a fourth honest film, but less enthusiastic

The famous and prolific science fiction saga adapted from the novel by Pierre Boule returns to the screens with a fourth opus which pulls the string a bit.

Director of the science fiction trilogy The labyrinththe choice of Wes Balle at the head of this fourth opus of the reboot (recast and new story) of The Planet of the Apes is coherent, but not necessarily necessary, considering a film a little below the previous ones.

A well-updated, relevant and lucrative franchise since 2011, it seems to be running out of steam, whereas it previously shone with its ideas. On screens Wednesday May 8, Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom prioritizes action over substance.

The war

Caesar, the first chimpanzee gifted with intelligence and speech, is dead. After several generations establishing ape supremacy on Earth, humans returned to the wild. Among the ape clans, a new gorilla leader has the ambition to expand his territory. Raised in the cult of Caesar, Noa, a young chimpanzee, undertakes a journey to convince the other tribes to ally against the tyrant.

The first three films of the revamp of The Planet of the Apes, after the five of the original series (1967-73), shone with original scenario ideas, and constructions all in dramatic progression, with rhythm and revivals. More or less faithful to Pierre Boule, they always demonstrated ingenious variations. This New Kingdomis more reductive by focusing on the story of the war between the gorillas and the allied chimpanzee-orangutan clans.

Priority for action

The issues are therefore less conducive to invention, with an even more Manichean distribution of roles than in the past, the gorillas, brutal, bellicose and hostile, always playing the bad role. Also, once a (too) short exposition of tribal customs between chimpanzees is over, the story focuses on the journey that Caesar undertakes to unify the clans, while the gorillas continue their conquest, until the battle which will oppose both races. It’s a bit short to fuel a film dominated by action, and fights between members of the simian race.

Technical director, Wes Ball does the job professionally, with action mainly located in the forest, then a beach off which stranded boats contain a mysterious cargo, the stakes of a decisive discovery. Caesar’s ascent of the cliff is a beautiful moment, and, despite a linear story, we never get bored over the 2h25 of the film. The New Kingdom does not shine brightly, loses a little of the substance of a subject with many ramifications, but remains effective.

The sheet

Gender : Science fiction / Action
Director : Wes Ball
Actors: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Lydia Peckham, Travis Jeffery, Kevin Durand, Neil Sandilands, William H. Macy
Country : United States
Duration : 2h25
Exit : May 8, 2024
Distributer : The Walt Disney Company France
Synopsis: Several generations after Caesar’s reign, the apes definitively took power. Humans, for their part, have regressed to the wild state and live in seclusion. As a new tyrannical leader gradually builds his empire, a young ape embarks on a perilous journey that will lead him to question everything he knows about the past and make choices that will define the future of apes and humans. …