Sci-Fi Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

[Filmfreak]

The opening numbers look promising. I have no interest in watching IF and it doesn't look like the type of film that would draw a lot of people, so I'm hoping this one would have good 2nd weekend numbers.

I hope they don't wait too long for the sequel. I think for now, reaching movie #6 should be the goal, aside from of course releasing the 5th film. But I really want to see the explosive conclusion of this saga. I hope it ends up like this:

2011-2014-2017-2024-2027-2031 (20 Years of the Planet of the Apes)

But I'm not expecting the next one to be out by 2027. I think it could take at least 4 years minimum.

I'd say it's unlikely that it takes more than three years. Previous films both had three year gaps between them and they were directed by Matt Reeves who sure takes his time with his movies. Remember his Batman sequel will be out 4.5 years after the first.

With a plan of future installments already in place, provided Kingdom has a solid run I think it's more likely that a sequel will be out by 2026 if anything.

 

[Primal Slayer]

They should greenlight the next 2 films back2back and film them....back2back. Lets just finish this trilogy out and then decide if they want to complete the final 3

 

[psylockolussus]

I'd say it's unlikely that it takes more than three years. Previous films both had three year gaps between them and they were directed by Matt Reeves who sure takes his time with his movies. Remember his Batman sequel will be out 4.5 years after the first.

With a plan of future installments already in place, provided Kingdom has a solid run I think it's more likely that a sequel will be out by 2026 if anything.

Wes Ball is doing Zelda. It isn't similar to when Wes Ball directing the 3 Maze Runner films back to back, and Matt Reeves not directing anything besides Apes from 2010 to 2017.

Disney has secure Wes Ball for Reign of the Planet of the Apes first and with Zelda blocking it, they would either have to wait for Wes Ball or get someone else, and that could take a long time. Also with 4 films that got respectable reviews, I bet its going to be harder for every new sequel to keep up the quality and they would need to take their time in order for the next one to be as good if not better.

Also I just realized, for the 9 movie plan, they could release 2 more movies in the 2020s and the last 3 in the 2030s, which would be 3 films per every decade. But it is still a risky plan since these sequels take atleast 3 years mininum after the last to be released, and given the series "dark and more serious mood", I really question if the public are going to be supportive enough until the End of the Planet of the Apes.

 

[LoganPool]

Words can't express how much I love this franchise. This movie was so good! I loved the slow burn it had. I really like the character of Noa as our new protagonist. I really hope Freya Allen returns as Mae. I feel like there's more to her story, and her connection with Noa that needs to be explored. Loved Peter Macon's Raka! He kinda reminded me of Bad Ape in WAR. Overall this movie is yet another solid entry for the franchise. I'd rate it an 8.5/10, placing it 3rd out of 4.

1. Dawn 9.5/10
2. Rise 9/10
3. Kingdom 8.5/10
4. War 8/10

I do have a spoilery question for those that have seen it...

Spoiler

How was Mae and William H. Macy's character able to talk? Did the virus not have the same effect on them? Also, what's supposedly on the other side of that telescope?? Something important, I'd assume.

 

[Filmfreak]

Wes Ball is doing Zelda. It isn't similar to when Wes Ball directing the 3 Maze Runner films back to back, and Matt Reeves not directing anything besides Apes from 2010 to 2017.

Disney has secure Wes Ball for Reign of the Planet of the Apes first and with Zelda blocking it, they would either have to wait for Wes Ball or get someone else, and that could take a long time. Also with 4 films that got respectable reviews, I bet its going to be harder for every new sequel to keep up the quality and they would need to take their time in order for the next one to be as good if not better.

Also I just realized, for the 9 movie plan, they could release 2 more movies in the 2020s and the last 3 in the 2030s, which would be 3 films per every decade. But it is still a risky plan since these sequels take atleast 3 years mininum after the last to be released, and given the series "dark and more serious mood", I really question if the public are going to be supportive enough until the End of the Planet of the Apes.

