Set three hundred years after the events of 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes,” the latest film in the Apes franchise continues many of the themes established in the earlier films. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” now playing in theatres, explores topics of power and prejudice, of control and culture clashes.
Generations after the rule of Caesar, the original ape potentate, humans have become feral, while apes, like young chimpanzee hunter Noa (Owen Teague), live in clans as the dominant society. When Noa’s village is destroyed and family displaced by the marauding gorilla warriors of the power mad Bonobo despot Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), he begins a journey of revenge.
Along the way, he encounters the intellectual orangutan Raka (Peter Macon), a disciple of the teachings of the original Caesar. From Raka the young ape learns the fundamental rules; ape shall not kill ape and as apes together, we are strong.
The journey continues with the addition of Mae (Freya Allan), a human Raka befriends—“She is smarter than most,” he says.—on the way to Proximus Caesar’s secret “kingdom,” an expedition that could determine the fate of both human and ape civilizations.
“In their time, humans were capable of many great things,” says Proximus Caesar. “They could fly, like eagles fly. They could speak across oceans. But now, it is our time. And it is my kingdom. We will learn. Apes will learn. I will learn. And I will conquer.”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is jam packed with big ideas and even bigger action scenes, but feels intimate because of its emotional content. While I have nostalgia for the rubber “damn dirty apes” masks of the original film franchise (1968 – 1973), the motion-capture performances on display here allow the actors to display emotional nuances the Roddy McDowell-era masks simply could not. Small facial gestures of concern, anger and happiness go a long way to creating ape characters that don’t simply feel like anthropomorphic oddities. These new school apes have a wider range of expression and that brings with it an intimate feel to the epic story.
Director Wes Ball ensures the emotional content is never diminished by the action. Not exactly wall-to-wall with action scenes, Ball takes his time with the worldbuilding and introduction of new characters before staging the first of the film’s big set pieces. It makes for a slow start, which makes the whole thing seem over long at two-and-a-half hours. But when it really kicks into gear in the second act, it does so with great stakes and is punctuated by the kind of adrenaline rush finale you expect from a big summer blockbuster.
It is, I suppose, ironic that “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” succeeds because of its humanity, but science fiction works best when its ideas, though presented in a speculative fashion, are reflective of the world in which they exist. This is a big budget summer blockbuster, but has its DNA in Pierre Boulle’s original book, and the “Planet of the Apes” screenplay by Rod Serling and Michael Wilson, which value social commentary about abuse of power, prejudice and social divisions over spectacle. In our real world, a mixed-up, shook-up place, those themes resonate.
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” doesn’t have anything as memorable as the first film’s Statue of Liberty reveal, but is a worthy addition to the franchise, and sets up an interesting sequel.
Despite critical raves and big box-office success, Roddy McDowell wasn’t nominated for his work as the sympathetic chimpanzee Cornelius in the original Planet of the Apes. Unless things change radically in the next few months Andy Serkis, star of War for the Planet of the Apes, won’t be either. He’s getting the best reviews of his career for playing chimpanzee Caesar, leader to a tribe of genetically enhanced apes in the new film, but the Academy refuses to recognize his style of acting.
Unlike Serkis, McDowell wore a rubber mask that took hours to apply, even for quick promotional appearances like his 1974 spot on the Carol Burnett Show.
Burnett introduced McDowell as “one of Hollywood’s most familiar faces,” then feigned shock as the actor came onstage in a tuxedo, but in full Planet of the Apes facial makeup. They launch into a spirited version of the love ballad They Didn’t Believe Me. By the end of the tune the audience roars as Burnett warbles, “When I told them how wonderful you are, They didn’t believe me,” as she mimes picking a bug off his lapel.
Later she thanked Roddy for undergoing the three-and-a-half hours it took to put on the makeup for that bit of funny business.
It’s not likely you’ll see Andy Serkis partaking in the same kind of promotional monkey business.
Times have changed since McDowell had to endure untold hours in the makeup chair, then smoke using an extra long cigarette holder so as not to light his faux fur on fire. “It’s about a foot long and makes me look like the weirdest monkey you ever did see,” McDowell told Newsday.
