--- title: "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" year: 2024 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes" fi1m_id: "kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes" imdb_id: "tt11389872" tmdb_id: 653346 wikidata_id: "Q114314695" fi1m_score: 64 critics_score: 66 critics_reviews: 17 published: "2026-09-09" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:59.425977+00:00" region: "IS" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) Directed by Wes Ball · 2h 25m · Science Fiction, Adventure, Action ## Identity Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes - **IMDb ID:** tt11389872 - **TMDB ID:** 653346 - **Wikidata ID:** Q114314695 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11389872/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/653346, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q114314695 **Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 66 from 17 reviews *In a sentence:* The apes have inherited the earth and, with it, the two-and-a-half-hour blockbuster > Wes Ball’s continuation of the series is handsome, unhurried and decent-hearted, with an overgrown world worth the ticket and a young chimp worth following. It is also 145 minutes long and does not have enough story to fill them. ## Synopsis Generations after Caesar, apes speak, ride horses and keep eagles, and humans are mute scavengers the apes call echoes. Noa (Owen Teague), a young chimpanzee of a clan that raises eagles in the treetops, climbs a cliff at dawn with his friends Anaya (Travis Jeffery) and Soona (Lydia Peckham) to take an egg for his coming of age. That night masked riders with electric prods burn his village and carry off his people. Noa follows their trail across an overgrown country and is joined by Raka (Peter Macon), an old orangutan who keeps Caesar’s teachings, and a silent human girl (Freya Allan). Somewhere on the coast a bonobo called Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) is building a kingdom. ## Review Caesar has been dead for generations when *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* opens. Wes Ball takes over the series and moves it centuries on: the apes ride horses, keep eagles and talk, the humans are mute scavengers the apes call echoes, and the cities are green mounds with windows in them. It is a good-looking, good-natured film that runs 145 minutes and has perhaps ninety minutes of story. We liked being in its world more than we liked what happened there. Noa (Owen Teague), a young chimpanzee of a clan that raises eagles, climbs a cliff with his friends Anaya (Travis Jeffery) and Soona (Lydia Peckham) to take an egg for his coming of age. That night masked apes on horseback burn his village, and he wakes among ashes. He follows them, and is joined on the way by an old orangutan, Raka (Peter Macon), who keeps the words of Caesar the way a monk keeps scripture, and a silent human girl (Freya Allan). The trail leads to a kingdom on the coast, ruled by a bonobo calling himself Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand). Gyula Pados shoots the world Ball and Daniel T. Dorrance have built with patience. The eagle clan’s village is lashed into the trees; a motorway flyover has become a hanging garden; on a beach a rusted ship the length of a town serves as Proximus’s palace. Nobody points at the drowned tower block; the apes walk past it as we would a hill. Mayes C. Rubeo dresses the raiders in hammered metal masks and Proximus’s court in scraps of human pageantry, so the kingdom looks like a civilisation making itself up as it goes. The opening climb had us properly held: three young apes on a sheer face at dawn, the birds circling. The raid that follows is the film’s one scene of real fear, torches in the trees, prods crackling blue in the dark, apes we have only just met dragged off screaming, and we felt the loss of a place we had known for fifteen minutes. Then Noa sets out, and for the next hour we watched him walk. We were not bored, exactly; we were waiting, and somewhere past the hour mark we realised the film was waiting too. Teague gives Noa a boy’s slouch and a way of looking up from under his brow that reads as doubt, and he is the first lead in this series who is allowed to be ordinary. Macon’s Raka is the film’s warmth, a gentle pedant amused by nearly everything. Durand plays Proximus as a performer, a king who greets each morning with the same booming line and means it a little less every time. Allan does a great deal with a stare. William H. Macy plays Trevathan, a human who reads to the king, as a man who made a bargain and has stopped pretending it was a good one. Josh Friedman’s script has one good idea, that a dead leader’s words will be quoted by whoever wants power next, and states it three times. The middle hour is a walk with conversations. Dirk Westervelt and Dan Zimmerman cut the journey as if every valley crossed were a turn in the plot, and John Paesano’s score, drums and low brass, insists on wonder at each new vista when Pados had already shown it to us. The final stretch is well staged, and it is the only part of the film that moves faster than its characters can walk. *Rise* (2011), *Dawn* (2014) and *War* (2017) had Andy Serkis’s Caesar, and every scene was about what he had lost. Noa loses his village in the first twenty minutes, and after that nobody