Cinema release
The new “Planet of the Apes” – The journey continues
Freya Allan as Nova in a scene from the film “Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom”. photo
© -/20th Century Studios/dpa
Caesar was the savior of the apes. Now he is dead and the situation is desperate. Will the young chimpanzee save Noa? The answer in the new science fiction epic “Planet of the Apes – New Kingdom”.
A film adaptation of his novel “The The author Pierre Boulle initially considered Planet of the Apes to be completely out of the question. “Letting monkeys play would be absolutely grotesque,” said the Frenchman in an interview in the 1960s. “There was a danger that it would slide into the ridiculous. “But the Frenchman was wrong.
When the film was released in 1968, people were thrilled. The story about humans and intelligent monkeys became the basis for a multi-part saga. Now another film is coming to the cinema. “The Planet of the Apes – New Kingdom” is the fourth part of a new edition of the science fiction series and is eagerly awaited by millions of fans.
First, a look back: In the last adventure, “Survival,” the apes were involved in a bitter battle with the special military force Alpha-Omega, led by the ruthless Colonel McCullough (Woody Harrelson). The wise chimpanzee Caesar (Andy Serkis) dreams of a peaceful co-existence between humans and various monkeys, but in vain. In the end he dies a hero and leaves his people heartbroken.
New world without people
The new film, which was shot primarily in Australia, takes place decades later. People hardly play a role anymore since they lost the ability to speak due to a virus. They live in the wild like animals. The chimpanzees also live in seclusion deep in the jungle. They can still speak, but they have forgotten how to read and other skills. Their existence is peaceful until a brutal horde of gorillas attacks the settlement, burns it down and kidnaps everyone.
Only the young monkey Noa (Owen Teague) escapes them. Angry and shaken, he decides to free his people. A life-threatening journey begins that turns his previous thinking upside down and confronts him with things he never knew before. People, for example, like the mysterious girl Mae (Freya Allan), who persistently pursues him. Without the ancient orangutan Raka (Peter Macon), Noa would probably be lost. Raka still knew the legendary Caesar and imparts his wisdom to Noa, especially this one sentence: “Monkeys don’t kill monkeys”.
Opulent cinema experience
Is the film worth it? Absolutely – and definitely on the big screen in the cinema. If you want to save the 138-minute long film for your sofa cinema at home, you’re missing out on the best part. “Maze Runner” director Wes Ball relies on opulent optics, fantastic effects and great technology. The dilapidated cities that nature reclaimed after people disappeared and transformed into lush jungles alone are worth seeing. And there are nice little touches, like when Raka tries to explain to the ignorant Noa what books are: “an old-fashioned way of storing ideas.”
Like the first three parts, this film was also shot using the motion capture process, in which real actors act as monkeys and then appear as animals in the film using digital technology. Andy Serkis, who had mastered Caesar’s facial expressions, gait and overall demeanor perfectly in the first three parts, acted as a consultant. “Andy helped us understand the anatomical differences between the bodies of humans and the specific species of monkeys we were playing,” said Owen Teague.
Ball repeatedly incorporates echoes of the old films that were made up to the mid-1970s. For example, when the gorillas hunt the people, who are drinking at a watering hole like a herd of animals, and drive them through meter-high grass in order to finally catch them with trawl nets.
But despite the excellent actors and the epic images, the film also has a few weaknesses. The story drags along, especially at the beginning, and only slowly picks up speed. The ending also leaves some questions unanswered.
Coming of age under cruel conditions
Thematically, the adventure moves primarily on an interpersonal level. Ball shows a classic coming-of-age story: the young Noa, who is not taken seriously by his father, but then has to prove himself under the toughest circumstances in order to grow. The figure of the gorilla leader Proximus is interesting and ambivalent. He has reinterpreted the wise teachings of the late Caesar for his own purposes and allows himself to be applauded by his subjects like a Roman emperor – as Proximus Caesar, the next Caesar, who does not rule with kindness and wisdom, but combines megalomania, lust for power and cruelty to achieve his goal of a better world for the monkeys.
The first film from 1968 with Charlton Heston clearly had a political message, as Becca Wilson, daughter of the then co-screenwriter Michael Wilson, confirms. In the documentary “”Planet of the Apes”, a milestone in science fiction” she talks about her father’s motives: “In “Planet of the Apes” he wanted to allegorically show racism and all forms of prejudice in an indirect way.”
The story should continue after “New Kingdom”. The final sequence makes it clear: the potential for future conflicts and adventures involving monkeys and humans on one planet is far from exhausted.