Okay, We Saw the New Apes Movie...Here's What We Thought!

Alright, so we finally saw Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes! The kids have been buzzing about it since the trailers dropped. I was a little hesitant, not gonna lie, because the last set of Apes movies were pretty intense, but I was pleasantly surprised. This one felt… gentler? Like, the action was still there, of course, but it wasn't constant hand-wringing stress, you know? Noa, the young ape, was a really compelling character, and my littlest one, Leo, immediately latched onto him. He's been pretending to be an eagle trainer ever since! I really appreciated how the movie explored the different ape societies that have sprung up since Caesar. The peaceful village Noa comes from was so beautifully realized, and the contrast with Proximus Caesar's... ahem, 'kingdom' was stark. That whole beach scene where the apes are raiding the human settlement was visually stunning, even though it made my skin crawl a little. Freya, my eldest, was super invested in Mae's story – she's always been one for the underdogs! I liked the ambiguity of her character, you're not really sure whose side she's on until the very end. That one plot detail that makes you think about how their history of what happened to the apes and why is a nice detail. There were definitely some slow parts, especially in the middle act. My husband even dozed off for a few minutes (shh!). And honestly I think the ending felt a bit rushed, but overall, we enjoyed it. It sparked some really interesting conversations with the kids about power, legacy, and how history gets rewritten. Which, let's be real, is always a win in my book! Would I say it's the best Apes movie ever? Probably not, but it's definitely a solid entry in the franchise and totally family-appropriate, at least for my kids (ages 7 and 11). We'd give it a thumbs up! Go see it!