THE SECOND RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES TRAILER BRINGS THE SYMPATHY

I wanna like this - I'm a sucker for end of the world/civilization stuff, and apes are a nice break from zombies - but I just can't buy this. Hopefully the film will explain why we just don't shoot them all. I mean ok, they're smart, and they can leap at the occasional helicopter, but just how many apes did they have in that lab? You'd need billions to replace society so you can start throwing nets over Chuck Heston. 

Patton Owsald said it best. "I don't give a shit where the stuff I love, comes from."

This looks dumb......

This works best for me if I pretend real hard that there were never any other PLANET OF THE APES films.  Then the idea seems a little more clever and interesting.  The real problem is the cgi ape crowds issue.  Even after all these years, cgi mobs still look flat and fake.

(Also, this awful awful trend of the sudden cut/fade to black bits punctuated by an aural stinger has got to go!  It's played out.)

The main ape has Down's syndrome.

I don't mind admitting that as an animal loving mysanthrope I get the feeling I'm going to take great cathartic pleasure rooting for Caesar and his bretheren throughout this franchise reboot.

I so wanna like this as well..but I'm just not feeling it.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoonBaseNick 

I so wanna like this as well..but I'm just not feeling it.  

The films going to rise or fall (pardon the pun) on how well Caesar is handled for me.

The movie could still fail even if they nail Caesar, but it has almost no chance of working if they don't nail the character, especially because he has a speaking role. I dunno, looks good to me. I'm optimistic like that, and I love the tone of the trailer. Okay, now that we know he has a speaking role, it does strike me as odd that you don't see Caesar speak. It's sorta the same deal with Tintin.

Looks boring, without any of the wonderfully bizarre or witty elements that made the best of the original APES flicks worth watching. And even APES at its worst was at least pretty unique, idiosyncratic stuff. This just appears to be yet another bland studio product.

Now I know what's bugging me about Caesar's look. Chimps don't have that much (if any) white in their eyes. They gave him human eyes and it's pulling me out. I get it that it's probably to make him for emotive or relatable (or closer to humans genetically, if that's the plot), but it makes it even more CG-ish/fake to me.

I still say Franco's such an odd choice and this trailer doesn't sway my opinion about that.

These apes look too clean. Monkeys are dirty, naughty liitle critters......they need more dirt and grime on them.

Finally watched this trailer - I like it.

I really like it.

Looks like a campy hoot.  I'm there. 

i think it looks awesome, leagues above the burton reboot. i would wait to see the full movie before doubting franco.

I can't wait for Cox to scream, "This is the RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES!".  I mean, a movie this campy, it has to reference the title at somepoint.

This is such a nitpicky thing but I can't get past it: fuck ___ of (the) ___ titles. Especially with the word 'Rise' in it. Just reading the words 'rise of' automatically makes me think, 'great, a useless prequel to a franchise that doesn't need it'. Strikes me as lazy for whatever reason. And yet, James Franco...alright. Could be cool. But if I didn't want to know why Charles and Magneto fell out, and ended up enjoying the tale, I wonder what the reaction will be for this, because I really do not want to know how the Planet of the Apes came to pass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratty 

Looks like a campy hoot.  I'm there. 

Yep, me too. Like Soylent said, it works ok if I think about it as disconnected from the other Planet of the Apes films. And that's easy because it really does seem to be a different beast anyway. The studio has tacked the brand onto it but that's not the fault of the film itself.

I even find Franco's vibe more understandable in this trailer. He's acting like a dude who's slightly unhinged, as if obsession has worked him to the bone, to where he's going days at a time without sleep. He seems worn and simultaneously coiled and loose and that works for me. I studied physics and marine science at university and I know a few scientists who aren't a million miles from that. I know a guy with a PhD in geology who talks almost like a surfer dude. Probably because he is a surfer dude. But he's sharp as fuck. I get that the conventional thinking is for scientists to be straighter than thou, but often they really aren't, and anyway fuck it ... I ain't a conventional thinker and neither is Jimmy Franco. Yeah, that's right. I just put myself in the same sentence as Jimmy Franco.

Anyway, I didn't even think I had that much to say about it. I don't expect it to be anywhere near as profound as the real Planet of the Apes, or even one of the best made films of 2011, but like Ratty said - looks like a campy hoot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bucho 

Yep, me too. Like Soylent said, it works ok if I think about it as disconnected from the other Planet of the Apes films. And that's easy because it really does seem to be a different beast anyway. The studio has tacked the brand onto it but that's not the fault of the film itself.

