Not to worry He haunts the next episode, the thrilling, visually stunning Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. We actually start with Caesars funeral, his body decorated with flowers and then set alight like a Viking, before fastforwarding many generations later. All apes talk now and most humans dont, reduced to caveman loin cloths and running wideeyed and scared, evolution in reverse. Our new hero is the young ape Noa (Owen Teague ) who is like all young adult chimps seeking his fathers approval (even chimp dads just dont understand) and testing his bravery. He is part of a clan that raises pet eagles, smokes fish and lives peacefully. Lydia Peckham, left and Owen Teague. (20th Century Studios via AP) Kevin Durand (20th Century Studios via AP) That all changes when his village is attacked not by humans but by fellow apes masked soldiers from a nasty kingdom led by the crownwearing Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand, playing it to the hilt). He has taken Caesars name but twisted his words to become a tyrannical strongman sorry, strongape. Unlike the last movie which dealt with mans inhumanity to animals concentration camps included apeonape violence is in the cards for this one, including capturing an entire clan as prisoners. Proximus Caesars goons use makeshift cattle prods on fellow apes and force them to work while declaring For Caesar! Screenwriter Josh Friedman has cleverly created a movie that examines how ancient stories can be hijacked and manipulated, like how Caesars nonviolent message gets twisted by bad actors. Theres also a lot of Avatar primitive naivete, and that makes sense since the reboot was shaped by several of that blue alien movies makers. The movie poses some uncomfortable questions about collaborationists. William H. Macy plays a human who has become a sort of teacherprisoner to Proximus Caesar reading Kurt Vonnegut to him and wont fight back. It is already their world, he rationalizes. Along for the heroic ride is a human young woman (Freya Allan, a budding star) who is hiding an agenda but offers Noa help along the way. Peter Macon plays a kindly, bookloving orangutan who adds a jolt of gleeful electricity to the movie and is missed when he goes. The effects are just jawdropping, from the ability to see individual hairs on the back of a monkey to the way leaves fall and the crack of tree limbs echoing in the forest. The sight of apes on horseback, which seemed glitchy just seven years ago, are now seamless. There are also inside jokes, like the use of the name Nova again this time. Freya Allan (20th Century Studios via AP) Peter Macon (20th Century Studios via AP) Director Wes Ball nicely handles all the thrilling sequences though the twoandahalf hour runtime is somewhat taxing and some really cool ones, like the sight of apes on horseback on a beach, a nod to the original 1968 movie. And like when the apes look through some old illustrated kids books and see themselves depicted in zoo cages. That makes for some awkward humanape interaction. What is next for apes? Should we go back to silence? our hero asks. The movie races to a complex faceoff between good and bad apes and good and bad humans outside a hulking silo that holds promise to each group. Can apes and humans live in peace, as Caesar hoped? Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes doesnt answer that but it does open up plenty more to ponder. Starting with the potentially crippling proposition of a key death, this franchise has somehow found new vibrancy. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a 20th Century Studios release that is exclusively in theaters May 10, is rated PG13 for intense sequences of scifi violence and action. Running time 145 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four. __ _ MPAA Definition of PG13 Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. __ _
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