Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

 Welcome back, you darn dirty apes. I never thought I'd be on your planet again, but here I am, and on your kingdom this time. I see you also brought a new director with you. Good, good, let's see what we get this time ...

Anyway, the Caesar Trilogy that started with Rise of the Planet of the Apes continues with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Wes Ball takes over for Matt Reaves as director, but the previous films' motion-capture ape aesthetics are still there. Actually, they're not there, but better than before. That's what seven years of visual effects improvements gets you. I still won't hold my breath on that Oscar.

But that doesn't mean other aspects shouldn't be ignored. Chief among them is production designer Daniel T. Dorrance, who presents Los Angeles as a literal urban jungle "many generations" after War for the Planet of the Apes. Here, trees and vegetation have grown around decayed buildings and streets. You won't even recognize the city unless you look at the architecture closely. The film kicks off with three chimps, Noa (Owen Teague), Soona (Lydia Peckham) and Anaya (Travis Jeffrey) hunting for eagle eggs atop a skyscraper. Their clan raises eagles, and the trio get their future companions after a perilous climb.

They encounter a seemingly feral human - whom they call an "echo" - who accidentally breaks Noa's egg. Their clan is soon attacked by the raiders of the evil Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who are led by the gorilla general Sylva (Eka Darville). The raiders leave Noa for dead while they kill his dad, Koro (Neil Sandlands) and abduct the rest of the clan. Noa sets off to find the clan with the help of the orangutan Raka (Peter Macon) and the human, Mae (Freya Allen), who can actually talk like them. They're soon taken to Proximus's seaside Kingdom, where he aims to break inside a vaulted door for whatever's inside. There's supposed to be something that can help humans talk. So, Mae, Noa and his friends break in. But can Mae be trusted?

Cinematographer Gyula Pados renders the opening climb, as well as the urban jungle of Los Angeles, as magnificent sights. We see Noa and his friends use ingenuity to climb all the way to the top for their eagle eggs. They use further ingenuity to brave the heights and an angry mama bird in an exciting action scene edited by Dan Zimmerman. Let's not forget John Paesano, whose stellar score perfectly accentuates the film. Their following work, from the raid on Noa's clan to the final battle with Proximus's forces, is just as superb as that opening climb. This is a noticeably long film clocking in at 145-minutes. There were moments in the first half that surprisingly tested my attention span. Still, I'm open to checking it out again once it makes it to home media.

Why? It gets really good once Proximus enters the picture. He's a charismatic villain who is surprisingly patient for someone who views his apes as expendable. He doesn't off them when their latest attempt to blow up the door fails; he just tells them to try again. He even enjoys the company of another sapient human, Trevathan (William H. Macy), who is practically his court jester. That makes it all the scarier whenever he loses his patience. Sylva, his general, is perfectly detestable for his leading the raid on Noa's clan. Their final battles with Noa are quite cathartic as he uses his wits to defeat them. There's another villain, a sadistic hairless chimp named Lightning (Ras-Samuel Weld A'abzgi), whose sudden demise is surprisingly shocking.

Now for the good guys. Noa and his friends are quite likable; their bickering during the opening is as enjoyable as their reunion later on. You can feel Noa's outrage when he discovers a picture book showing monkeys in cages. That easily tells him - and us - of what awaits him if humans talk again. Koro makes the most of his limited screentime; scolds Noa for his screwups but defends him from Sylva to the death all the same. Noa's mother, Dar (Sara Wiseman), is quite compelling when they reunite and helps him defeat Proximus. Raka is delightful, which makes it a shame he doesn't make it to the kingdom. Mae is all-right and seemingly sympathetic; still, she tests it when she blows up Proximus's seaside wall to leave the apes (regardless of alignment) to drown.

This is a decent start to a new cycle of this old franchise. The visuals and characterizations are even better than their already well-regarded predecessors. Although the first half is slow, it gets better once its big bad makes his big debut. I'm still waiting for that remake of Planet of the Apes with this film's motion-capture apes; apparently, its final moments set up something like it. But for now, step into the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and you might find yourself with a wonderful day. Hopefully, the length won't be an issue for you. Bye.