If you’re craving a big-screen sci-fi blockbuster like Avatar: The Way of Water, the new Planet of the Apes movie in theaters should make you very happy.
We’ve had no shortage of sci-fi blockbusters recently. Last year, Gareth Edwards brought a captivating vision of the future to the big screen with The Creator, before Dune: Part Two took us to the desert of Arrakis a few months ago. Both films feature epic sci-fi panoramas. However, they could not compete with the breathtaking visual worlds of Avatar: The Way of Water.
James Cameron’s mega blockbuster is one of the most visually intoxicating films ever and will probably only be surpassed in terms of immersion by its successor, Avatar 3. To bridge the long wait, it can’t hurt to take a trip to the movie theater. Because Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom, a film that moves impressively in the slipstream of Cameron’s sci-fi epic.
Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom jumps 300 years into the future and shows us an evil Caesar
New Kingdom lays the foundation for a new Planet of the Apes trilogy. The series has been with us at the movies since 1968. In the reboot Planet of the Apes: Prevolution in 2011, Gollum actor Andy Serkis slipped into the role of the ape Caesar, whose story is told in Planet of the Apes: Revolution and Planet of the Apes: Survival. Caesar’s legacy lives on in New Kingdom – but with a twist.
Here you can watch the trailer for Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom:
About 300 years after the last movie, the ape Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) twists the teachings of his namesake and uses them to strengthen his own position of power. Young Noa (Owen Teague) experiences this first-hand when his peaceful village is attacked and destroyed by Proximas’ followers. From then on, Noa searches for his abducted friends … and meets a human, Mae (Freya Allan).
From the apocalyptic worlds of its immediate predecessors, Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom has become a post-apocalyptic jungle. The remains of humanity are barely recognizable. Here and there, crumbling skyscrapers tower into the sky. But nature has reclaimed most of it. With sweeping movements, Noa climbs through a blossoming adventure playground as if he were on Pandora.
Incredible water effects like in Avatar: Wes Ball floods the new Planet of the Apes film
Director Wes Ball, who thanks to the Maze Runner trilogy is very familiar with the realization of elaborate sci-fi and effects-laden blockbusters, attaches great importance to the exploration of cinematic spaces. For a long time, we watch the apes as they move around without any dialog. Similar to Avatar, the boundaries between the real and computer-generated shots become blurred.
(Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom)
Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom is one of those science fiction films that you can really immerse yourself in. Just like the characters, it takes us on a journey that amazes us with fascinating locations. We then lose ourselves in the heart of darkness, where a relentless fight for survival takes place in a huge ruined ship that resembles a rusty remnant from the Waterworld set.
At this point at the latest, the element of water becomes increasingly important. Here Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom has copied a few tricks from Avatar: The Way of Water. In his production, Ball not only lets off steam in the greenery, but also floods the entire film in the epic finale – with the palpable force of an unleashed current that barely hints at its computer-generated origins
Despite the massive effects: New Kingdom hasn’t forgotten the most important lesson of the Planet of the Apes films
The fact that the Planet of the Apes films are incredibly good at turning actors in gray suits into lifelike apes should be well established since the Caesar trilogy. However, Ball goes one better when it comes to interacting with the environment. Whether it’s water, mud or dirt, things are constantly flying around and sticking to the sophisticated textures of the digital effects
(Planet of the Apes New Kingdom)
Varied action that makes the most of the technical possibilities: At times we find ourselves at dizzying heights, as if we were hurtling across chasms in a video game. Sometimes we move through the labyrinth of an old bunker complex, while in one shot the camera follows the nimble movements of the monkeys as they effortlessly shimmy from one level to the next – it’s a real rush.
As impressive as it all is, the new Planet of the Apes film does not quite reach the level of Avatar: The Way of Water. James Cameron works with a different force and persuasiveness in his images. Ball simply hasn’t gained enough experience yet. Nevertheless, the ambition to use and test the technical means at his disposal oozes from every fiber of his film.
Read more: Wes Ball reveals: This is how Planet of the Apes 4 was shot
New Kingdom scores as a fluidly staged sci-fi adventure. However, the greatest feat is not the boundless bombast of digitally enhanced visual worlds. As with Avatar and the previous Ape films, the moment when the emotions become tangible despite and thanks to (!) countless effects and a brief hesitation gives Noa doubts as to whether he can really trust the alien Mae is the strongest.
