“Planet of the Apes: Reign” is one of the most violent films of recent years, along with “The Northman” (2022). It is no coincidence that the production – premiering in cinemas today – opens the 2024 blockbuster season, normally occupied by superhero stories.
With the decline of the sub-genre that made Marvel swim for two decades, turning to more familiar and fantasy stories, Hollywood seems to point towards a darker and more realistic scenario, which will soon gain a second round with the release of “Furiosa”. .
The new saga of the monkeys that dominate the planet and enslave humanity does not hide the relationship with the rise of the extreme right, based on a tyrant who tries to unite his people around an autocratic project, creating his own laws and encouraging the use of violence to achieve their goals.
The opening hour of “O Reign”, when the attack on the protagonist Noa’s village takes place, is frightening. The script manages to show the need for norms for the functioning of a society and, soon after, destroy this notion of collective good when it appropriates a former leader.
Like right-wing leaders who use religion in their speeches of persuasion, Proximus uses the name Cesar, as if it were a continuation of the primate with great intelligence who led the revolt against humans. Cesar is the central character of the trilogy made between 2011 and 2017.
It is not necessary to see the previous films to understand the dimension that Cesar carries 300 years later, the period in which “The Reign” takes place. The important thing is to know that Cesar never preached confrontation, as explained by Raka, a solitary wise man who is an advocate of good coexistence with humans.
Just like the recent “Civil War”, the film brings an apocalyptic vision of this polarized world and does not choose one side or the other – humans, really, are not flowers that can be smelled and are just waiting for the moment of reconquest. Noa, on the other hand, spearheads the idea of coexistence between different thoughts.
Two aspects also draw attention: one of them is the leadership exercised by Mae, a human woman who contrasts with a scientist more likely to accept the idea of “total war” propagated by Proximus. This female relevance coincides with the resurgence of the heroine Furiosa in cinemas.
The realism of the special effects is also impressive, in which we are quickly convinced of the emotions and intentions of the primates – most of the scenes are with them. In terms of action, there are several exquisite sequences made at great heights.
And, for those nostalgic for the original films produced in the 1960s, “The Reign” is full of references, such as the return to the “Forbidden Zone”, which reveals the true story of evolution. Ultimately, it’s good entertainment that makes us reflect on current issues.
