For fans, this franchise is amazingly deep in content and includes five feature films from the late sixties and seventies, a live-action television series, an animated one, a Tim Burton reboot that came out in 2001 that had its issues and then a more successful reemergence that started with Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011 and of which the latest film is the fourth of that series.

Throughout its entire run, film technology has played a major role in the believability of the series. From the rubber masks and make-up tricks utilised at its inception to the almost unlimited canvas afforded by state-of-the-art computer graphics, the stories have become more complex and involving. The capabilities of the filmmakers have also greatly expanded. This is especially illustrated in their ability to have the primates show real emotion.

It’s a credit to the vision of director Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy) and that of his writers Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver that the end results are so interesting. They could have easily phoned it in but instead have opened the door for far more explorations of the dynamics and parallels that exist between the primates and humans in this dystopian version of a future planet Earth.
Rob Hudson
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Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously 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” is directed by Wes Ball (the “Maze Runner” trilogy) and stars Owen Teague (“IT”), Freya Allan (“The Witcher”), Kevin Durand (“Locke & Key”), Peter Macon (“Shameless”), and William H. Macy (“Fargo”). The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”) and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) and Patrick Aison (“Prey”), based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and the producers are Wes Ball, Joe Hartwick, Jr., p.g.a. (“The Maze Runner”), Rick Jaffa, p.g.a., Amanda Silver, p.g.a., Jason Reed, p.g.a. (“Mulan”), with Peter Chernin (the “Planet of the Apes” trilogy) and Jenno Topping (“Ford v. Ferrari”) serving as executive producers.
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Little does she know, when the deed is signed she will become inextricably tied to an unspeakable entity that resides in the pub’s basement – Baghead – a shape-shifting creature that can transform into the dead.

Two thousand in cash for two minutes with the creature is all it takes for desperate loved ones to ease their grief. Neil (Jeremy Irvine), who has lost his wife, is Iris’ first customer. Like her father, Iris is tempted to exploit the creature’s powers and help desperate people for a price.

But she soon discovers breaking the two-minute rule can have terrifying consequences. Together with her best friend Katie (Ruby Barker), Iris must battle to keep control of Baghead and figure out how to destroy her, before she destroys them.
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Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously 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” is directed by Wes Ball (the “Maze Runner” trilogy) and stars Owen Teague (“IT”), Freya Allan (“The Witcher”), Kevin Durand (“Locke & Key”), Peter Macon (“Shameless”), and William H. Macy (“Fargo”). The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”) and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) and Patrick Aison (“Prey”), based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and the producers are Wes Ball, Joe Hartwick, Jr. (“The Maze Runner”), Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Jason Reed (“Mulan”), with Peter Chernin (the “Planet of the Apes” trilogy) and Jenno Topping (“Ford v. Ferrari”) serving as executive producers.

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