‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Lacks the Power of Its Predecessors

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( movie review [Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Lacks the Power of Its Predecessors]( The apes look amazing, and this franchise still has a lot on its mind. Photo: Walt Disney Studios/Everett Collection It’s hard to believe they’re not real. The digital fur and hardened skin on the characters in the latest installment in the Planet of the Apes saga are so vividly rendered that at certain moments we forget we’re watching computer-generated visual effects and lose ourselves in texture. We can feel the warmth of the apes when they hug, the chill when they get wet, the sting when they bleed. This is a 56-year-old movie franchise, but the most recent cycle of Apes films, which kicked off in 2011 with Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes and continued with Matt Reeves’s two sequels, have all turned on this: We need to fully invest ourselves in these simian characters’ existence and their — for lack of a better word — humanity, because in these movies, it’s often the people who are the strange, rough monsters looming in the shadows. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Elsbeth: [Death by Corporatespeak]( • Sugar: [More Human Than Human]( • Summer House: [Certified Loverboys]( • Grey’s Anatomy: [A Case of History Repeating]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Red, White & Royal Blue Gets One More Term What should Royal Two be about? Adding a third?]( By Jason P. Frank [Why Doctor Who Is Regenerating on Disney+ The storied British franchise is getting a soft reboot with a new Doctor, a new streaming home, and a familiar name back at the helm.]( By George Fallon [The Mysterious Fidi Coffee Shop That’s a Front for Sleep No More’s Successor Conwell Coffee Hall at 20 Exchange Place is part of Emursive’s next production, Life and Trust — but it’s also a real café and bar.]( By Joey Sims [The 10 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend Summer School is in session.]( By Savannah Salazar [Harmony Korine’s New Anti-Movie, Aggro Dr1ft, Looks Cool for a Few Minutes The night-vision hit-man feature starring Jordi Molla and Travis Scott is a unique exercise in tedium.]( By Bilge Ebiri [Planet of the Apes Movies, Ranked Where does Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stack up in the original sci-fi blockbuster franchise?]( By Barry Levitt [Maya Rudolph’s 17 Best SNL Moments The powerhouse who proved that Saturday Night Live can be kind of a calling in and of itself returns to studio 8H this weekend.]( By Jesse Hassenger [Gasoline Rainbow Bottles the Feeling of Being 18 Again Mostly in a good way.]( By Alison Willmore [Help! Help! It’s an ‘It’ Girl Explosion! Charli XCX knows what the internet likes (these women).]( By Jason P. Frank [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 4-Down, Four Letters: “Grease” hottie Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty, FX [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name an Oscar-nominated film starring Dakota Johnson or Fanning? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage, Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images, Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved