at this point humans seem mostly to have fallen back into a primitive state) Nova and Noa continue their journey to find the apes that slaughtered his village. However, all roads lead to the same place, as Nova’s intentions are also a bit more than just “surviving” as she has had her eye on Proximus for a while. Especially when the audience realizes that Proximus is trying to break into a centuries old human underground bunker that could well contain the literal key to humanity’s survival.

In many ways Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is itself a soft reboot once more. While it follows in the path of Matt Reeves original film set from a decade ago, it jumps so far in the future that it might as well be it’s own thing. One amazing thing is that it doesn’t contain all of the gigantic set pieces and war elements that made the previous trilogy so different and bombastic. Instead it goes back to the root elements of the 1968 story, focusing on a character driven drama between two races. In doing so it also sparks questions about the morality of each side, and the hard questions related to “can humanity survive with another sentient race to compete with” that the original Heston film did so adeptly. I was actually really reticent to even give this one a chance after so much time had gone on since War for Planet of the Apes ended and sequels like this one never seem to end well. Well, I gotta eat a little crow being that I really enjoyed this iteration. It was slower paced, more methodical, and while it wasn’t a massive gigantic action film, it certainly kept true to the adventure elements. Not only that, it set up the perfect stepping stone platform for humans to come back to power in some way shape or form in what seems like their darkest hour. Is it perfect? My goodness no. While it was fantastically acted (Kevin Durand gave a killer performance as Proximus), there was some meandering here or there, and some loose ends that seem to fad off into the sunset as the credits rolled.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence/action




Video:

As usual, yadda yadda yadda. Being that this is a digital stream that is bandwidth dependent, and on a platform that is known to use more compression than a physical copy (or a Kaleidoscope digital copy) I’m going to refrain from giving an actual score. Anyways, for those wondering, I have no doubt that the physical releases are going to look outstanding. This is a beautifully shot digital production that is glossy, shiny, full of rich green and brown colored forest landscapes that just dazzles in 4K. Blacks are deep and inky (despite the obvious banding and crush that Vudu/Fandango Now is known for) and details are luxurious. This is gonna be killer.








Audio:

Even more so than video, streaming audio mixes can be a bit, well, anemic shall we say. Not so with this Atmos track. This is a full ranged Atmos track that takes full advantage of the myriad of speakers at its disposal and really creates an encompassing mix. The roars of Proximus and his followers inside of his arena is jaw dropping, and the bass actually has some really good punch when the doors of the bunker come unlocked. The horse hooves thudding in the rear of the room as Nova and Noa race across the planes away from Proximus’s goons. However, there definitely is that sense of “missing” something from it all. Something that plagues most streaming Atmos mixes. The bitrate is set so low that it takes some of the richness and fullness from the potentiality of the mix.







Extras:

• Inside the Forbidden Zone: Making Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - Join director Wes Ball, cast and crew as they expand the Planet of the Apes legacy for a new generation. Travel to the outdoor production in Australia, train at Ape School, and discover the practical and motion capture techniques in building a breathtaking Kingdom.
• Deleted Scenes



















Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may not be as amazing as 2011’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but it’s a solid entry into the franchise and I actually am very curious where they’re going to be taking it. Since this was a digital stream the audio and video portions here are simply a cursory summary of what I saw vs. a Kaleidoscope or physical copy, but needless to say the 4K UHD should look amazing. Fun watch is what I’m going to give this one.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kevin Durand, Owen Teague, Freya Allen
Directed by: Wes Ball
Written by: Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos
Subtitles: English
Studio: Disney/Fox
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 145 Minutes
Digital Release Date: May 9th, 2023

Sonnie said:

Still haven't seen it, but looking forward to it once I can remember to watch it.

I well remember watching the ape movies from the 60's. First time I watch the first movie was at the Starlite Drive-in Theater in Troy, AL... with my parents and my sister. We used to go all the time.

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I grew up on the classic 68-73 films... I watched them on late night TV all the time as a kid. Even bougth the Blu-ray collection for like $100 when they came out years ago.