10/10 movie alert Kingdom of Planet of the Apes
I was far more engaged and astonished by this Apes than by Avatar 2.
Where narratively Avatar 2 was a remake of Avatar 1, This Apes is something new at every turn.
Impossible for me to say if this movie was intended to comment on our possible 2025 Trumpian future. As the film stands, it inevitably, inescapably bears on a potential Trumpian future. This is how great art often is. It’s not TRYING to be relevant; it simply is timelessly relevant.
You can ignore critics claiming this Apes has no strong characters, no Andy Sirkis, blah, blah, blah. Kevin Durand as Proximus Caesar and Peter Macon as Roka knock their roles out of the ball park. The main chracter, Noa, can’t start off as a strong character; his arc is to grow into a leader. The human girl character, Mae/Nova, artfully embodies both humanity as a whole; and the worst instincts of our 2024 crop of celebrity billionaire monopolists. I’ve never seen this done before anywhere.
I did like Wes Ball’s Maze Runner. This is a 100% successful hand-off from prior series helmer Matt Reeves. It’s also Weta doing its usual world-class, many-layered best.
Comments invited.