I'd think that if Kingdom makes enough money, which seems to be the case because it started strong, Disney/20th Century Studios would want to fast track a sequel. I can't see them waiting for the director to do a different film for a rival studio first. They will either throw him a load of money to prioritise this or go to someone else. It wouldn't be the first time they'd change directors. Last time it happened it still only took them three years to make the next film and that was at a time where they weren't even thinking ahead at making a trilogy. Now there's a plan for this and it's one of the very few Fox IPs that Disney seems to be utilising.

And that's all if Wes Ball decides to do Zelda as his next project, which is far from a sure thing, since it's very early in development. Heck, it's so early he might even end up not doing it, especially if Disney really wants to keep him for the next Apes film.

 

[Zantera]

The 'franchise' thinking with modern movie making really sucks a lot of fun out of it for me. There was a time you would get a mention of a character in passing (first Spider-Man referencing another photographer named Eddie comes to mind) was fun and exciting but you go from there to "lets not bother with this now and leave it for later". I think a movie should stand on its own legs first and foremost and then you can have future ideas of what to do.

I had a lot of fun with Kingdom and it's probably the best big blockbuster movie i've seen in cinemas this year, but I do think some of the weaker parts of it for me were the parts that weren't fleshed out because they probably were holding off until a sequel comes. One example for me is Freya Allan's character. I like her and thought she did well in the movie but her character is left ambiguous all the way until the end and it might pay off in the next film but for this film alone it felt unsatisfying that we didn't get more on her character or her motivations.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Also I just realized, for the 9 movie plan, they could release 2 more movies in the 2020s and the last 3 in the 2030s, which would be 3 films per every decade. But it is still a risky plan since these sequels take atleast 3 years mininum after the last to be released, and given the series "dark and more serious mood", I really question if the public are going to be supportive enough until the End of the Planet of the Apes.

The 'franchise' thinking with modern movie making really sucks a lot of fun out of it for me. There was a time you would get a mention of a character in passing (first Spider-Man referencing another photographer named Eddie comes to mind) was fun and exciting but you go from there to "lets not bother with this now and leave it for later". I think a movie should stand on its own legs first and foremost and then you can have future ideas of what to do.

I had a lot of fun with Kingdom and it's probably the best big blockbuster movie i've seen in cinemas this year, but I do think some of the weaker parts of it for me were the parts that weren't fleshed out because they probably were holding off until a sequel comes. One example for me is Freya Allan's character. I like her and thought she did well in the movie but her character is left ambiguous all the way until the end and it might pay off in the next film but for this film alone it felt unsatisfying that we didn't get more on her character or her motivations.

Wes did say that there was 30ish minutes cut out and that some of it did expand on the characters in this film but of course Disney wanted to keep the film short and tight.

 

[BobJM]

Words can't express how much I love this franchise. This movie was so good! I loved the slow burn it had. I really like the character of Noa as our new protagonist. I really hope Freya Allen returns as Mae. I feel like there's more to her story, and her connection with Noa that needs to be explored. Loved Peter Macon's Raka! He kinda reminded me of Bad Ape in WAR. Overall this movie is yet another solid entry for the franchise. I'd rate it an 8.5/10, placing it 3rd out of 4.

1. Dawn 9.5/10
2. Rise 9/10
3. Kingdom 8.5/10
4. War 8/10

I do have a spoilery question for those that have seen it...

Spoiler

How was Mae and William H. Macy's character able to talk? Did the virus not have the same effect on them? Also, what's supposedly on the other side of that telescope?? Something important, I'd assume.

I agree with you for the most part, although, my rankings are slightly different with Dawn, Kingdom, War, then Rise. These movies remind me of the Mission: Impossible franchise--they just keep surprising me with their quality & staying power.

I really didn't have any expectations for this movie to compare to Reeves' previous entries but I'm happy to be proven wrong. And I agree with @Primal Slayer , I'd like to see movies 5 & 6 film together so we don't risk not seeing this trilogy fully form.

