Teaching old franchises new tricks: 'Planet of the Apes' kingdom reimagined
Leaping forward by a few hundred years, the forthcoming film initially moves at a somewhat lethargic pace as it needs to establish new characters and storylines from the ground up. Although the premise may seem deceptively straightforward - the son of an invaded tribe goes on a mission to save his kin - the movie opens up various possibilities, even if it would have been better if it had ended where it originally did.
The outcome will ultimately depend on the audience's reactions, but the "Planet of the Apes" franchise has endured for 56 years, with it being a challenging concept to completely eradicate. Furthermore, with Disney, a company that understands film franchises and could use another to bolster its portfolio, now distributing these films, there may be more to come.
The movie's primary focus is on Noa (voiced by Owen Teague), whose tranquil way of life is brutally disrupted when forces led by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), an ape who desires to enlarge his kingdom, launch an attack, killing many and taking captive the survivors.
Noa makes his escape, running into Raka (Peter Macon), a wise orange, and a female human (Freya Allan from "The Witcher"), who seems to understand more than the wild people that the apes are accustomed to, making her participation in Noa's hazardous search for Proximus intriguing.
Director Wes Ball, who has worked on "Maze Runner" movies, and writer Josh Friedman cover a remarkable amount of ground in establishing these crucial elements while also injecting moments of humor and respectful nods to the original film. The visual effects are particularly convincing, a necessity given that most of the characters are digitally crafted while communicating using a combination of sign language and speech.
What's extraordinary is how this "Apes" retelling takes the familiar template and changes course in unexpected, yet satisfying, directions. Though it lacks the unifying factor provided previously by Andy Serkis in the most recent installments, it still manages to revive the series in a stimulating manner.
Despite the usual predictability of Hollywood blockbusters, "Apes" demonstrates that even cliche money-makers don't need to be entirely void of creativity or aspirations. Let's wait for the audience's response on just how appealing this new outing on this alien world is.
"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" is set to release in US theaters on May 10 with a PG-13 rating.
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The movie's engaging entertainment value comes from the blend of action, humor, and clever references to the original "Planet of the Apes" series. With the high-quality visual effects, viewers are fully immersed in this new kingdom of apes.
The box office success of "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" could further boost Disney's portfolio in the realm of entertainment, appealing to a wide array of audiences around the world.
Source: edition.cnn.com
