Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

Truthfully I didn't much enjoy that, but there is NO way in HELL I'm giving it a negative review. All those freaking LAYERS? The very reasons I disliked it are its actual selling points! If and when I rewatch the movie it will get better every time.

My biggest complaint is that for the first third of the picture I had no idea what the hell was going on. I could not tell the apes in Noa's tribe apart, or understand who died and when. That's not a good thing for an easy to follow narrative.

But who says the narrative has to be easy to follow? Yes, I was lost this time. But the movie didn't have the characters conveniently monologuing things they already know out-loud for MY benefit. I LOVE movies and TV shows that don't do that. Although possibly not the first time out. They trust I'll pick it up, if not this time, then next time. And they have the characters behaving and speaking realistically by doing that.

I do have to say by the end of the movie I wound up detesting Mae. After all that, it turns out she just wants the planet back for humans. Sharing it with an equally sentient species never enters into it, even when folks like Noa and Raka were kind to her and helped her. She displays far more prejudice by the end of the film than ANY other character, human or ape, INCLUDING Proximus, who's entire bit is you can't trust humans. Proximus has MANY faults, including the inability to read the room at the end, but if HIS bigotry is "Humans can't be trusted" all Mae does is prove him right.

Proximus is a pretty scary villain not just because of what he does, but what he wants. When he asks Mae if there is another gun in the complex you realize how screwed they are.

But seriously dude, tap out. You might have lived if you had booked instead of declaring your kingship with literally not a single one of your former supporters left. The thing Proximus really needs translated because he can't read it himself is The Room.

Mae doesn't want to share the planet with inferior species? Tell me how superior you are Mae when your dumb ass is too turned around to realize you are unlocking the front fucking door for Proximus. You say this world is yours? Take better care of it.

The Motion Capture is something that makes me a bit sick. It always does. But you are supposed to be a bit repelled and disturbed by the apes, and the fact that their reactions to things are equally human and animal. I can live with that. It's not like the creepy Navi in Avatar that James Cameron is crazy enough to believe I'll find beautiful instead of pure Uncanny Valley vomit-inducing cringe. The premise of the movie works in the fact that current motion capture technology still sucks ass' favor.

I have no guesses for the sequel. Are they teasing astronauts? Whatever. Doesn't matter to me. At least not in the first viewing, while I was so fucking confused.

Good movie though. 4 stars.