These days Serkis, who is best known for his motion capture performances of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films and The Force Awakens’ Supreme Leader Snoke, performs on a soundstage in front of multiple cameras that film his performance from every angle. He wears a body suit dotted with spots that allow the computers to register even the slightest movement. Serkis calls this “a magic suit” that “allows you to play anything regardless of your size, your sex, your colour, whatever you are.” Later, in post production the “digital makeup” adds in the costume and character details.
It saves hours in the makeup chair, but is no less a performance than McDowell’s more organic approach. “I’ve never drawn a distinction between live-action acting and performance-capture acting,” Serkis says. “It is purely a technology. It’s a bunch of cameras that can record the actor’s performance in a different way.”
Which raises the question of why the Academy refuses to acknowledge the work of Serkis and others who specialize in motion capture? The Independent calls him one of the greatest actors of this generation and the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films recognize his work but the Oscars have steadfastly ignored his specialty. It’s a slap in Serkis’ face that The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers won an Oscar for Visual Effects in part because of the genius of his performance.
Whether included in the Best Actor category or another, new grouping for Best MoCap Performance, it’s time Serkis and others were recognized for their work.
The latest “Planet of the Apes” movie has all the earmarks of what is wrong in Hollywood. It’s one of those dreaded hyphenate reboot-prequel movies, there’s a child sidekick and more than half the characters are computer generated. That should be three strikes you’re out, but “War for the Planet of the Apes” transcends all that monkey business as an expertly made popcorn flick.
The story picks up two years after “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and brings us one step closer to the events of the very first “Apes” film from 1968. Human civilization has crumbled after a simian-flu wiped out most of humanity while empowering the apes. The primates, led by aging hero ape Caesar (Andy Serkis), have created a comfortable forest world for themselves along the California/Oregon border.
It’s a peaceful place until a human commando team, under the orders of a ruthless Colonel Kurtzian leader named McCullough (Woody Harrelson), stage a brutal raid. “We must abandon our humanity to save humanity,” he says. Instead of Born to Kill written on their helmets these soldiers have slogans like Bedtime for Bonzo emblazoned up top.
Later, when McCullough kills Cesar’s wife and son he seeks out the Colonel. His search for revenge leads him to an ape prison camp, kick starting the film’s “Ape-pocalypse Now” section. It’s guerrilla warfare, but this time it’s personal.
“If we lose,” McCullough says, “it will be a planet of apes.” Duh. Isn’t that kind of the point of these movies?
“War for the Planet of the Apes” is a summer tentpole movie that fits into the franchise but can be enjoyed as a standalone. Director Matt Reeves creates exciting action sequences but there’s more to the movie event explosions and gunfire. A brief recap brings us up to speed, then we’re thrown into the world. Cesar wants to be left alone but the murder of his family ignites within him complex, contradictory emotions, the desire to protect his ape herd while getting revenge. Those feelings are the engine that drives the movie but they are wrapped around a blockbuster that doesn’t feel like a blockbuster. It’s quiet—most of the apes speak in sign language—with a philosophical edge not usually found in big summer releases.
Much of that is due to a brilliant MoCap performance from Andy Serkis. In a genre not known for subtlety he brings a range of emotion to Cesar. Selfless, melancholic and compassionate, his take on the ape character is layered and made all the more remarkable given the computer generated process that goes into creating it.
Serkis is aided by Karin Konoval as orangutan Maurice, who complex emotions with little to no dialogue. Less welcome, although not fatal, is Steve Zahn’s Jar Jar Binks-esque Bad Ape. He’s the film’s comic relief but his goofy gags and slapstick often feel slightly out of place in a movie that is otherwise concerned with classic themes like fear of the other and revenge.
Like all good speculative fiction “War for the Planet of the Apes” isn’t just a movie about the wild idea of apes vs. humans. With deeply rooted ideas about the nature of compassion and community, it also contains timely ideas for a troubled world. In one tense scene child sidekick Nova (Amiah Miller) risks everything to bring food and water to Cesar, subtly suggesting that even in the darkest times kindness can still exist. It’s a rare movie, an intimate epic brimming with food for thought while simultaneously satisfying the need to watch apes on horseback.