wants anything as badly as Caesar wanted to go home. The thoughts about myth and scripture are there. They are not attached to anyone we minded about enough. Worth an evening if you liked the earlier films and can forgive a long walk between the two good hours. Watch it at home, where the green world loses a little and the pace loses nothing. It carries a 12A, and the raid is the part younger children will remember. *Fi1m score 64, published 9 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics find Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a solid continuation rather than a bold one. The praise clusters almost entirely around the effects: the motion-capture performances, Owen Teague’s lead as Noa, and the images of nature reclaiming human ruins come up in nearly every review, admiring or otherwise. Several reviews also credit Wes Ball with taking the story seriously and giving the ape society a history and a culture worth exploring. The reservations are about the writing. A run of critics call the plotting conventional, the early stretches slow and the characters thinner than those of the previous trilogy. The spread is wide: a handful rate it among the better entries in the series, while The Wrap and Polygon see franchise maintenance with nothing much underneath the spectacle, Polygon adding that it misses Andy Serkis. The Ringer sits between them, admiring the villain and some of the imagery but finding the whole passable and unremarkable. ## Straight answers **Is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes worth watching?** *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* is worth an evening for anyone who liked the earlier films and can forgive a slow middle hour, and we scored it 64. The overgrown world is handsome and Owen Teague's young chimp is worth following, but the film runs 145 minutes on roughly ninety minutes of story. **How long is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and what is it rated?** *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* runs 2h 25m. It is a science fiction and adventure film. **Where can I watch Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in Iceland?** *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* is streaming on Disney+ in Iceland. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and is it suitable for children?** *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* carries a UK 12A and is a mostly gentle adventure with one scene of real fear. That scene is the night raid near the start, with torches, crackling electric prods and apes dragged off screaming, and it is what younger children will remember. Teenagers and most older children should be fine. **How does Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes compare to War for the Planet of the Apes?** *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* is the lighter and less serious film, and [*War for the Planet of the Apes*](https://film.one/film/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes) is the better of the two. The earlier film has Andy Serkis's Caesar and a real sense of loss behind every scene; the new one has a prettier world and a hero nobody minds about as much. Both are longer than they need to be. **Do you need to have seen the other Planet of the Apes films before Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?** *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* stands alone well enough, and newcomers can start here without being lost. It is set generations after Caesar's death, with new characters and a fresh setting, so the earlier films are background rather than required reading. Knowing them adds weight to how Caesar's words are quoted, but the plot never depends on it. **What should I watch after Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?** After *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes*, try [*Dawn of the Planet of the Apes*](https://film.one/film/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes) (2014, Fi1m 78): The series at its most confident, with an ape who has something to lose. Then [*The Girl with All the Gifts*](https://film.one/film/the-girl-with-all-the-gifts) (2016, Fi1m 75): A British take on nature reclaiming the cities, with a child at the centre; and [*Princess Mononoke*](https://film.one/film/princess-mononoke) (1997, Fi1m 88): Animals, humans and a forest, and nobody entirely in the right. **What order should I watch the Planet of the Apes films in?** Release order is the safe choice for Planet of the Apes, and it is the order [our collection page](https://film.one/collections/planet-of-the-apes) lists them in. *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* is the most recent of the 9 Planet of the Apes titles on Fi1m; before it comes [*War for the Planet of the Apes*](https://film.one/film/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes). [The full order.](https://film.one/collections/planet-of-the-apes.md) ### Reviews we read (24) - **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (85/100, inferred): This is a thrilling, emotional blockbuster and the most consistently exciting CGI-era franchise, with breathtaking effects, empathy for characters, and thoughtful questions about society, domination, and coexistence. It leaves the viewer eager for the next chapter. