‘Planet of the Apes: Reign’ invests in action and maintains the good level of the franchise; g1 has already seen | Pop & Art

After “War for the Planet of the Apes” (2017) so well close the new trilogy started in 2011, with “The Origin” and, later “The Confrontation” (2014), the arrival of “Planet of the Apes: Reign” aroused a certain amount of distrust among fans: Will the new film be able to at least be worthy of the three previous films?

To the sadness of those who doubted, the answer is: yes. The fourth feature in the new version of the series, which premieres this Thursday (9)maintains the quality achieved by other productions.

This is due to a good story, charismatic characters and, of course, incredible visual effects that make the primates created through computer graphics and motion capture even more convincing.

The new plot takes place many generations after Cesar (Andy Serkis) sacrificed himself so that the apes could have a place to live in peace after the events of “The War.”

A village was created there, where the Eagle Clan lives, peaceful apes who remain isolated from the rest of the world and the remaining humans (which they call “Echoes”). One of these monkeys is Noa (Owen Teague, from “It”), who grew up without knowing who Cesar really was and what he did that was so important for his species.

Watch the trailer for the film “Reign of the Planet of the Apes”

But things change when a group of monkeys who obey the orders of Próximo Cesar (Kevin Durland, from “Abigail”) invades the village of Noa and kidnaps all its inhabitants.

Willing to save his clan, the protagonist sets out on a journey towards the place dominated by the tyrant, a primate who rules everything with an iron fist and distorts the ideals of the legendary ape to obtain more power. Along the way, he makes friends with the orangutan Raka (Peter Macon, from the series “The Orville”), who opens up to him about things from the past that he had no idea about.

The duo is joined by the human Mae (Freya Allan, from the series “The Witcher”), who surprises by showing himself to be more intelligent than others of his race. Little by little, Noa and Raka realize that Mae is also coveted by the villain and could be essential both for the despot’s plans for domination and also for the freedom of the enslaved people.

“Reign of the Planet of the Apes” is not as deep or philosophical as the films in the first trilogy. But it makes up for this with a neat action scenes that are very well executed and keep your attention from the beginning to the end of the story.

The credit for this all comes from director Wes Ball, who became known after directing three chapters of another franchise, “Maze Runner”. Time seems to have been good for Ball, who shows himself to be a more mature filmmaker.

Ball’s only sin is not creating more emotional moments in the film. Some scenes even have some emotion, but they don’t reach the level of their predecessors.

The script written by Jeff Friedman, from the “Foundation” series, works in an interesting way on the issue of how certain ideals can be corrupted by those who only desire power, while emulating a supposed nobility or divinity.

Friedman also gets it right by creating new characters in this universe, who had the difficult mission of commanding the plot, instead of icons like Cesar. Fortunately, Noa, Mae, Baka and Proximo are up to the challenge.

By avoiding Manichaeism, the plot makes them complex individuals, with mistakes and successes. However, the script slips in some twists, which are not as surprising as they could be, and in not developing some situations as well as they are ended before necessary.

The greatest quality of “Planet of the Apes: Reign” is in its technical part. Especially its visual effects. The realism of the primates has been, from the beginning, one of the main reasons for the success of the new franchise. In the fourth feature of the series, the evolution is still noticeable.

All the simian characters really seem to be real animals, with an impressive wealth of detail. Textures of the virtual characters’ skin, fangs, fur and other body parts are perfect.

At times, it is impossible to distinguish the actors from real animals. Especially in a water scene, so well done that it’s easy to forget that everything was created using computer graphics. For that reason alone, it’s worth the ticket.

But the trick wouldn’t be so well done if it weren’t for the talent of the actors involved. The little-known Teague and Macon give personality to Noa and Raka and convey well the growth of the relationship of trust between the two.

Durand, used to playing more sinister characters, makes Próximo Cesar one of the highlights of the film by giving him a frightening and disguised look. The other actors who play the remaining apes also do good work, although without major highlights.

Allan, the only relevant “human” in the cast, builds her character correctly and doesn’t interfere with the final result. She convinces by showing Mae as someone who knows what to do to survive, at the same time as she tries to establish a good relationship with her primate friends. Faced with a slightly more complex role, the actress gives a good performance.

“Planet of the Apes: Reign” shows that the franchise still has a lot to explore. The film is a good kickoff to a (possible) new trilogy and should keep fans (and even those not so interested) wanting to see more in the future. Just keep the quality up there.