The Newest Sci-Fi Film I Saw Rivals James Cameron’s Avatar 2: A Review of Planet of the Apes 4

Everything you need to know about Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom

In 1968 a film was released which would mark science fiction and the 7th Art for the following decades. Adapted from the novel of the same name written by Pierre Boulle, Planets of the Apes directed by Franklin Schaffner became a real phenomenon and launched a saga originally comprising 5 parts. At the start of the 21st century, Tim Burton tried his luck with a remake which failed to win over either the press or the spectators. Ten years later, the franchise was reborn from its ashes with a reboot initiated by Rupert Wyatt. This time, everything smiles on the ape people.

The enthusiasm is such that two sequels were released in 2014 then 2017 with Matt Reeves (The Batman) at the helm. The years pass, but not the desire of 20th Century Studios and by extension Disney following its acquisition to capitalize on its flagship franchises. A fourth episode is thus underway with Wes Ball (the “Labyrinth” trilogy) behind the camera and Freya Allan (The Witcher) in front. Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom written by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) is the sequel to “Supremacy” and sets its plot several centuries after the first trilogy.

The synopsis of Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom: Caesar, the charismatic leader of the apes, died 300 years ago, leaving behind a fragile peace as humans regressed into the wild. But tensions emerge between the various primate clans when a tyrannical new leader named Proximus Caesar seeks to unite them by force, threatening their civilization. At the heart of this chaos, the young monkey Noa, haunted by the enslavement of his people, embarks on a perilous journey to discover the truth about his people's past. Along the way, he will meet a human woman who could well be the key to his journey.

The cast of Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom: Freya Allan (The Witcher), Kevin Durant (X-Men Origins Wolverine), Dichen Lachman (Jurassic World), William H. Macy (Fargo), Owen Teague (It Chapter 1 / Chapter 2), Peter Macon (The Orville), Lydia Peckham (Mr. Corman) and Sara Wiseman (A Place to Call Home)

Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom is released in cinemas in France on May 22, 2024.

Better than James Cameron's Avatar 2

Wes Ball is not an artist that I particularly follow. I recognize in his dystopian trilogy “Maze Runner” (The Labyrinth in French), with Dylan O'Brien and Kaya Scodelario in the main roles, many qualities which make it pleasant entertainment. Seeing him land on a saga as iconic in science fiction as Planet of the Apes was enough to intrigue me. For more than half a century, this post-apocalyptic universe has enchanted sci-fi fans, first on paper and then on the big screen.

I have an uncertain relationship with the Planet of the Apes franchise. I saw and loved the 1968 film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. I made it through the four sequels and the TV series. I watched the Tim Burton remake screened in 2001 at the cinema. What was my surprise to fall madly in love with the reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes ten years later, then the sequels Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War of the Planet of the Apes. The announcement of a fourth film taking place several generations later therefore had the effect of an electric shock on me.

I was impatiently waiting to see Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom, and my patience was rewarded beyond my expectations. Wes Ball's film easily manages to immerse us in this universe where the Monkey sits at the top of the animal kingdom and where Man has returned to the wild. What strikes me first with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is its technical mastery which has nothing to envy of that of the Avatar saga orchestrated by James Cameron. Noa and his peers are larger than life, and the same goes for the universe in which they live.

What's more, the plot of Planet of the Apes takes place on Earth, and therefore in an environment that we know only too well, while Pandora enjoys exotic flora and fauna. We are familiar with the terrestrial frame of reference… so it is more difficult to fool us. Yet, this fourth part manages to outclass its predecessors in every way. The animation of the simian characters alone is a tour de force of which only this saga is capable. The precision of the facial expressions, the body movements and especially these eyes full of vitality… are to the credit of Wes Ball and his artistic teams who always push the limits of the “believable”.

However, a film cannot be reduced to its technical prowess alone. Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom doesn't rely solely on its stunning visuals. He can count on the pen of Josh Friedman to develop a lore with a thousand and one opportunities. It is interesting to discover this Earth several decades after the fall of the human species, and to see two diametrically opposed ideologies confront each other: living together and intolerance. Certainly, the story loses its intensity and gets bogged down during the second part, but only to bounce back better.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has the intelligence not to fall into a low-brow Manichaeism, and prefers to nuance its words, and therefore that of its characters. OK, each prota-antagonist represents an easily identifiable archetype, but Mae played by Freya Allan, Noa (Owen Teague) and Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durant) are much more ambiguous than they seem. Their intentions are easily identifiable, but above all understandable… provided you make the effort to take their point of view. I particularly appreciated the ambivalent treatment of the only human to play a major role. Nothing is completely black or white in the kingdom of the monkeys.

Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom is everything I expected from a saga film, and more. Without being perfect (nothing is in this world), this sequel is not to be missed for all fans of the saga, science fiction and cinema.