Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Frey Allan, Kevin Durand, Owen Teague, William H. Macy, Peter Macon, Sara Wiseman, Karin Konoval, Dichen Lachman, Lydia Peckham, Neil Sandilands, Eka Darville, Ras-Samuel, Travis Jeffrey.
When a franchise can still find ways to progress more than fifty years after its initial outing at the cinema, you just know how important it is that the story line reflects and adheres to the original sense of the infinite possibility that first entranced and captured the cinema lover’s heart.
The Planet of The Apes franchise, with the notable exception of the near shameless reboot in 2001, is one that understands progression, the continual cycle that leads the narrative throughout history, and mirrors humanity’s own trials in survival and confusion with the dogma and oral adherence to faith. This is never more apparent than in the latest in a long line of sequels than Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.
The demonstration of how any society can fall into the trap of religious fervour by honouring its leaders to the point where even death is expected and portrayed as the culmination of belief is to be observed within the film’s dramatic reveals, how interpretation and truth are opposites ends of the same yard stick.
For many who love the apocalyptic horror in which the roles of simian and human have become reversed, the sense of grandeur that has arisen since the franchise made its successful comeback in 2011 with Andy Serkis being the prime attraction as Ceaser, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes will be surely seen as revered as any in time to come, it has gravitas, it has legend, the pull of the peril at the heart of the matter, and it delves deeply into the mythos that comes with one powerful creature’s interpretation of law over an entire society. It is to this that the viewer will understand the inherent dangers of organised devotion, and with the necessary human factor brought into play by Frey Allan’s Mae, the sense of eventual damnation for Owen Teague’s Noa is highlighted with a philosophical view and one not to miss.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes is a classic, it follows in the finest traditions set up by the franchise’s humble beginnings, and allows the further development of the series to take a greater look at doctrine, of obedience and dominance; and with the franchise working its way through time surely the point where the 60s and 70s films tie in completely to today’s modern tales of morality and subjugation, the excitement of completion is telling and appreciated.
Ian D. Hall