Of apes and men

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, May 10th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: we take a look at the beginning of the blockbusters.

EICHER: Last weekend, The Fall Guy kicked off the summer movie season. But for all the good reviews, the rom-com action film starring Ryan Gosling as a stuntman didn’t do well. Hollywood had its worst summer-season opening week since 1995, and The Fall Guy really was the fall guy.

BROWN: This weekend, theater owners are pinning their hopes on one of Hollywood’s oldest franchises. But will nostalgia bring moviegoers back? Here’s arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

AUDIO: [Ape hooting]

COLLIN GARBARINO: It’s time once again to visit a world where apes and humans struggle with each other to see who will rule supreme. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the tenth movie in the Planet of the Apes franchise and the fourth movie in the reboot that began in 2011. But don’t worry if you’re not up to speed on all your ape lore. This newest film is sort of a soft reset that doesn’t require much background knowledge.

RAKA: What did I miss?

NOA: She spoke. She called my name.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes takes place hundreds of years after the trilogy of movies that began with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Those movies told the story of how a man-made virus killed off most of the world’s humans and how the survivors began losing the ability to speak. The virus also greatly increased the intelligence of the world’s ape population. A chimpanzee named Caesar organized the apes and gave them the foundations of their society.

The hero of this new installment is a young chimpanzee named Noa, played by Owen Teague. His clan lives secluded from the rest of the world—afraid to cross the borders of their land.

But the wickedness of the world comes to Noa’s home, and the young Noa, along with an older Orangutan, sets off on a quest to alleviate a great injustice. Along the way, they pick up a stray human they call “Nova.”

NOA: You said this Nova was smarter than most.

RAKA: Within reason.

But this “Nova,” played by Freya Allan, surprises the apes when she reveals that unlike most other humans, she’s not a dumb animal.

MAE: I have a name. Mae.

The plot of the movie revolves around the franchise’s familiar question of whether apes and humans can trust each other. And that trust doesn’t come cheap in this film.

MAE: I know where they’re taking your clan.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and a few instances of bad language played for laughs. The movie’s story arc follows a familiar pattern for the franchise, but the film has some nice things going for it. The visuals are beautiful and the main characters have a lot of depth.

Also, setting the action hundreds of years after the events of Caesar’s trilogy opens up interesting themes in the narrative. The memory of Caesar’s deeds has started to fade. He’s become a figure of myth, and his legacy is up for grabs. On the one hand, some caretakers of Caesar’s teaching claim the ape founder espoused decency, morality, and compassion.

RAKA: They get cold. Show mercy.

On the other hand, a new ape king calling himself Proximus Caesar champions strength and ape solidarity, claiming the original Caesar wanted to eradicate humans. He plans to build a kingdom of ape slaves for his own power and glory.

PROXIMUS CAESAR: What a wonderful day.

CROWD OF APES: What a wonderful day.

PROXIMUS CAESAR: Are we grateful for the work of Caesar?

CROWD OF APES: We are grateful.

There’s sort of a religious duality between the true followers of Caesar and the villainous Proximus Caesar. In fact, Proximus isn’t merely a villain. He’s more like an anti-Christ figure. He stands in the place of the ape’s venerated hero, pretending to be Caesar. He parrots Caesar's teachings, but he twists them, hoping to give himself unassailable power.

PROXIMUS CAESAR: Say his words.

CROWD OF APES: Apes together strong.

PROXIMUS CAESAR: Say his words!

CROWD OF APES: Apes together strong!

PROXIMUS CAESAR: What a wonderful day!

There’s a lot to chew on in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. It asks whether we can trust those who aren’t like ourselves? And how should we respond when we realize others don’t trust us? It asks us to ponder whether truth and knowledge are merely commodities to be hoarded for the advantage of ourselves and our in-group. Or do they belong to everyone equally? We see the effects of tyranny, and we see the differing responses to that tyranny.

These characters are wrestling with difficult problems in a harsh world. And one of the best things about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is that the filmmakers resisted the temptation to wrap everything up with a neat and tidy bow. The movie has a definite conclusion, but there’s an intriguing tension that persists after the credits start rolling. That tension will undoubtedly lead to a sequel, which I hope turns out as thought-provoking as this one.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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