My review of Kingdom of the planet of the apes

 My review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Intro: Did we really need this movie? 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: Taking place over a century after the last movie, this movie focuses on a chimp name Noa who is a part of an isolated tribe. One day, his tribe has been captured, so he goes out to rescue them. On the way, he comes across other apes and humans who challenge his worldview. So, he has to decide what kind of future he wants?     

This movie is OK. I noticed that it tried to do the same thing Jurassic World did, as far as parallel with the first movie, but doing its own thing. However, the film drops the ball in doing that. We see the apes living in different groups without knowing how this happened? I don't get it why start the movie with the quote "apes together strong" if that quote has no payoff? This also shows that the apes are no different than humans. Speaking of humans, why are most of them living like animals? I mean the virus took away their ability to speak, not their IQ points. Legacy and knowledge are the themes of this movie, but the execution wasn't there. The climax in this movie is lackluster. The way this movie ended, it looks like this series will go in circles. 

Noa is a timid and curious character who goes on a hero's journey. The problem I have with him is that he lost someone close to him and doesn't want revenge. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, however, I wish the writers went in that direction because it would give the next character I'm going to talk about a bigger role. Then again, that's hard to do without feeling like it's retreading from the previous films. 

Raka is a supporting character who's informative. He not only tells other Apes about what Ceaser stood for, but he also knows the world before Ceaser. Plus, he provides some humor. My issue with him is him telling anyone about Ceaser; it doesn't affect the story or characters.  

Mae is a wild card in this movie. That's what bugs me about her, there's no personality to her, and we don't know why she thinks Noa can help her.  

Proximus may be Mr. Personality he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Like Raka, he's interested in history but misunderstood what Ceaser stood for. I wish he got more screen time, and why he thinks Noa can help him.    

I like the visuals in this movie, we see how nature takes over abandoned buildings and how the apes use them. I appreciate that this movie tried to stand on its own by not having any characters who are descendants of characters from the previous Trilogy in this movie. Overall, this movie is underwhelming. That's a shame because it could have been better if the writing was good.  

 
rating = Rental 

My thoughts on the Bad Batch series

 My thoughts on the Bad Batch series

 

Despite not being crazy about the Clone Wars series and the episodes that featured the bad batch didn't make the best impression I was willing to give this show a chance. That's saying a lot considering we didn't need this series. The writers could have written out the clones by making cloning illegal and have the clones die of old age due to their rapid aging. As I said the clones are the best part of the Clone Wars series it would be interesting to see things from their point of view like the war, the Jedi and being viewed as property of the republic. 

This series focuses on a defective but enhanced group of clones called Clone Force 99 also known as the bad batch. After the Clone War, they don't like how things are changing. So they decide to run away with a clone girl name Omage. This series was passable it reminds me of Firefly. Episode 12 of season 2 is one of my favorite episodes because it's a good example of not provoking your kids to wrath. I also like the last two episodes of season 2 because they play with our expectations. As far as the inhibitor chips goes I don't mind them however order 66 could have worked as a subliminal message. 

Despite not expecting much from this series it could have been better if it was based on the Republic Commando books. Here are some examples in those books, the clones were ordered to kill one of their own because he went AWOL. The clones are looking for a scientist to stop their rapid aging so they can live normal lives, another scientist created a virus that only affects the clones and a Jedi is pregnant by one of the clones. ( I don't know about you but that's more interesting than Anakin becoming Vader but I digress.) Also, the Commandos and ACR Troopers separate themselves from the other clones and keep to themselves. Speaking of Republic Commando one of them is in this series and the writers did him dirty. That alone is enough to make me want to take back anything nice I have to say about this series.  

This show could have been better if the writers used those elements a build a story around them. I wouldn't mind this series lasting three seasons if each season was about something. The first season could be about the bad batch starting not to agree with the war and ends with them getting away from the empire, season two could be about them figuring out what they should do now the war is over and the final season should be about the clone figuring out how to stop the rapid aging or find a cure for the virus that's killing them. That's another thing that hurts this series that is build-up. I mean there is no build-up to the clones realizing they are on the wrong side of the war before this series started. We don't hear or see them talk about a missing that made them feel uncomfortable. This could have been fixed if this series focused on the clones were familiar with like Rex, Cody and the clones from the episode rookies. (To be fair some of them died in the Clone Wars series.) 

They don't talk about the Jedi having an impact on them and having to kill them. We were told that they did beyond one episode with Yoda in the Clone Wars we don't see much of that. Instead of doing what I suggest we get episodes of either the bad batch keeping a low profile or saving Omega. There is also a subplot of liberating the clones I wish there was some conflict with that because the bad batch are indifferent to saving them. Plus, it's hard to appreciate the clones being captured because we don't know what they are being used for beyond training their replacements. Also, it's awkward seeing the clones live normal lives because they all look the same. We have a handful of Senators fighting for the rights of the clones but that's secondary to everything else in this series. 

Another reason why I wish this series would focus on a different group of clones is because the bad batch are archetypes. Wrecker is the muscle with no brains, Tech is the smart one, Crosshair is the by-the-book loner, Hunter the leader is the voice of reason, Omage is a cheerful kid and I don't know what to say about Echo. That's what bugs me about this group like I said just because characters have archetypes that doesn't mean they should be bound by them. I don't get the sense that this is a group of brothers because the group lacks camaraderie even with Omage and Echo. We learn something about this group in the series but it amounts to nothing. I wouldn't have minded this series being centered on these clones if we got more episodes of them in the Clone Wars series. I'm annoyed with what the writers have done with some of the characters because it has no payoff. 

Overall, this series was a missed opportunity. With that said this show is harmless.