The recent three movies from the Planet of the Apes franchise were remarkable for a number of good reasons. Besides the first-rate special effects which vividly presented a bunch of various ape characters on the screen, these movies made us really care about these CGI characters, and their result was also even more interesting and compelling than the 1968 classic film and the following sequels.

Because of the considerable box office success of the trilogy, the production of a sequel was inevitable, and I doubted whether that was necessary, but, what do you know, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” turns out to be another surprise. While it sometimes feels a bit redundant as another typical tale of hero’s journey, the movie brings out some new and fresh narrative ideas and potentials to be explored by whatever may follow next, and that is certainly promising to say the least.

The period background of the story is “many generations after” the heroic death of Caesar, the chimpanzee hero of the trilogy memorably played by Andy Serkis. As many of you remember, Caesar and his ape comrades became much more intelligent and communicative thanks to a genetically modified virus which also eliminated nearly all of the human population around the earth, and the trilogy was mainly about how they rose, struggle, and then won in the end despite many obstacles including those petty human survivors (Can humans really ever learn, I wonder?)

Anyway, our new ape hero is Noa (Owen Teague), a young chimpanzee who has lived peacefully along with many members of his ape clan inside one remote forest area. As observing how he and his two close friends prepare for the upcoming coming-of-age ceremony, the movie gradually establishes the details of the daily life of their ape clan, and it is sometimes amusing to observe the remaining ruins of the human civilization fully covered in the greenery of trees and bushes, which might come true around the end of this century if we remain unwise and arrogant as before.

Not long after Noa and his two close friends encounter a mysterious human figure, their clan and village are suddenly attacked by a group of vicious ape soldiers coming from the outside region. Fortunately, Noa manages to survive and avoid being taken to somewhere as most of his surviving clan members are, and he becomes determined to locate and then rescue his clan members even though there is no one around him for now.

Fortunately, Noa later comes across the two figures who may help him as accompanying him. One of them is a wise and eccentric orangutan named Raka (Peter Macon), who instantly reminded me of my favorite ape character in the trilogy. Raka gladly tells and teaches Noa everything he knows about Caesar and the old history between humans and apes, and Noa certainly becomes more aware of how he did not know many important things outside his little world.

The other figure is that elusive human figure, who turns out to be a young woman and called “Nova” (Freya Allan) by Noa and Raka. When she later approaches closer to Raka and Noa, Noa is naturally watchful about her as before, and, as Raka correctly perceived from his first encounter with her, Nova turns out to be very different from many of humans who came to lose their intelligence and communication skill due to that virus.

As these three figures go through a number of events during their joint journey, the movie doles out a series of entertaining moments clearly influenced by some of its predecessors. In case of one action sequence, this is clearly influenced by that striking hunt sequence in the 1968 classic film, and the score by John Paesano accordingly gives a respectful nod to Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar-nominated score for that movie.

The second half of the film becomes a little less engaging during the expected climactic action sequence, but the screenplay by Josh Friedman keeps focusing on the characters at least. While the main villain of the story is rather broad and simple, Noa’s situation turns out to be more complicated than expected later in the story, and he surely comes to learn some bitter lessons about apes and humans just like Caesar did a long time ago.

While his character is relatively less compelling than Caesar, Owen Teague is believable in his character’s development along the story, and you may come to have more expectation on his character’s next adventure to come. While Kevin Durand and Peter Macon are effective as the two substantial simian figures in the story, Freya Allan is also solid in her crucial supporting part, and William H. Macy provides some humor during his brief appearance.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” directed by Wes Ball, who has mainly known for “The Maze Runners” (2014) and the two following sequels. While I did not like these movies enough for recommendation, Ball showed some competence at least, and he did a better job here in “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”. In short, this is a beginning as good as “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (2011), and I am already ready for our new ape hero’s continuing journey.