Joey Magidson
This weekend brings the return of the Apes! Yes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now in theaters. For some of you, it’s a welcome continuation of a much beloved franchise. If so, congrats, as it’s a pretty good movie. For this weekend’s Awards Radar Community Question, we’re asking for your own review. If you saw the flick, what did you think of it?
In my review of the film (here), I spoke of how it worked for me despite being lukewarm on the prior movies, like so:
Here’s the thing. I appreciate what all of the modern installments of the Planet of the Apes franchise has been doing. I think this reboot series, consisting previously of the trilogy that is Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes is rock solid. At the same time, I’ve never loved the films like everyone else seems to. There’s just some kind of disconnect when it comes to this series. So, when I say that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is pretty good and I largely enjoyed it, you can take that as a run of the mill recommendation, or a sign that the property might be growing on me. The choice is yours.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes runs about thirty minutes too long, but has an impressively consistent tone, full of intensity and strong visuals. Whether you look at it as the fourth film in this timeline, the first of a new one, or whatever the case, it does manage to largely satisfy. The technology on display continues to evolve, and with it, the storytelling capabilities contained within.
Now, that was my take. What about yours? If you saw Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, be sure to let us know your thoughts? Is it one of the best in the franchise? We’re you let down in some way? Wherever you fall on it, we’re keen to know. So, chime in and don’t be shy….
Let us know your reaction to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes!
The projection issues at the early access IMAX screening didn’t stop me from loving the hell out of this one (thankfully, they were able to fix it during the movie, but the first 30 minutes or so were blurry as hell). Just on a purely technical level, it’s one of the most incredible displays of visual effects I’ve ever seen, and the character work goes far deeper than I thought it would. I would put it behind Dawn in my personal Planet of the Apes ranking, with Conquest being my favorite of the franchise.
The visual effects, indeed, are splendid.