 

I even find Franco's vibe more understandable in this trailer. He's acting like a dude who's slightly unhinged, as if obsession has worked him to the bone, to where he's going days at a time without sleep. He seems worn and simultaneously coiled and loose and that works for me. I studied physics and marine science at university and I know a few scientists who aren't a million miles from that. I know a guy with a PhD in geology who talks almost like a surfer dude. Probably because he is a surfer dude. But he's sharp as fuck. I get that the conventional thinking is for scientists to be straighter than thou, but often they really aren't, and anyway fuck it ... I ain't a conventional thinker and neither is Jimmy Franco. Yeah, that's right. I just put myself in the same sentence as Jimmy Franco.

If THAT is the performance he actually turns in, I will be thrilled. That's a great description.  Like you, I know my fair share of scientists (geologists are *always* the surfer/punk rock/Jackass dudes!) and they're usually pretty wacky.    They claim they aren't (and they're generally a sweet bunch) but they're...not normal.  They do resent "evil scientist" stereotypes, and those are old, but no one ever does the wide-eyed and loopy versions that actually exist.  Franco, with his extended time on campus, has undoubtedly met a bunch of them to model himself on.  If he could turn in a nuanced, oddball  scientist, that would turn around his sleepy rep like nothing else.

Has anyone else seen this trailer play before an audience?  I saw it before X-Men and it gets hoots, hollers and laughs when the title is revealed.

Great point about the eyes, Darkmite8.  I don't think it matters how great a job WETA does with the effects.  Just seeing an ape display such specifically human mannerisms creates that 'uncanny' effect.  This is simply going to be a film where you just have to accept that fact or not.

Am I the only one who kind of loves the way Franco says 'we call it...THE CURE'. He sort of tilts his head to the side, like he's possessed, and turns 'THE CURE' into an almost guttural growl. It's easily my favourite thing in the trailer. I have 0 interest in Planet of the Apes in general so to me, the trailer just looks goofy as fuck/

Scott Frank's still the main credited writer on this one, isn't he?

Having recently had my annual run-through of the original five movies on BD (love that extended cut of Conquest), this one looks like a retelling of the fourth film, on steroids. Since it's the second best one behind the original, count me as being very interested in this.

Fucking "uncanny valley," indeed.

Part of me thinks this will be the "THE HAPPENING" of 2011.

"I don’t want to tell you what movie … alright, The Happening. F— it. It is what it is. F—ing trees, man. The plants. F— it. You can’t blame me for not wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn’t playing a cop or a crook."

Replace trees with apes, science teacher with scientist, and cop/crook with stoner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DARKMITE8 

Part of me thinks this will be the "THE HAPPENING" of 2011.

 

"I don’t want to tell you what movie … alright, The Happening. F— it. It is what it is. F—ing trees, man. The plants. F— it. You can’t blame me for not wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn’t playing a cop or a crook."

 

Replace trees with apes, science teacher with scientist, and cop/crook with stoner.

Are you saying apes aren't more menacing than trees?

Loved the idea of this. Liked Franco and Serkis coming on board. This trailer has me worried I like what I see but something seems very off and wrong. Perhaps its the CGI which doesn't seem really convincing.

Hoping for the best still.

Yep, and Mark Wahlberg didn't deliver a bad performance in The Happening because I know several colleagues who share that obsessive, enthusiastic, overdone manner of behaving.  As with Franco, it's not that I don't understand the validity of that interpretation - sure, he's an obsessive, overworked scientist on the verge of a breakthrough that he has no humanitarian comprehension of, hence the eventual fallout - but the delivery of that concept is just so damn off-putting.  And it's not like the wonky delivery and dialogue is exclusive to Franco's interpretation - all of the characters seem to be suffering from the same issue of overcooked dialogue and performances.

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Originally Posted by Bucho 

 

Are you saying apes aren't more menacing than trees?

Not saying that at all. I'm saying the potential for unintentional comedy is very much intact with that adversary. Hell, it's boosted asamatteroffact.
 

Chimps - so like us. So not scary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3DeJjHAz8I

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil 

Chimps - so like us. So not scary.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3DeJjHAz8I

There ya go bringing grounded logic and real-world evidence into the discussion. No fair.

Oh I know that chimps can be deadly unpredictable bastards. It's why they make good secret agents.

I kinda wish Matthew Broderick would make a cameo in this as a callback to Project X.

I'm assuming I'm alone in that wish.

Actually you're not RD. Thats a great movie.

