“Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom”: why does the ‘revival’ of primates work (and others don’t)?

We live in times of scarcity of ideas within commercial cinema, and that is undeniable. A hyperabundance of ‘remakes’, ‘reboots’ and ‘revivals’ fueled by the consumerist nostalgia of previous generations. Just look at the billboard these days: there is a “Ghostbusters” movie, another about Godzilla and King Kong, and a prequel to “The Prophecy.” And we only talk about the here and now.

But there are cases that are saved and it is worth highlighting them. One of the most notable is “Planet of the Apes”, which between 2011 and 2017 knew how to recover the essence of the original 1968 classic to narrate the origins of that dystopia about a world dominated by non-human primates.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (2011), “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2014) and “War for the Planet of the Apes” (2017) formed a very successful trilogy that, on the one hand, he reflected intelligently on the moral questions of a humanity that loses its predominance on Earth; and on the other hand, he knew how to exploit the use of visual technology to present these anthropomorphic animals to us in a disturbingly realistic way.

The first installment of that trilogy was directed by Rupert Wyatt, and the next two by Matt Reeves, with very good comments from critics. Now it’s Wes Ball’s turn, filmmaker in charge of a new film that is expected to be the beginning of another saga: “Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom.”

AUSPICIOUS RESET

The film, which premieres this Thursday, May 9, takes place 300 years after the incidents that occurred in the previous trilogy. The protagonist is no longer Caesar, the iconic ape who became leader of his species. Now in charge is Proximo Caesar, a rather violent and tyrannical monarch. that encourages hunting by humans, who have returned to a tribal and savage condition.

In that context, a young ape named Noa (Owen Teague) will be the one who takes center stage realizing the abusive situation the world is in. After losing her family, Noa will become aware and join up with a young human girl, Mae (Freya Allen), to try to regain peace.

The first previews of the film are auspicious: Intense action, emotional dialogue, a sense of honor, and a bold allegory of failed human evolution: the thirst for power, ambition, submission and more. Keys that have turned this franchise into an attractive but at the same time disturbing portrait of what we are (and could be in the future).

Of course, we will have to watch “Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom” in its entirety to draw better conclusions. I hope it lives up to its predecessors.