A franchise that has stamina set amongst apes. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes roars. This film is directed by Wes Ball. Thefuturistic setting is spot-on in a world of apes that are in the process of rebuilding. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has vivid scenery during a new beginning.  This movie is an adventurous ride with a story that combines both humans and apes. Who is to be trusted?

The main ape in the film is Noa (played by Owen Teague). Noa is living in the past after Caesar’s day. The apes’ villages have been tormented. He is determined to learn the ropes whichincludes getting to know humans. Noa embraces an adventure to find the answers with the help of another ape, Raka (played by Peter Macon). Their adventure leads to all different kinds of hurdles. The apes are in an apocalypse where their kind faces uncharted territory.

The writing combines the humans at the right time. Noa meets Mae (played by Freya Allen), and she is a human survivor. She knows the foundations, the background, and what went south. For Noa, however, there is still a lot to learn. How did the world get to such a tormented place? What caused an apocalypse? Why was the faith of Caesar betrayed? There are a whirlwind of questions where the answers are unknown. The emperor/enemy is Proximus Caesar (played by Kevin Durand). He has taken the thrown and made allies in politically incorrect ways. He has created apes to be slaves for the wrong purpose and thrownhumans under the bus. Noa must retain his allies who have survived the apocalypse. He must rebuild the kingdom to restore its sacred meaning for the apes and humans alike.

The story takes a turn for the worst when the apes find tools to be used for harm. The enemy apes use taser sticks as a tactic to injure others. Apes also have access to machinery and slowly learn how to use them. This film takes its time with establishing the foundation of where things went wrong in the franchise’s continuation. It is more suspenseful and enticing. New kingdoms will rise, old apes will fall, and new ones will evolve.

I truly love the background of the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Things are not the same for the apes or anyone else in thisenvironment. The film is creatively designed to build a puzzle. Wes Ball directed The Maze Runner films, and he takes a similarapproach of innovative escapes which are visually enthralling in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Ball’s field of expertise lies in creating the foundations of kingdoms which have collapsed and finding the pieces to fill in the missing parts. In some parts the writing was weak, but still this film is deserving of a considerable amount of respect as a new addition to the ape franchise. Three out of four stars for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.