My real problem with the concept lies in the fact that they went CGI for the apes.  If, and it's a really big "if", this does well enough to jumpstart the franchise again like Fox hopes...........where do we go from here?  Do we get a sequel full of CGI apes that are generally shorter than the remaining humans?  If so, that's not going to appear very imposing.  Also, any sequel will likely feature multiple intelligent apes..........................so how is the budget going to be justifiable when you require a bunch of mo-cap performances?  Do they abandon the CG and go back to make-up and prosthetics?  If so, then why bother going CG for this one in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for the film.  I'm a die hard POTA fan and am psyched at a new installment.  That said, part of me wishes they had just gone the make-up/prosthetic route like Burton did ten years ago.  Say what you will about the horrible screenplay his film had.....................but the production design and ESPECIALLY Rick Baker's make-up effects were absolutely superb.  I'll take that over potentially dodgy CGI anyday of the week.......................especially in a Planet of the Apes movie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.D. Bob Plissken 

but the production design and ESPECIALLY Rick Baker's make-up effects were absolutely superb.

Costumes maybe (and makeup WITHOUT A DOUBT), but I thought the sets were particularly sound-stagey. I agree with your assessment on the CG direction though, even with Weta's involvement. The makeup industry is all but gone these days... and animal wrangling? Replaced by CG wolves, lions, etc. Ugh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DARKMITE8 

Costumes maybe (and makeup WITHOUT A DOUBT), but I thought the sets were particularly sound-stagey.

One of the few issues I had with BATMAN RETURNS.  In both cases, though, I chalked it up to an effort to foster a claustrophobic atmosphere.  It was a bit of stretch with RETURNS (where Gotham felt more like Wilmington, Del than NY, NY), but with APES it seemed to work a little more in the films favor as the simians would need to build most of their 'city' in a fairly dense arboreal spot.  (And whether intentional or not, it also worked to make the outdoor locations later in the film seem to 'breathe' better.)

It's honestly perplexing to only see the action and horror bits in the trailers. There is so much more to it, two thirds of the flick are build on establishing Caesar as a thoughtful and very interesting being, in fact Franco's Will Rodman is just a supporting character in his story. So far this looks like CONGO 2: APES IN THE CITY, only without without Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Bruce Campbell, Tim Curry and lasers (read: not good).

This could be this year's bomb, unless they're able to actually finish the ape FX and give Serkis the possibility to show another mesmerizing ape performance and have some good WOM. If the chimps continue to have that uncanny valley look, it certainly won't end good, and these apes won't rise to have sequels.

However this fares I doubt there will be any sequels.

why not? especially if it does well

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Myers 

It's honestly perplexing to only see the action and horror bits in the trailers. There is so much more to it, two thirds of the flick are build on establishing Caesar as a thoughtful and very interesting being, in fact Franco's Will Rodman is just a supporting character in his story. So far this looks like CONGO 2: APES IN THE CITY, only without without Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Bruce Campbell, Tim Curry and lasers (read: not good).

 

This could be this year's bomb, unless they're able to actually finish the ape FX and give Serkis the possibility to show another mesmerizing ape performance and have some good WOM. If the chimps continue to have that uncanny valley look, it certainly won't end good, and these apes won't rise to have sequels.

Wait, so are you basing this on the script? Or have you seen an early cut? Because that script was rewritten to hell, I had heard. Maybe inaccurately.

And yeah, I hate to say this, but I don't think Fox is in this for the long haul. It depresses me, because this looks like economics - Fox budgeted for X amount of tentpoles this year, and they were depending on a new "Apes" film to be one of them. So, the fall behind on pre-production, they fail to hire a director (Robert Rodriguez, Kathryn Bigelow, James McTiegue and almost everyone else in Hollywood turned this down), and then they just say, fuck it, overpay some up-and-comer (Rupert Wyatt) and shoot a mishmash of three script drafts, with the intention to fix it during post, including the excessive effects work.

No one is looking for more "Apes" movies at Fox. They're just looking to meet the 2011 bottom line, and release a film that gets the "Apes" DVDs in circulation again, and doesn't embarrass them so much that they can't go back and reboot again later.

I agree I think Fox looks at this brand as old and irrelevant. I still am surprised we got this movie. Which I think conceptually is actually sound. Its all about the execution though.

There wasn't much money thrown at this and as is Fox's forte they rushed this into production. The filmmaker doesn't inspire confidence but as I said the concept seemed ripe.

We will wait and see.

Uh oh... Kiss our human asses goodbye, folks.

Oh shit!  Next thing you know.....

"THE ONLY GOOD HUMAN.....IS A DEAD HUMAN!"

I for one, welcome our Ape overlords.

Trailer looks great, looking forward to this one.