As for your spoiler question, my assumption is that the Simian Flu virus had mutated in the generations since Caesar's time and people's immunity is evolving. Noa described what he saw in teh telescope as a 'tunnel that eats light'... I am assuming there's a wormhole or something happening up in space that'll introduce some time travel in a third trilogy. If you'll recall, the group of astronauts were lost in space in Rise...maybe this is their big return

 

[Filmfreak]

Wes did say that there was 30ish minutes cut out and that some of it did expand on the characters in this film but of course Disney wanted to keep the film short and tight.

I wouldn't call 2.5 hours short and tight.

I think Snyder and many blockbusters in general have partially altered the general perception of director cuts, movie runtime and studio interference. It's a common argument we hear from him and his fans or from movies such as last year's Napoleon. But not everything needs to be 3-4 hours long. And if a director can't flesh out characters, story and themes in 150 minutes, either his movie is too busy or like in Snyder's case he wouldn't be able to do so even in 10 hours time. Villeneuve cut hours of footage from his Dune films and they both still ended up being masterpieces.

I heavily dislike Disney but if someone feels like there were stuff that needed development in the film (I'm currently on the fence myself) I'm not going to blame the studio for not being able to do so.

 

[psylockolussus]

I have no interest watching the first five movies. But I saw a recap video for all Apes movies, and it sounded very confusing and too sci-fi.

I like how different and grounded these four newer movies are in comparison. Even the Mark Wahlberg movie (which I saw, more than 10years ago) sounded like a different film, which if I'm not mistaken, acted like an alternate reality movie?

 

[Zantera]

I think it makes sense to keep these movies below 2 ½ hours, that's still a long time. I don't accept the notion that you can't tell the story of an Apes film within 2 hours (maybe 2:15 if we're being generous), this isn't a LOTR adaption or an Endgame level event we're talking about. But I also think some of the best stuff in a movie like this are the 'pointless' establishing shots of the world that is now overgrown and not what it once was. I'm sure some producer would gladly cut that out but it's those "transport" moments that add a lot of atmosphere to the film IMO.

As far as Snyder goes I don't have much positive to say about him generally speaking, but I do think his current phase of "every movie I make needs to be 3 ½ hours" is very obnoxious and I hope that doesn't spread to other movies. I feel like the wrong lessons were learned from the Justice League Snyder Cut. That movie wasn't better than the theatrical cut because it was 2 hours longer, it was better because the first attempt was so mediocre that there was only one way to go from there and it was up.

I just think back to some of my personal favorite 'blockbusters' growing up whether that was Matrix or Terminator 2, or heck the original Star Wars trilogy. If those movies could do what they did and become classics we talk about decades later, why does a new blockbuster movie need to be 3 hours?

 

[psylockolussus]

When I saw Kingdom last Thursday, I did hear the person behind me complaning how long the movie is.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I have no interest watching the first five movies. But I saw a recap video for all Apes movies, and it sounded very confusing and too sci-fi.

I like how different and grounded these four newer movies are in comparison. Even the Mark Wahlberg movie (which I saw, more than 10years ago) sounded like a different film, which if I'm not mistaken, acted like an alternate reality movie?

I just watched that as well lol.

I know the first one but never went beyond. I have to watch them now, especially the time travel part

 

[Kane52630]

The original series has always been pure sci-fi and has a ton of social commentary on the forefront whereas this reboot series operates more on the hero's journey with sci-fi and religious commentary attached.

 

[psylockolussus]

I just watched that as well lol.

I know the first one but never went beyond. I have to watch them now, especially the time travel part

I saw the recap from Fandom Entertainment (YouTube). I thought i would be turned off by the dated visuals but, I was kinda thrown off by alternate reality/multiverse elements of the older films. Though to be fair, they were really ahead of time especially considering all the Multiverse films we've gotten in the last five years. But I'm unsure, if I want to see those elements in the upcoming Apes movies.

When I saw Rise, I only had an idea about the lost spaceship arc.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

Let me ask this... Who exactly are we supposed to be rooting for in this story?

I was getting some mixed feelings

 

[Primal Slayer]

I wouldn't call 2.5 hours short and tight.

