Exciting movie adventures are similar to many others
Published 2024-05-08 12.00
share-arrowDela
unsaveSpara
expand-left
fullscreenRaka, Noa and the human Mae in Kingdom of the planet of the apes. Photo: 20th Century Studios/Disney
Kingdom of the planet of the apes
Regi Wes Ball, med Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Dichen Lachman, William H Macy, Lydia Peckham, Peter Macon.
Back to the world of the talking monkeys. An adventure that is a bit of a sequel and a bit of a reboot. New monkeys, new people, but the same old role-playing game about power and oppression. It’s well done and decently exciting without coming up with anything new. Effective entertainment.
SCIENCE FICTION We meet the monkey Noa and his friends Soona and Anaya who ride their horses. They will steal eagle eggs from bird nests at high altitude. Their clan of monkeys lives by raising eagles, and as part of becoming an adult and important in the clan, one must nurture one’s own egg and raise the hatchling.
But an attack by a brutal clan of other masked monkeys changes everything in the peaceful village. And in the deep vegetation, Noah sees glimpses of a human who seems to be stealing from him. Noa and his friends call humans eco, a form of lower standing beings that cannot speak. He thinks.
The monkeys themselves communicate in English and with sign language and general monkey sounds. Noa learns a lot during the journey that begins after the film’s opening explanations.
One of the lecturers is the orangutan Raka, who manages the legacy of Caesar, the great leader of the apes. He and Noah meet a young human woman they call Nova, who turns out to have many talents. She is played by Freya Allan who are mostly allowed to use the facial expressions Concerned, Scared and Angry. It also applies to Owen Teague who plays Noah.
This film takes place several hundred years after the three films that came from 2011-2017 with Andy Serkis. He played Caesar, the chimpanzee there, who is a test animal for new drugs and gains increased intelligence. Which he uses to give new powers to other monkeys. When a virus in later films wipes out large parts of humanity, the monkeys take over. All this, and this film too, takes place long before the events of the first “Planet of the Apes” (1968).
Now the monkeys roam the ruins of humanity’s overgrown buildings and creations. The Masked Warrior Apclan is led by Proximus (Kevin Durand), who proclaimed himself king of a small kingdom. He tries to absorb humanity’s knowledge, and forces other clans of apes into slave labor. Proximus is interested in the history of the Roman Empire and calls himself the new Caesar. He wants the help of people to get more power.
The film mixes a lot at once and not everything is clearly explained. Noa makes an inner and outer journey, which involves sending the protagonists between various threats and exciting scenes. Lots of action, lots of special effects, lots of stuntmen. Mostly it’s an old-fashioned coming-of-age story about a young man in the shadow of his powerful father. Can he take over the responsibility?
We go back to the future, but everything is as usual. A familiar planet.
The film opens in theaters on May 8.
expand-left
full screen Trouble in sight in Kingdom of the planet of the apes. Photo: 20th Century Studios/Disney
Also be sure to see…
… “The last journey” is the best film of the year so far; a touching and loving trip about fathers and sons, then and now.
Did you know that…
… Wes Ball who directed has made three Maze runner movies and is now working on “The legend of Zelda” with actors?
Don’t forget to like Aftonbladet FILM on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and X (Twitter) for news, trailers, reviews and nice movie nostalgia.
