That's how it feels a little bit now with the Planet of the Apes series, or POTA, as my brother referred to it when he texted "Don't see POTA w/o me."
And I didn't. I waited patiently, rewatching the entire modern series before heading to the theaters to witness the newest installment, the "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," only to leave with an "eh" rating and the cognizance that the entire film seems to be just a confusing set-up plot for future films.
But let's get into it.
Kingdom is set many generations in the future and features the central character, Noa, who seems to live in a unique clan that's more than just copasetic with birds of prey.
In fact, the whole culture seems to revolve around companionship with these birds, as we first meet Noa and some friends climbing to retreive eggs out of nests in order to complete some sort of coming-of-age ritual. It can be assumed that when they are old enough the apes go on a trial (i.e. climbing very, very high and risking their lives), collect an egg, bond with it and nurture it as it hatches and grows up. Noa's dad, it turns out, is the Master of Birds, and this whole process seems sacred to the culture.
But it really doesn't matter because it all goes to sh*t in the first act because of Mae, some human pest that crushes Noa's egg and forces him to leave home to try to get another one before the big ceremony at dawn.
Thus begins the main plot movement.
Other apes have their own cultures
A different clan is after this human for some reason
That clan burns down Noa's home, kills his father and takes his family to the "kingdom" and he must journey to rescue them
On the way we meet Raka, an orangutan that could never be as much of a G as Maurice, but who nonetheless provides some comic relief
He also provides some insight into this new world. Raka is something of a disciple of Caesar, the ape we follow in the first three movies who is the catalyst for the evolution of his species and the subsequent devolution of the humans.
He wears a necklace which is a symbol of the window in Caesar's bedroom in the first film, and through this character we see how Caesar has become a Jesus-like figure. Some have followed his ways, some have misconstrued his words, some - like Noa - don't even know who tf he is.
It's all sort of comical and interesting in a sociological sort of way. I could see how it could potentially have a larger impact on Noa except that Raka (spoiler alert) almost immediately dies.
Yes. First, he explains to Noa his facination and instinct to be kind to the hunted, beastlike humans, especially to their new travel companion Nova (a cute little callback to the third movie). He explains it as "Caesar's Way" and Noa isn't really buying it.
But then, she speaks.
And I don't mean she grunts and attempts some form of communication. I mean like...she speaks full, complex sentences with strategic ideas and you can tell she has been educated. She even confesses to lying or withholding truth.
And of course we knew she was special because she is the only human we see that is clothed in actual pants and a tank top.
And that's where they lose me.
Like, come on. You're telling me that we are several generations out from a devastating pandemic that created an apocalyptic world which is most well suited for the rising apes. Those apes have never seen a Zebra? They have not been educated?
Some humans are literally naked and drinking water from a stream next to wild animals because their cognition has apparently degraded so much, and then there's a random band of humans that have remained alive, untouched by the disease, living on foraged rations and traveling around protecting the last bits of technology that exist and somehow still function?
Noa continues on his journey to save his family, but now he must use the help of Nova/Mae, who he rightfully no longer trusts.
A bunch of stuff happens - seemingly irrelevant, so much so that my boyfriend fell asleep in the theater and I poked him awake and he adamently believes he missed nothing important - and Noa saves his clan, gets semi-betrayed by Mae, takes down the big boss (ape no kill ape, but ape totally use bird to kill ape), becomes the bird master and takes everyone home to rebuild it.
Happily ever after but then Mae arrives in some Star Wars-esque tunic to "say sorry" but then she's got a gun behind her back. Total witch, but Noa unwittingly says the right things in earnest to keep him alive.
Cut to...a giant metal fortress in the middle of nowhere with other advanced humans like Mae working to move huge satellite dishes and then...fade to black.
I love movies. And I've loved the new POTA movies because they explore humanity, morality, privilege, justice, psychology, sociology and all sorts of things I'm into.
What does is mean to have consciousness? What's the responsibility of the power of knowledge? How is knowledge spread and shared, manipulated and twisted, used for good or selfish reasons. What do you do when faced with an impossible challenge? The POTA movies provide an opportunity for these huge questions in an action-packed story.
But so far - the questions are very much conflict and war. This movie touches on but then immediately squashes the idea that humans and apes might live and work together. Mae works with Noa but only as a means to her own objectives. Noa forgives Mae and hopes for a better future only because he doesn't know she's part of a much larger organization in control.
It's a set-up movie. It nods to some of these larger interesting questions, introducing religion and cultural tradition into the mix, but there's too much necessary plot movement to really explore that and it ends with a tone that's the opposite of hope. I know they've got to possibly set up the possibility of space or time travel (as that's how it all worked in the original films), and I can appreciate this introduction to that idea as more complex and Anthropocene. But still, it's a set-up movie.
The graphics are stunning and the world building is neat. I look forward to the next ones. What do you think?
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