I have been a Planet of the Apes fan since I first went to the original movie in the 60’s with my dad. I still remember asking him what it meant that Charlton Heston found the Statute of Liberty in the sand. My dad was so wise!
I am always excited for a new installation in this ongoing and ever-changing iteration of the story.
The story follows the plot set up by the last three movies. In trying to find an Alzheimer’s cure, it is the opposite that is created in the first movie. Apes gain intelligence and humans lose intelligence. In this fourth movie, it seems apes are living peaceably, until a human is spotted, and then war mongering apes are encountered:
An all-new action-adventure spectacle, 20th Century Studios’ “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” opens exclusively in theaters nationwide May 10, 2024. Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
The movie starts out slowly as it builds a fuller story than the previous installments. I was riveted the entire time and found this to be my favorite of the four movies. And, spoiler alert, look for several references to the very first Planet of the Apes movie form the 1960’s, something that was wonderfully nostalgic! I loved the expansion of the mythology in this movie and can only hope for another! Wait, there are two more slated, with this being the first in a new trilogy, YAY!
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is directed by Wes Ball (the “Maze Runner” trilogy).
The movie stars Owen Teague (“IT”), Freya Allan (“The Witcher”), Kevin Durand (“Locke & Key”), Peter Macon (“Shameless”), and William H. Macy (“Fargo”). The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”) and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) and Patrick Aison (“Prey”), based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and the producers are Wes Ball, Joe Hartwick, Jr., p.g.a. (“The Maze Runner”), Rick Jaffa, p.g.a., Amanda Silver, p.g.a., Jason Reed, p.g.a. (“Mulan”), with Peter Chernin (the “Planet of the Apes” trilogy) and Jenno Topping (“Ford v. Ferrari”) serving as executive producers.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes arrives in theaters May 10. Get tickets: fandango.com/PlanetoftheApes
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