I’ll admit something. I never saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes in the theaters. Everyone said it was really good and that I would really enjoy it. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I never cared for the Planet of the Apes series of films. When I was a kid they always just creeped me out. Not in a scary movie kind of way, but in a “it’s not natural to see talking apes” kind of way. Then, when I was older, if I tried watching the movies, they just didn’t impress me. I figured that it must have been something I needed to be into when they first came out to get it. So, when a new Planet of the Apes movie was announced, I wasn’t interested. I was picturing this:
When it came out on blu ray, we rented it and we really enjoyed. It was nothing like the old movies and TV series. The ending obviously left it open for a sequel, or series of sequels. I mean, the title of the film left it open for a new series of movies, so it was no surprise when the sequel was announce shortly after that and it was rushed into production. After viewing the film, I joined a lot of fans in wondering what was going to be next for our friend Caesar. Well, in just a few weeks, we are all going to find out. The movie opens on July 11. The first trailer premiered this week and cause quite a bit of buzz, almost as much buzz as the poster at the top of this post caused.
Here is the trailer:
This trailer blew me away. It was action packed and exciting and a little scary all at the same time. One thing that really stood out to me was how amazing all the CG looked in the film. This day and age it seems like CG is taking over everything and it sometimes really detracts from the film. That doesn’t seem to be the case with this title. The CG looks amazing and blends really well with the non CG stuff.
The other thing I liked about this trailer is that it does seem to do what a preview should do. It sets up the movie, the characters and the basic story without showing their whole hand. It whets the appetite, makes us want more. So many previews today give the whole movie away, but not this one. It is a perfect mix of giving us enough information, and withholding important information. I feel like I can watch it a hundred times, and still want to see the movie, and I am confident that the best part of the movie is not in the trailer. There will be stuff in the actual movie that will blow us away that we haven’t seen.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes did a great job of setting up the new franchise, and it looks like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will be a fantastic second installment. A movie that is on my list of must sees, even more so after seeing the trailer.