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/kingdom-planet-apes-review-thrilling-emotional-blockbuster-3047132) - **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (4/5): The review describes the film as a handsome blockbuster that harks back to classic Hollywood Westerns, with sincerity and conviction in its epic adventure. It singles out the eerie motif of ordinary ruins and the film's sincere commitment to its story. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review/) - **Empire**, Helen O'Hara (75/100, inferred): The film drills into character and culture for a thoughtful take on history and clashing societies, with strong VFX and enough of an arc to stand alone as the start of a new trilogy. It is less action-heavy than predecessors but a promising, chewy entry with big potential. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/) - **Financial Times** (75/100, inferred): The review portrays it as a sturdy epic of simian civil war with contemporary political hints, where a human-free utopia is disrupted by revolution and a quest for justice. It singles out the carefully rendered sustainable ape world and high-end VFX action. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/863bde2f-04c8-4f15-8fc7-3608889ceba6) - **Los Angeles Times**, Katie Walsh (75/100, inferred): The critic sees the film as a smart rethink of the durable sci-fi concept, delivering character-driven storytelling with youthful energy and impressive world-building. It singles out the emotional depth of the new protagonist Noa and the sophisticated visuals for praise, while noting the story feels a bit overstuffed. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-05-09/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-wes-ball-sci-fi) - **The Times**, Tom Shone (70/100, inferred): The critic notes that humanity’s worst instincts remain central, with the film functioning as a reboot of a reboot exploring myth and regression. It highlights the fresh characters and the contrast between wise orangutans and power-hungry leaders. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-humanity-gets-a-primitive-reboot-2n69pc98x) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (70/100, inferred): The critic views the film as an effective reboot that finally reaches the ape-ruled future with a survival tale and connects to the original's spirit through its cult-kingdom drama. It singles out the organic motion-capture performances and classical pacing for praise, while criticizing its length and noting it may not be a major hit. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-1235993963/) - **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (70/100, inferred): The film lacks the grim urgency of predecessors but has great visuals and ideas; the final act shines, though early parts are a slog due to unexciting characters; it gets the franchise's social critique right. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes.html) - **Radio Times**, Dave Golder (3/5): The film offers decent thrills, spectacular action and engaging characters in a family-friendly fantasy adventure. It is a serviceable potboiler rather than a must-see, with more cartoony apes and fantasy tropes replacing the intensity of prior entries. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/scifi/kingdom-planet-apes-review/) - **Evening Standard** (55/100, inferred): It is a decent romp with thrilling set-pieces and glittering CGI that excels visually, but suffers from too many apes, predictable plotting, clunky dialogue, and a sense of stretched filler for future installments. The film comes alive mainly in ape-human interactions. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-b1156701.html) - **Total Film** (40/100, inferred): The film offers spectacle and thrills but lacks the smarts and ambition of its predecessors. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review/) - **Screen Daily**: This ripping action-adventure features stellar effects and a superb lead performance from Owen Teague. It delivers a muscular blockbuster that is far more intelligent and mature than most event movies, maintaining the high standards of the previous trilogy. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review/5192911.article) - **Sight and Sound**, Kim Newman: The film is a paradoxical epic modelled on Apocalypto, with humour and horror in equal measure. It reworks elements of the series and The Jungle Book through Proximus Caesar's quest for human power. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/kingdom-planet-apes-this-ape-ocalypto-inspired-addition-saga) - **The Guardian**: The critic calls it a top-quality summer blockbuster that brings fresh blood and new ideas to the series while remaining true to its established world. They single out the phenomenal visuals of nature reclaiming human spaces and the superb motion capture performances as standout elements. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/11/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-thrilling-addition-to-the-series) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: The critic praises Wes Ball’s exciting new chapter that proves there’s still life in the franchise, highlighting the mix of action thrills, visual spectacle, and thoughtful themes, along with strong performances and motion-capture. