Warning
This is not a post for children. Kids, take a hike.
This post contains bad, foul, filthy and unacceptable language - the words that “will curve your spine, grow hair on your hands and maybe, even bring us, God help us, peace without honor.”
This is also not a post for those adults who are offended by this type of language. Do yourself a favor, and go read some of my cute stuff before moral outrage can kick in.Just about everything else on this blog is clean…Stupid sometimes, but clean.
End of Warning.
Yet another franchise where I end up loving a film after taking too long to see it, and missing in on the big screen. Anabelle's issue with uncanny valley has turned her off for this series. Don't worry, she still has excellent taste and requested to watch the original five films last summer.
During that viewing we discovered the best thing about one of my favorite franchises. It is true that the main characters in the foreground have amazing, state of the art for the time, award winning make up that still holds up today, However, for background crowd scenes it appears the film makers assembled the absolute cheapest monkey masks they could find.
But on to Kingdom- which I am only a year behind on. I've been worse.
It is an outstandingly beautiful film, as now they can shoot motion capture fully on location. Its a bunch of folks in dotted suits running around the forest making monkey noises. Clearly, I have chosen the wrong profession.
They've really followed the new franchise's example to the logical extreme, and put the full focus on the apes. There are very few human characters at all, and only one in the spotlight. The rest is a tale about one ape society being abducted by another.
Noa, the lead Chimpanzee, fully follows the path of the heroes journey. The settings are all ape culture, and the ruins of human civilization beneath that are sometimes difficult to notice on the initial viewing.
With apes at the forefront, this film has the most visual and tonal nods to the 1968 original which started it off. It does keep to the numeric quantities of the different apes based on current populations. However, the Orangutan we meet is a scholar and "keeper of the faith," albeit in a much more honest and helpful version that Doctor Zaius and crew. The Gorilla we see is violent, powerful, military leader in the group of aggressor apes.
Key suprise Statement
Nova (shortly before revealing she is really Mae)
"NOA!!!!!"
In one of the rare bits of humanity that does show up in this film, we learn what practical purpose our race has for existing on earth. The abililty to teach profanity to its new rulers.
This serves as a perfect kick off into this years (already late) George Awards.
When Anaya, the goofy yet still loyal (and brave in his own way) friend of our hero Noa spills a whole container of gunpowder, Mae lets off with a perfectly human
"Shit."
To which the confused apes respond
"Shit?"
This is followed by Noa climbing up a gigantic and dagerous cliff face with Mae holding onto his back. When he slips, almost plunging them both to a horrible death below, after catching the rocks again he asks?
Shit?
To which she replies (likely both actually and metaphorically)
Yes, shit.
Come back next time for more "number 2" as we have the George Awards for swears in sequels.
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