Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes makes its way to 4K Blu-ray from 20th Century Studios/Disney Home Entertainment.
The Production: 4/5
I will be very upfront to everyone as I begin my review – I have not seen any of the more recent Planet of the Apes movies made in this century. I went in to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes very cold and with really no expectations.
The movie opens as Ceasar is laid to rest in a cremation ceremony. Many generations later, the various species of apes have gone their separate ways forming their own clans, leaving Caesar as nothing more than a legend. Meanwhile, humans have continued to lose their ability to speak and become more animalistic, often distancing themselves from the apes. With “Bonding Day” approaching, three young apes, Noa (Owen Teague), Soona (Lydia Peckham) and Anaya (Travis Jeffrey) are scouting in the forest looking for eagle eggs. Noa’s clan has a somewhat symbiotic relationship with eagles, raising and training them from hatchlings to assist them. When a human enters Noa’s camp and accidentally smashes his egg, he ventures out under nightfall to find a replacement since the bonding ceremony is the next day. He stumbles upon a rival clan that is infiltrating their territory led by Sylva (Eka Darville), who leads his troops to Noa’s village, burning it to the ground and in the process killing Noa’s father, Koro (Neil Sandilands), the leader of the clan, and taking the survivors captive.
Noa follows their trail leading to the remnants of a human city where he meets up with Raka (Peter Macon), an old orangutan who remembers Caesar and begins to teach Noa about the legendary leader. The two continue their search for Noa’s clan and meet a human that Kora names Nova (Freya Allen), but when they learn that she has the ability to speak, they also learn that her real name is Mae. They manage to catch up to the captors, only to find themselves captured as well and lead to a beachside commune lead by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who has a speaking human, Trevathan (William H. Macy), who has been reading books to Proximus, teaching him the ways of the humans (both good and bad). Proximus has been capturing the clans, forcing them with slave labor to open what seems to be a large impenetrable door built in to the side of a cliff, hoping the contents will provide him with the necessary weaponry to become an all mighty king. Noa is determined to find his mother and the rest of his clan and escape from Proximus with help from his friends Anaya and Soona and guidance from Mae.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a much better movie than I was expecting, not just from a technological standpoint (the visual effects work by WETA is simply astonishing), but also from a thoughtful screenplay by Josh Friedman under the direction of Wes Ball (The Maze Runner series). The amount of emotion in the faces of these CGI apes, with the help of performance capture, is convincingly believable. The film contains enough of a prologue that as long as you have a slight understanding of the concept of the franchise, you can easily go in without having seen the previous films.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was a digital production using Arri Alexa LF, Mini LF, and Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro cameras and completed as a 4K digital intermediate with Dolby Vision HDR for many of its premium theatrical engagements. Disney’s 2160p HEVC encode includes only HDR10 on this BD66 disc release, and while I was at first a bit disappointed that Disney has gone back to using a dual-layer UHD disc on movies exceeding two hours, there is really nothing to complain about here. Detail is excellent throughout, the individual hairs on the apes are visible as well as individual blades of grass. Black levels are also excellent, with nighttime scenes retaining incredibly fine details. It should be noted that this set does NOT contain the theatrical cut on Blu-ray.
Audio: 5/5
The default Dolby Atmos track is a demo-worthy mix. This is a very immersive experience, with sounds coming from all directions that move sealmlessly. Heights are used quite effectively in the forest sequences with rustling leaves and birds flying overhead. LFE adds some pulsing emphasis to action sequences where needed. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.
Special Features: 3.5/5
As usual for Disney, the UHD disc is movie only. The studio has included a Blu-ray disc that only contains bonus material – it does NOT contain the movie in 1080p.
Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut (1080p; 144:47): Exclusive to the 4K physical media release, watch the movie in split screen with the completed film on top and storyboards, performance capture footage, and unfinished effects shots on the lower portion. This version has a DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix.
Inside the Forbidden Zone: Making “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (1080p; 23:25): An above average EPK-style documentary on the making of the film.
Deleted/Extended Scenes (1080p; 32:15): A total of 14 scenes are included with optional commentary by director Wes Ball.
Audio Commentary on The Raw Cut with Wes Ball, Dan Zimmerman and Erik Winquist
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included on an insert to redeem a digital copy in 4K.
Overall: 4/5
I was surprised how much I enjoyed Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and the presentation on 4K Blu-ray is outstanding.
Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
Post Disclaimer
Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.
Similar threads
- Ronald Epstein
- Blu-ray and UHD
2 3 Tags disney fox