Exploring the Evolution of Power and Loyalty in a ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes : The ‘Planet of the Apes’ stories have been around since 1968. In the last set of three movies, which starred Andy Serkis, they used a lot of cool technology. You might have seen a video of Andy where his face looked like it was turning into a baboon’s face. That was because of the way they made the movie – using cameras to capture his movements and then adding special effects with computers.
This is a technique of filmmaking in which the performance of real actors can be superimposed on the clothes of any animal through special effects. Andy Serkis‘ character Caesar is martyred in the last film of the trilogy, ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’. He has some principles. He was also a leader of the new generation. And, the film ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ is, in a way, an emotional tribute to this character from this franchise and takes place several generations later from the previous series.
Even if a viewer has not seen the stories from the ‘Planet of the Apes’ series yet, this film can still be enjoyed as an independent film. The film tells us right in the beginning what its geography is. Man created a virus which made the monkey species so intelligent that they can not only speak, but have also started thinking like humans. Love, hatred, disgust, humor, makeup, compassion all the emotions have come in him. And, human? Under the influence of this virus, he forgot to speak.
Some were killed by this virus and some baboons were killed in the struggle for the empire being formed on earth. The film ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ is the story of this background. The monkeys have also formed factions among themselves. Some are living freely with their own families, and there are some whose leader wants to subjugate everyone. Red flags fly at his base. Those who kneel before him apply tilak on their forehead and do whatever their leader does.
The story begins with a prince’s display of courage. This prince belongs to that clan of monkeys which has expertise in making eagles as pet birds. The prince and his two friends go to the top floor of a ruined skyscraper in search of eagle eggs. He also brings the eagle’s egg by making the longest jump. The next day, he has to celebrate his new relationship with the new life present in his womb and egg, but in the night before that, he encounters a human being.
A new puzzle of the relationship between humans and animals begins from here. The king of the clan is killed. His people are made slaves. The prince sets out in search of his family. On the way he meets an elderly friend. The person with whom the prince’s life changes after coming face to face, is a person who can speak. This young woman named May sees in this prince the potential to save the future of mankind, and the story reaches the camp of Tilakdharis.
The story of the film ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ is a bit dull in the beginning, but the reason for this might have been to connect new audiences with the film. Once the film picks up pace, it maintains the full impact flow till the climax. Owen Teague gives an impressive performance as Prince Monkey Noah, Freya Allen nails it as May and Peter Macon as Raka manages to balance the humor in the film.
