Hollywood is dominated by franchises, and most of them have been exhausted. But one that hasn’t is the Planet of the Apes series, which keeps getting better with each installment. The latest, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is set long after Caesar (Andy Serkis) has died, and apes are now the dominant species on Earth.
When his family is slaughtered by Proximus Caesar’s (Kevin Durand) henchmen, young chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague) teams with elder orangutan Raka (Peter Macon) and human woman Mae (Freya Allan) to fight back against their ape oppressors. But can apes and humans work together and coexist peacefully?
This fourth prequel to the original Planet of the Apes movie isn’t too different from its predecessors, but why mess with a formula that works? The special effects are convincingly realistic, making you believe these apes and chimps can walk, talk, fight and love. Serkis is missed, but Durand fills the villain void admirably, and Teague’s Noa is a protagonist you want to follow around for a few more movies.
