Considering that 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” was a highly satisfying conclusion to the reboot trilogy of “Planet of the Apes” films, the makers of the new movie “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” were wise to set it in the same universe but far in the future.
In theaters now, this fourth modern entry — and the 10th overall, the larger franchise dating to the 1968 classic “Planet of the Apes” — makes several laudable choices. The first is to begin with the funeral of Caesar, the ape hero of the trilogy launched by 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and then to jump ahead “many generations,” bringing some freshness to this tale.
Directed by Wes Ball and penned by Josh Friedman, the highly entertaining “Kingdom” also efficiently reminds us, via on-screen text, that a human-made virus is responsible for the rise of intelligent, communicative apes and the resulting end of human dominance on the planet. At this point, many apes see humans as primitive animals who can’t speak, at least one clan referring to them as “echos.”
That is the Eagle Clan, home to young chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague in a motion-capture performance). We meet him and pals Anaya (Travis Jeffery, “Unbroken”) and Soona (Lydia Peckham, “Cowboy Bebop”), the day before “Bonding Day,” when they will become parents to baby birds. They make a dangerous climb to secure eagle eggs, the trio being careful to leave some in the nest, as is the clan’s way.
Back at home, Noa’s egg breaks when he encounters a young, seemingly wild human female. Distraught, in no small part because he is the son of the clan’s master of birds and thus Bonding Day is especially significant for him, Noa goes out at night hoping to secure a new egg before morning. Quickly, though, he has bigger problems — a group of large, masked and altogether terrifying apes that attacks his village. Shouting “For Caesar” and laying waste to the place, they abduct most of the inhabitants.
Noa escapes, however, and meets a kind and learned orangutan, Raka (Peter Macon, “Shameless”), the last of an order that follows and works to preserve the teachings of Caesar. Those teachings — surprisingly to Noa — include having a respect for humans.
“They are important to Caesar,” Raka says, “so they are important to me.”
Raka joins Caesar on his quest to find his clan. Along the way, they run into the aforementioned human girl, whom Raka names Nova — a nod to “War” — but who becomes known as Mae (Freya Allan, “The Witcher”). With Raka’s encouragement, Noa befriends Mae, but he holds on to some reservations about her.
Ultimately, Noa and Mae find themselves face to face with the tyrannical leader of the violent apes, who calls himself Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand, “Locke & Key”) and falsely claims to his followers he is carrying on the legacy of his great namesake.
He wants the pair’s help in accessing a heavily fortified vault at his compound, which he believes to be filled with creations of humanity that will help him grow his kingdom exponentially.
Ball, director of the successful “Maze Runner” trilogy, had a tough act to follow in Matt Reeves, who after directing 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “War,” moved on to Gotham City and 2022’s “The Batman.” However, Ball proves to be a wise choice by Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, instilling “Kingdom” with a measured but purposeful pace that keeps the viewer invested in the story.
As for the tale crafted by Friedman — one of several folks with a story-by credit for 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” — it is compelling even while holding no real surprises. And he does get a little too cute with some of the these-apes-are-just-like-us snippets of dialogue.
“I have to get back to my horse,” Noa says to Raka at one point.
“Of course,” the other primate replies.
More importantly, Friedman bakes too little personality into Noa. Despite solid work by Teague, whose credits include the “It” movies and the series “Bloodline,” Noa simply isn’t very interesting. Likable enough, sure, but not interesting.
Similarly, Proximus is a rather generic villain — with a pronunciation of “evolution” that sure sounds a lot like “EVILution” — but Durand’s performance helps to give the character the needed larger-than-life presence the role requires.
Lastly, without getting too much into Mae, she’s given the needed nuance by Allan.
Rest assured, Ball delivers the requisite action-packed climax that benefits from some seeds planted earlier in “Kingdom,” which is satisfying.
The film’s final minutes tease a continuation of the story, with the studio hoping this movie will serve as the first part of a new trilogy. We weren’t sure we’d feel this way before seeing “Kingdom,” but we’d now welcome that.
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence/action. Runtime: 2 hours, 25 minutes.
