It was some 300 years ago. Like a simian Moses, Caesar took his last breath after having led the ape people to the promised land, safe from humans in full “devolution” because of the retrovirus that they had manufactured in the laboratory to combat the disease of Alzheimer’s. Lack of potency, the treatment had turned against its creators, had caused the death of almost all of humanity and the regression of the survivors. At the same time, primates had climbed at breakneck speed on the evolutionary ladder.
The story was told in Rise of the Planet of the Apes by Rupert Wyatt (2011), then in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes And War for the Planet of the Apes by Matt Reeves (2014 and 2017). End of a successful trilogy highlighting the best of motion capture (and its master, Andy Serkis) in a long pre-episode which will perhaps one day (re)lead us to the classic Planet of the Apes by Franklin J. Schaffner (1968). Four other films followed this one in the 1970s, as did a remake (forgettable) signed Tim Burton in 2001, before these Planet of the Apes new generation, including Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes by Wes Ball (the three Maze Runner) could be the first milestone in a new trilogy.
Since Caesar’s death, therefore, water has flowed under the (un)suspended bridge of San Francisco. Young Noa (Owen Teague) grows up in a peaceful clan which will fall under the yoke of the despot Proximus César (Kevin Durand). Which took the name of the mythical founder of simian society while perverting its principles. Well connected to the distant time when humans ruled the planet (we will not reveal how), he enslaves his fellow men to extend his power. Accompanied by Mae (Freya Allan), a human who is smarter than the average bear, Noa will throw sand into the tyrant’s plans.
There will be alliances, betrayals, revelations. Quite a bit of exposition and some jagged rhythm. And less political subtext, criticism of the relationship to power and metaphors on human nature (very present in the films made and, for one of them, co-written by Matt Reeves). Should we see this as a responsibility of screenwriter Josh Friedman, to whom we owe the distressing War of the Worldsthe lukewarm Terminator: Dark Fate and the endless and flat Avatar: The Way of Water ? In his defense, let’s say that we feel in this kingdom a bit like in Risewhere many elements had to be placed so that they could fly away Dawn And War. It is to be hoped that a similar journey will be repeated.
Because there is also and above all, in this 10e franchise film, full view: the feature film is magnificent. In this world where nature has reclaimed its rights, powerful images rain down of the vestiges of our civilization harnessed by the great apes to welcome their villages or left to their own devices like so many specters of the past. As for the motion capture thanks to which the actors become chimpanzees, gorillas and other orangutans, it is stunning. We are almost surprised to see the names of Owen Teague, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon appear in the credits and not those of Noa, Proximus César, Raka.