It’s no secret that I’m entirely too excited for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Yeah, I’m looking forward to watching Godzilla next week, and I have high hopes for Guardians of the Galaxy, but at the end of the day my movie year revolves around the continuing adventures of Caesar and company.
Yesterday we got a new trailer for the film and, coupled with the reports from those lucky enough to have already seen parts of the film, I can barely contain my excitement. With so many films with potential on the horizon and Captain America 2 being an early home run, are we on the brink of the best summer blockbuster season since 2008 (Iron Man, Speed Racer, Wall-E, Hellboy 2, The Dark Knight)? Fingers crossed.
While we count down the days until July 11, let’s talk about all the rad things in this new trailer.
Apes on Horseback
All heroes should ride a horse at some point. It just makes them look epic, no matter what time period the movie takes place in.
The Door Opens
Awesome shot. Also, this is a good time to mention that I love what they’re doing with Caesar’s voice in the film.
The James Franco Cameo
Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the human story in the first film (although I understand why the people behind the film might have thought it necessary), I’m glad that they’re not completely ignoring it in the sequel. It would be weird to ignore Franco’s character altogether, and it’s always good to have a hero with a backstory.
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Ape Against Tank
While I’m not expecting Saving Private Ryan levels of violence, it’s good to see that there’s a clear escalation in scale of violence between Rise and Dawn. I mean, you didn’t expect humans to go quietly in to the night on the path to Earth becoming The Planet of the Apes, did you? Speaking of which…
Apes on the March
Yeah, totally not an army I’d want to try and fight, no matter how many cool weapons my species had designed. I almost worry that this trailer has too many cool shots in it and that the rest of the movie can’t keep up.
Ape Law
It almost happens too quickly to really pick up on in the trailer, but the apes are making some serious advancements in communication. Like I said, I’m looking forward to hearing Caesar rally the troops, but I’m also digging the larger feel of the ape community.
Bonus: At the start of this blog is the American version of the trailer. If you want to see a slightly different version with a few bonus shots, check out the international trailer below:
This article appears in May 8-14, 2014.
