The Philosophy Of Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes – What The Apes Can Tell Us About Legacy, Perspective And Morality

Seven years since Caesar heroically emerged victorious from his battle against the Colonel in War for The Planet Of The Apes, the apes have returned – and with some style. Many fans of the franchise were quietly reserved about the possibility of successfully continuing the franchise some 300 years after the previous movie’s events, removing any chance of the beloved group developed throughout the prior trilogy making a surprise reappearance. However, I am pleased to confirm, as a personal fan of the franchise, that while the stakes of the latest instalment aren’t quite at the heights of War, this in no way prevents the movie from telling a story that isn’t only engaging and action-packed, but also manages to deliver the philosophical and ethical themes and questions that made the beloved trilogy before it so profound.  

At its core, this movie is intrigued by the concept of legacy, especially in relation to its formerly central protagonist Caesar. The movie begins with an emotionally powerful tribute to Caesar in the form of a depiction of his funeral, surrounded by Maurice, Rocket, and the other apes who were by Caesar’s side throughout the previous three movies. This immediately reminds us of our love for Caesar and the principles that he stood for – the unity of apes as one harmonious group, the peaceful relationship between apes and humans, founded upon his testimony from the first two movies, and his eagerness to bring an end to the war without sacrificing apes in the ways that Caesar’s ape nemesis, Koba, expressed willingness to do so.

However, we learn throughout the movie that these principles, especially the credo that ‘Ape not kill Ape’, have been distorted and manipulated by the dictatorial Caesar Proximus, who has capitalised upon the legendary status of Caesar to suit his own agenda and falsely attribute unwarranted supremacy to himself over the apes as Caesar’s heir apparent. This loss of the true teachings of Caesar to time is equally reflected in the complete absence of knowledge of our new main protagonist, Noa, about the vital role of Caesar in liberating the apes a matter of centuries ago. He is eventually taught about his integral nature by the orangutan Raka.

 

These forces are represented in the movie by the Kingdom of Caesar Proximus, but the erasure of history is a theme that we can easily observe in the world around us.

Yet, Raka’s status as the last member of a tribe named The Order Of Caesar, who sought to preserve the knowledge of their ancestor, only further highlights the greater historical notion of how easily great sages of history can be erased by powerful, dictatorial forces. These forces are represented in the movie by the Kingdom of Caesar Proximus, but the erasure of history is a theme that we can easily observe in the world around us through authoritarian governments that seek to rewrite history to suit their political ambitions and narrative. And yet, the ability of Raka to pass his knowledge of Caesar along to Noa, who in turn passes this knowledge to the human Mae, evidences that the individual rebellion of only a passionate few can preserve vital history and moral codes that would otherwise be lost to time.  

The movie also has something especially profound to say about the relationship between humanity and the other animals who we share this Earth with. This movie is distinct from the trilogy in that it succeeds insofar as its power dynamics, with the humans who were the dominant oppressive forces who opposed the apes in the Caesar trilogy, now reduced to the speechless, scavenging species the apes once were. This role reversal allows us to evaluate our own ethical systems directed towards animals. Noa’s perception of Mae as being a pest is founded upon his disregard for humans as being an unintellectual and valueless species who are nothing in comparison to the might of the intelligent and speaking apes. The subtext here is thought-provoking, encouraging us to evaluate whether our contemporaneous ethical systems of devaluing animals due to their inferior intellectual understanding is perhaps a rather self-righteous and immoral ethical outlook.

However, the humans aren’t quite as innocuous and subordinate as they first seem. While there is a tribe of more intellectually subordinate humans we come across, it is the character of Mae who acts as the pivotal human to the plot, given her revelation of proficiency of speech halfway through the movie. While the movie’s plot revolves around the necessity of denying Caesar Proximus the contents of the human vault that he seeks to accrue the rewards of, Mae ultimately betrays the trust of Noa by stealing some precious technology from the vault that we later learn is of precious importance to the intellectually astute group of humans, leaving with the part by plunging the kingdom into the nearby ocean.

This stunning move from Mae begs the question of who the true villain of the movie is. Caesar Proximus immediately invites our disapproval for his manipulation of the harmony taught centuries ago by Caesar. However, he equally is proven right about his mistrust of the true intentions of human beings by Mae’s betrayal. Mae herself could therefore be interpreted as being the true antagonist of the instalment, similar to the immoral schemes of humanity against apes in movies past, especially given her choice to bring a firearm to her final dialogue with Noa in case she deemed her too serious a danger to the human mission to be left alive.

However, she also has understandable motivations of her own. Mae has learnt from the other members of her group about the status that humans once had amongst the animal kingdom and is intent upon employing a realist philosophy of taking the necessary steps to restore humanity to the authority that they once wielded so that future humans can live a more prosperous life than she and her group inherited. Perhaps a more cogent evaluation of the morality of this movie is therefore one that understands the rivalry between Noa, Caesar Proximus, and Mae as one of competing power dynamics, as opposed to a black-and-white depiction of clear protagonists and antagonists.  

Overall, while this film doesn’t present a clear character of ethical and personal development to rival the spectacular development of Caesar throughout the 2010s trilogy, this new instalment nevertheless provides the truly engaging and thought-provoking ethical insight that makes Planet Of The Apes a consistently superb franchise. And for that alone as well as the amazing action, cinematography and visuals, I wholeheartedly recommend Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.