Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes review: The apes look real but the humanity is lacking

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

(12A) 145mins  

★★★☆☆

IN the Hollywood jungle, few great films have been quite as ruthlessly exploit­ed as Charlton ­Heston’s Planet Of The Apes.

Since that 1968 classic, variations on the title have included Beneath The, Escape From The, Conquest Of The, Battle For The, Rise Of The, Dawn Of The and War For The.

During that time the main evolution has been in special effects rather than plot.

The origins story which started in 2011 with the brilliant James Franco-led Rise was a major step forward in computer-generated imagery, where the apes felt 100 per cent believable at all times.

That remains the main selling point in Kingdom Of, where it is impossible not to be impressed by how lifelike these simulated simians are.

You really feel like you can see into the souls of these digitally designed apes.

As for the story, though, it largely remains the same — apes and humans have to find a way to coexist.

It is about as likely as the Royal Family getting along.

In this latest instalment, ape leader Caesar has passed away and several generations later his decree that ape shall not kill ape has been forgotten.

We are now into the era of gorilla warfare, sorry!, as primate-kind’s strongest are determined to make other species bend to their will.

The main character is young chimp Noa, whose peaceful village is raided by the more advanced gorillas.

He must free his friends and, during that quest, is befriended by zen-like orangutan Raka and human Mae, played by Brit Freya Allan.

There are amusing moments, such as the apes’ astonishment that a dim human can talk.

But a lack of human inter­action could be the downfall of this movie empire.

Apart from Mae, the only other homo sapien that speaks is William H Macy’s treacherous Trevethan, and he appears too briefly.

What kept the previous trio of Planet films revolving so nicely were class actors such as Woody Harrelson, Gary Oldman and Brian Cox in human roles.

Freya is impressive enough, but she is hampered by a lack of decent dialogue.

If future movies don’t up the human input we could soon see one titled The End Of The Planet Of The Apes.

GRANT ROLLINGS

MADE IN ENGLAND

(12A) 131mins 

★★★★☆

WHEN I had the pleasure of meeting Martin Scorsese, he spent a fair chunk of the interview talking about the British-based film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

This documentary shows the depth of the American director’s obsession.

Powell and Pressburger created groundbreaking movies in the 1940s such as The Red Shoes, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus and A Matter Of Life And Death.

But for many years they were largely forgotten in Britain, to the extent that Powell ended up barely able to pay his heating bills.

New Yorker Scorsese took his hero over to the US in the 1970s and put him back in the movie business.

For more than two hours in this documentary he analyses and speaks passionately about all aspects of Powell and Pressburger’s work.

For film buffs this will be a joy, revealing almost as much about the famous director as it does about the men he is talking about.

Whether it will be as entertaining for those unfamiliar with Powell and Pressburger is doubtful.

But, just like the film- making duo, Made In England deserves attention.

GR

LA CHIMERA

(15) 133mins

★★★★☆

SINCE playing the then Prince Charles in The Crown, Josh O’Connor has been on a roll, with key roles in Challengers and La Chimera.

In the latter, he plays a British archaeologist gone rogue in 1980s Italy.

And writer-director Alice Rohrwacher serves up a delightfully quaint story for O’Connor’s Arthur to navigate.

He’s aloof, often ill-tempered, but able to disarm with charm.

Oh, and he’s gifted at finding ancient Etruscan tombs for his mates to steal and sell artefacts from.

As the story unfolds, he meets Italia (Carol Duarte), a live-in student/unpaid maid for singing teacher Flora (Isabella Rossellini).

Flora is the mother of Arthur’s awol lover and several other daughters keen to move her out of her dilapidated house into a nursing home.

Rohrwacher’s witty script unveils the relationship tensions as characters struggle to let go of the past.

There are wonderful layers of history at play.

Helene Louvart’s gorgeous cinematography captures the sublime mundanity of this traditional Italian setting and the magical realism of Arthur’s heightened, melancholic senses.

HANNA FLINT