Thoughts on the Rise of the Planet of the Apes Trailer

Caesar, the CGI star of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, was created by the folks at Weta Workshop.

The first trailer for this summer's reimagining of the Planet of the Apes story, entitled Rise of the Planet of the Apes, hit the web early this morning. I was looking forward to this trailer. I think this film is the summer's real wild card. It's hard to say how well this film is going to do. That being said, there was a lot in the trailer that I enjoyed. Visually, it looks stunning. The special effects are being done by Weta Workshop. That's the special effects house that worked on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, and Avatar. Using the same motion capture technology used on Avatar, Weta created the film's apes differently than past iterations in the franchise. The performance capture technology applies a real physical performance completely to a digital creation. Although the makeup work in these films has always been topnotch, even in Tim Burton's remake, I feel like this digital work looks fantastic. It will be the first time the apes look photo-realistic. It's no wonder that the name Weta is featured so prominently in the trailer.

However, that's were my doubts begin to brew. It's good that the film is going to have great special effects, but it seems as though the trailer is selling that as the best part of the film. If Sucker Punch has taught us anything, it's that relying on simply great visuals does not make a great film. What little I saw of James Franco's performance I saw in the footage did not thrill me. And I like Franco. I loved 127 Hours and I know he can act. On top of that, I question whether this film has any real purpose in the way of story. In a franchise that is already six films deep, this is a story most film goers are familiar with. Does the film have anything new to surprise us with besides better effects? I doubt it.

I predict this film will be a loose remake of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. I'm afraid that while it might look new and shiny, the story will have a been there, done that feel to it. I hope I am wrong, but we'll have to wait until August to find out. Until then, here's the trailer.