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-wes-ball-owen-teague-1235890518/) - **The New York Times**, Alissa Wilkinson (Critic's Pick): The critic finds the film a strong continuation of an excellent series, noting how mythology evolves into power structures among the apes. It singles out the franchise's uncommon thoughtfulness and insight for praise. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/movies/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review.html) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film for giving new life to the franchise by advancing the story hundreds of years into the future with a fresh angle and strong adventure elements. They single out the advancements in performance-capture acting and the production design for particular praise. [Read](https://deadline.com/2024/05/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-56-year-old-franchise-reborn-again-1235907917/) - **/Film**, Witney Seibold (8/10): It is handily the best of the new Apes series, a film that fast-forwards deep into the post-ape world and lets us live there for a moment with quiet scenes appreciated. The reboot series excels most in its special effects. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1577970/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review/) - **HeyUGuys**, Linda Marric (80/100, inferred): The film delivers on story and spectacle with captivating performances, astounding VFX and richly developed characters. Wes Ball brings awe-inspiring post-apocalyptic set pieces and youthful rebellion to this fresh and satisfying chapter. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review/) - **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (50/100, inferred): The review notes the film's evolution into a post-Caesar world with new characters and strong effects, praising the villain and some imagery, but criticizes pacing, conventional storytelling, and lack of daring compared to predecessors. It's a passable but unremarkable exercise. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2024/05/10/movies/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-film-review) - **Polygon**, Joshua Rivera (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a technical marvel in its ape effects but narratively competent at best, lacking character development and ambition, making one miss Andy Serkis's performance. It praises the visual effects but criticizes the pedestrian storytelling and franchise maintenance feel. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/24152022/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review) - **The Wrap** (30/100, inferred): The critic criticizes the film for abandoning the bold storytelling and interesting characters of previous entries, resulting in bland franchise fodder lacking courage or daring ideas. They single out the flat characters and lack of subtext as major complaints. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review/) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (3 out of 5): The critic finds it a solid but not groundbreaking entry that builds a fascinating world and proves the franchise has life left, praising the visuals and performances, but notes it doesn't fully explore new ideas. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review/) - **NME**, Nick Levine (3): It's a visually stunning but middling sequel that starts sluggishly but has tense climax and points to future, no classic but keeps franchise going. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-3754757) ## Details - **Director:** Wes Ball - **Director:** Wes Ball - **Writer:** Josh Friedman - **Cinematography:** Gyula Pados - **Editor:** Dan Zimmerman, Dirk Westervelt - **Music:** John Paesano - **Production design:** Daniel T. Dorrance - **Costume design:** Mayes C. Rubeo - **Producer:** Wes Ball, Amanda Silver, Jason T. Reed - **Cast:** Owen Teague as Noa; Freya Allan as Nova / Mae; Kevin Durand as Proximus Caesar; Peter Macon as Raka; William H. Macy as Trevathan; Eka Darville as Sylva; Travis Jeffery as Anaya; Lydia Peckham as Soona - **Runtime:** 2h 25m - **Release (Iceland):** 2 August 2024 - **Genres:** Science Fiction, Adventure, Action - **Part of:** [Planet of the Apes](https://film.one/collections/planet-of-the-apes.md) · 9 of 9 - **Budget:** $160 million - **Box office:** $397 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg1FesR8X90 ## Where to watch in Iceland - Disney+: streaming, uhd *Checked 2026-09-10.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Dawn of the Planet of the Apes* (2014), Fi1m 78: The series at its most confident, with an ape who has something to lose. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes.md) - *Apocalypto* (2006): A young man chases his captors through a collapsing world, at twice the speed. - *The Girl with All the Gifts* (2016), Fi1m 75: A British take on nature reclaiming the cities, with a child at the centre. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-girl-with-all-the-gifts.md) - *Princess Mononoke* (1997), Fi1m 88: Animals, humans and a forest, and nobody entirely in the right. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/princess-mononoke.md) - *Mad Max 2* (1981), Fi1m 88: A quiet loner, a fortress of scrap and a warlord with a good line in speeches. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mad-max-2.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes