The primate saga returns with dignity, but loses part of its magic

After War for the Planet of the Apes delivery that marked the director’s goodbye Matt Reeves (The Batman), Wesball (The Maze Runner) signature Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, fourth film in the reboot of the primate saga that began with The origin of the planet of the apes in 2011.

With Andy Serkis definitely out of the picture, it’s Owen Teague (Item) the protagonist motion capture of a film in which we also see Freya Allan (The Witcher) in the role of a human character. Kevin Durand, William H. Macy, Lydia Peckham and Travis Jeffery They also have prominent roles in this chapter of the serial that began with Planet of the Apes in 1968.

Review of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

It is rare for a blockbuster to use silence as its most powerful weapon. And yet, Matt Reeves scored that goal, not once, but twice: after the launch of The origin of the planet of the apes (Rupert Wyatt, 2011), the future director of Batman obtained the two best installments of the reboot, relying both on the abilities of Andy Serkis and on a narrative that opted for containment instead of bombardment.

After a closing as round as War for the Planet of the Apes The most sensible thing would have been to close the kiosk and leave the primates alone with their future. But, after purchasing Fox, Disney wanted to take advantage of one of its new IPs, so the director of The maze runner (one of the most worthy sagas of the young adult) He had to move forward with the story.

And, although Wes Ball faces his task with dignity, the result is not the same. Just compare the beginning of The kingdom… with that of his predecessors to know: where this chapter resorts to flashback and explanatory text, Reeves’ films relied on the mere power of images to establish the how, who and why of their story. With much superior results in narrative terms, and also with a power of fascination that the new film fails to achieve.

From this perspective, it is normal that one ends up feeling uncomfortable when seeing how this new delivery pulls too much of the dialogues, a vice that until now the reboot had escaped. Dialogues in English, to top it off, so it was cool to see the apes expressing themselves using sign language and, above all, looks that were worth a thousand words.

Is not that The kingdom… lack interest: quite the opposite. For those of us who follow the adventures of Cease (Serkis), it is heartbreaking to see how his achievements have ended up being perverted over the centuries, falling into that authoritarian drift from which the hero (half Moses, half Arthur) painfully fled throughout three films. But he hears, Planet of the Apes It has never been a saga that one turns to to brighten their day.

In addition, The new characters have attractiveness and charisma, and one is left wanting to know more about them, whether they have two hands or four. Something that concerns above all Freya Allan who, when the second part of the story arrives, walks the tightrope between antiheroine and antivillain.

Let no one worry, because the latter will come: It is clear that there will be consequences as long as the box office performs well. And, as enjoyable as these are, The kingdom… makes one suspect that they will be missing some of the old magic. Some of us will miss the silence.