SNAPSHOT
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species. (source: cinemablend.com)
It’s always a risky endeavour to remake a much-loved movie franchise, especially one with such an iconic place in pop culture as Planet of the Apes.
Too much like the original and people will question why you even bothered; too little and you will be accused of sullying the franchise, ruining the very things that attracted people to it in the first place.
In the case of Planet of the Apes, which began in 1968 with the movie of the same name (itself based on the French book La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle) starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut who thinks he has landed on another planet where apes are in the ascendant only to discover shockingly that it is in fact a future Earth, you are grappling with a series that has captured the imagination of people across a wide range of ages for a whole host of reasons.
And these fans, young and old, didn’t take too kindly to the first attempt to “re-imagine” the franchise, undertaken by Tim Burton in 2001 to largely negative reviews.
I actually didn’t mind it but had to admit, along with many other people that 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, an altogether grittier and less camp take on the idea of apes and humans swapping places on the evolutionary ladder starring James Franco as biotech scientist Will Rodman, was far more in keeping with the spirit and thematic intent of the original movies.
Here’s the teaser trailer that was released 17 December US time ahead of the full trailer’s release the following day …
And now the next instalment in the revived franchise, which effectively acts along with its predecessor as a prequel to the original series of movies, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, sees the apes led by Caesar and a ragtag bunch of humans who have been decimated by the virus developed by Rodman to hopefully cure Alzheimer’s in a struggle for dominance of the planet.
No prizes for guessing who is going to come out on top of course but even with the end, in a sense, a foregone conclusion, seeing how the apes rise to the top of the pile looks like it will once again be a fascinating dramatic journey and one we will all be willing to go on.
The trailer, which does a might fine job of whetting the appetite with its scenes of the bedraggled detritus of humanity led by a wizened Gary Oldman seeking some kind of accommodation with the ape nation under the rule of a perpetually and understandably angry Caesar, until naturally it all goes horribly wrong, is a masterclass in anticipation-building understatement.
The sense of foreboding, of things sliding out of control for humanity just as the soon-to-be-rulers of the planet apes are marching to the evolutionary summit, thanks to a hubris-laden assist from humanity, is palpable, and it promises a film every bit as gripping as its 2011 forebear.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which also stars Keri Russell, Andy Serkis and Jason Clarke among others, is set to open in the USA on 11 July 2014.
Here’s the full trailer in all its humans-are-doomed-apes-are-ascendant glory …