"I need to speak to Caesar!" The success of the first film can really be boiled down to one thing: Caesar. Through Serkis' memorable motion-capture performance, to an incredibly focused character story, we were really made to love the chimp by the end of the film. When you really think about it, it's incredible how much time we really spent with the CGI ape. Director Matt Reeves cited this as a reason he signed on for the sequel, and something he wanted to continue focusing on while moving forward when he spoke to Collider this past summer:
Watching "Rise" it was miraculous how connected we are emotionally to him. I've never seen it at that level. We're wrapped up in his character. I wanted to carry that forward. When I rewatched "Rise" in the interim, I had a son, and something in watching Caesar come into being in that movie reminded me of my son. When you watch you identify with Caesar. I couldn't believe I had that level of emotional involvement with a CG character.
The final, most chilling image of the trailer is Caesar's face, covered in war paint. He looks angry, and in a much darker place than we left him at the end of Rise. As the camera slowly zooms out, we see his hand raised, telling the apes appearing in the trees behind him to wait for his signal before attacking. It's a brief but effective shot that tells us all we need to know about where the ape is at now. It's been nearly a decade since he enhanced the intelligence of his species using canisters of ALZ-113. He may not have predicted that things would go this far, or get this dark, but if him leading the charge is any indication, he's ready to fight to survive. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes arrives in theaters on July 11 2014. The film is directed by Matt Reeves and stars Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Judy Greer, and Toby Kebbell. What do you think of the trailer? Are you excited for the next film in this franchise? Sound off in the comments below, and continue the conversation with me on Twitter @JimLovesMovies
James is a 24 year old writer and filmmaker living in Portland, OR. He attended college for graphic design and writes for various sources on the web about film, television, and entertainment.
You can view all of his work on his website, www.thereeljames.wordpress.com