I think Snyder and many blockbusters in general have partially altered the general perception of director cuts, movie runtime and studio interference. It's a common argument we hear from him and his fans or from movies such as last year's Napoleon. But not everything needs to be 3-4 hours long. And if a director can't flesh out characters, story and themes in 150 minutes, either his movie is too busy or like in Snyder's case he wouldn't be able to do so even in 10 hours time. Villeneuve cut hours of footage from his Dune films and they both still ended up being masterpieces.

I heavily dislike Disney but if someone feels like there were stuff that needed development in the film (I'm currently on the fence myself) I'm not going to blame the studio for not being able to do so.

It definitely didn't feel like 2.5hrs lol.

I liked what we got so I can't complain. Extended would only make it better.

 

[Filmfreak]

It definitely didn't feel like 2.5hrs lol.

I liked what we got so I can't complain. Extended would only make it better.

True, it had a really good pacing.

 

[Kane52630]

Let me ask this... Who exactly are we supposed to be rooting for in this story?

I was getting some mixed feelings

Not all stories require you to root for a single person or group. Getting mixed feelings is kinda the point of this when you're dealing with complex characters. You are supposed to get where everyone is coming from.

 

[psylockolussus]

Let me ask this... Who exactly are we supposed to be rooting for in this story?

I was getting some mixed feelings

I'm guessing the lead ape character. Noa.

 

[BobJM]

Not all stories require you to root for a single person or group. Getting mixed feelings is kinda the point of this when you're dealing with complex characters. You are supposed to get where everyone is coming from.

I think this was the most interesting part to me, which is why I loved Dawn so much--there's no clear-cut good guys or bad guys when it comes to the Apes & Humans. Well, maybe Koba is the clear-cut villain lol.

 

[Kane52630]

I think this was the most interesting part to me, which is why I loved Dawn so much--there's no clear-cut good guys or bad guys when it comes to the Apes & Humans. Well, maybe Koba is the clear-cut villain lol.

Yeah Koba is one of those interesting villains where you easily see where he's coming from but took the most extreme approach out of revenge and selfishness.

 

[BobJM]

Wes Bell was a great choice for the director. As excited as I am for his take on Zelda, I'm hoping the Apes sequels take precedence over that...

I saw @psylockolussus throw out Reign of the Planet of the Apes ... I like that one a lot. Lol I'm struggling to think of other "XXX of the Planet of the Apes" that could still be used...

 

[Cap2024]

Words can't express how much I love this franchise. This movie was so good! I loved the slow burn it had. I really like the character of Noa as our new protagonist. I really hope Freya Allen returns as Mae. I feel like there's more to her story, and her connection with Noa that needs to be explored. Loved Peter Macon's Raka! He kinda reminded me of Bad Ape in WAR. Overall this movie is yet another solid entry for the franchise. I'd rate it an 8.5/10, placing it 3rd out of 4.

1. Dawn 9.5/10
2. Rise 9/10
3. Kingdom 8.5/10
4. War 8/10

I do have a spoilery question for those that have seen it...

Spoiler

How was Mae and William H. Macy's character able to talk? Did the virus not have the same effect on them? Also, what's supposedly on the other side of that telescope?? Something important, I'd assume.

Spoiler

One thing that was stressed in ‘War For The Planet Of The Apes’ is that the other human faction believed the general’s notion that everyone would stop speaking was wrong and that there was a way to retrain the ability to do so.

That is to say, if you don’t believe the general and instead take the word of the invading army in the end - they basically provided the answer in ‘War for the Planet of the Apes.’

Just many of us when that film came out took the general at his word.

 

[BobJM]

I also really didn't notice the length of this movie either, surprised to see people commenting that it's too long or it was a slow-burn. I was hooked from the beginning, to be honest.

I have no problem sitting through a 2+ or 3+ or even 4+ hour movie. Heck, I'll gladly take them--I'm look at you, extended editions of LOTR. The issue is never the length of the piece, it's the pacing, story, and character development. I thought Bell handled these elements masterfully in Kingdom.