Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes (Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Wes Ball

Cast: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand

Release Date: August 27, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise with this action-adventure spectacle from 20th Century Studios. Set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, apes are living harmoniously as the dominant species — and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ joins a heroic young ape named Noa several generations after Caesar’s time and follows his journey when his life is thrown into disarray following an attack from a warring group on their home that leaves many for dead and sees numerous others taken. Determined to seek out those responsible and find vengeance, as well as try and rescue those that might still be alive, Noa joins with two unexpected companions and follows the path of the clan, but what he never expected was to find a new way of looking at the world, as well as others unlike him that occupy it.

Directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner) from a screenplay written by Josh Friedman (TV’s Snowpiercer), Ball does a commendable job at the helm of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ guiding along the engaging and visually stunning new chapter with care. The film’s cast includes Owen Teague (Cell), Freya Allan (TV’s The Witcher), Kevin Durand (Abigail), Peter Macon (TV’s The Orville) and William H. Macy (TV’s Shameless), along with more and the majority each offer solid and fitting performances for the most part in their respective roles.

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ delivers an exciting, emotionally rich and visually spectacular new chapter that takes place in the same universe as the recent trilogy starring Andy Serkis and manages to find some fresh ways to continue the tale and explore what might have come after. While it may not be a direct sequel to the previous trilogy of films at least as far as using the same characters, it wisely opts for continuing the legacy of those events and characters, using them as a building block in order to explore what follows in the years after, even borrowing from War’s ending to kick off the story prior to jumping ahead several generations and making room for this story and its characters where the Apes are now the dominant species on the planet and humans are little more than a group of animals in many respects relegated to hiding in shadows.

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ may not be able to fully replicate the raw emotion and heart that was prominent in some of the other installments, but it’s also far from a disappointing follow-up and has a great deal of rewarding moments and characters that you quickly find yourself caring about and rooting for. It also offers plenty of breathtaking action sequences and a great deal of visually stunning moments that are an absolute treat to behold and alone make this one worth taking the time to give a chance.

20^th Century Studios Home Entertainment’s 4K Ultra HD release of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ provides the theatrical cut of the film in full Ultra High Definition with HDR which looks gorgeous. The solid 4K video presentation is only perfectly complemented by a stellar Dolby Atmos soundtrack and a bonus Blu-ray disc that features some rewarding extras including the additional ‘Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut’ version of the film which offers viewers the chance to see the original performances by the cast before the detailed effects were finished and it’s quite a wonder to behold and truly helps the viewer to appreciate how much work went into bringing the film to life. The Limited Edition Steelbook release on 4K which was the version sent over for review features both discs inside a solid and sturdy Steelbook case with some beautiful original artwork both inside and out.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks tremendous as a whole and provides a sharp, clean and beautifully detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected faults to be uncovered along the way. Detail is crisp and impressive, noticeable on the intricacies of the characters, especially the apes which look impeccable down to each strand of fur and the facial details, along with the expansive outdoor landscapes which all shine and look marvelous. The HDR-10 further complements much of it by contributing more lifelike and vivid colors noticeable on nature elements, clothing and plenty more, all of which is nicely balanced by rich, clean and deep black levels. Overall, this is a great Ultra High Definition video presentation that holds up splendidly every step of the way and should thrill fans and first time viewers.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is quite spectacular itself and offers a clean, crisp and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly utilizes all seven available channels in order to send music, action and nature effects, along with crowds cheering and plenty more zipping throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while still ensuring that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible at all times. Overall, this is a wonderful Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that never underwhelms and contributes nicely to the tension and excitement throughout.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ includes some noteworthy extras which are all included on the Blu-ray disc and feature an in depth look at bringing the film to life. Included is the secondary version of the film ‘Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut’ which features the entire film with a split screen that shows the finished cut on the top along with the pre-vfx version below it showcasing the original performances by the actors before the effects were finished; the raw cut also includes the option to view with an ‘Audio Commentary by Director Wes Ball, Editor Dan Zimmerman and VFX Supervisor Erik Winquist’. Also included on the disc is the Making of documentary ‘Inside the Forbidden Zone: Making Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ (running approximately 23 minutes in length), in addition to numerous ‘Deleted/Alternate Scenes’ with optional commentary by Wes Ball (running approximately 32 minutes altogether).

*Please note: The above images were provided by Disney/20^th Century Studios and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above publicity stills were utilized. They are all the property of 20^th Century Studios, Disney and any other respective owners.

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Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 9/10

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‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD August 27, 2024 & is Now Available on Digital from 20^th Century Studios Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes’ on 4K UHD Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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