Rise starred James Frano, Freida Pinto, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, John Lithgow and David Oyelowo Dawn reinvented the cast with Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit McPhee, Judy Greer and Jason Clarke. War of the Planet of the Apes has now signed on Woody Harrlelson as its lead villain.
The reboot trilogy’s cast has been bolstered by the signing two time Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson (No Country for Old Men, The Hunger Games, Zombieland, Cheers, Seven Psychopaths, True Detective) as a new human villain, currently being referred to as Colonel. This suggests that he will play the leader of the military forces that arrive at the end of Dawn. The other cast information we currently know is that Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings) will reprise his role as franchise figurehead Caesar. Its unclear if there will be a third new cast or Dawn’s main characters will return. Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) directs.
When Warner Bros and Disney both announced rivalling adaptations of The Jungle Book, it was the WB/Andy Serkis version that had far more hype. However, Disney’s version will be gaining some new fans from the surprisingly impressive first trailer. However much of the voice work isn’t shown alongside the on screen animals which makes us worry that the two will clash in the film.
Jon Favreau (Iron Man) directs while the cast includes Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble, Lost in Translation), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim, Prometheus), Bill Murray (Ghost Busters, Moonrise Kingdom), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave, The Force Awakens), Neel Sethi (Diwali), Giancarlo Esposito (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, The Usual Suspects), Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island, Gandhi) and Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can, The Deer Hunter).
In our mind, Planet of the Apes is one of the best franchise turnarounds of the century. The limp ’60s/’70s series crashed decades ago and the Tim Burton remake didn’t perform the miracle of a resurrection but the 2011 and its 2014 follow up have both been critically acclaimed and garnered over $1 billion between them. The title of the third film has now been unveiled. Before with had Planet! Beneath! Escape! Conquest! Battle! Rise! Dawn!. And now…
War of the Planet of the Apes
This sequel will see the apes pushing towards all out dominance on Earth. We still unsure which of the earlier films brilliant supporting cast – including Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Jason Clarke (Lawless), Keri Russell (August Rush), Kodi Smit McPhee (The Road), Toby Kebbell (Dead Man’s Shoes), James Franco (127 Hours), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), David Oyelowo (Selma) and Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy) – but we can definitely expect Andy Serkis’ (The Lord of the Rings) ape revolutionary Caesar to be at the centre of the action as well as director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In).
Starring: Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Gary Oldman, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Karin Konoval, Nick Thurston, Judy Greer
It’s been almost fifty years since the first release of Planet of the Apes and, mainly due to its horrifying twist, has remained an iconic classic to this day but, while they may have the rare supporter, the quartet of ensuing sequels are no where near as rememberable while enough has been said on the disastrous Burton remake. In 2011, the franchise got a second chance with the unexpected delight of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The next chapter of Caesar’s story follows the ape into apocalyptic territory in hopes of becoming the sequel we’ve dreamed of.
Ten years after the global pandemic of Simian Flu, a small community of surviving humans shelter in the remains of San Francisco. Their leader, Dreyfus (Oldman), is quickly losing control of his power-deprived people and so dispatches a group lead by family man Malcolm (Clarke) to recover a nearby electric dam. However the dam is on the territory of the protective super-smart ape Caesar (Serkis) who guides a developing civilisation of his kind. When a chance at a coalition arises, conspiring members of both sides threaten to ruin the promise of cohabitation.
Inevitably the key talking point is Weta’s work on the special effects and they are stunning. It may not have the scope of Avatar but this is truly groundbreaking in its use of hoards of motion capture apes in real world locations for the first half of the film. Maybe the odd the background ape isn’t up to scratch but the detail and intricacy put into the wet fur in the opening sequence is a milestone achievement.
Effects focused films are generally quick to please on their initial views but a decade down the line it’ll becoming a gimicky mess without charm and story – that’s what divides Superman and Star Wars for met. It’d be easy to let the special effects become the USP here but thankfully DOTPOTA has the substance required.
The narrative, crafted by future Avatar scribes Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, is excellently done. Not dissimilar to a Shakespearean tragedy, it depicts friendship, mistrust and betrayal as well as the franchise’s defining themes of power play and race, even if they’re spelt out letter for letter this time around. It fantastically portrays the sense of mutual fear on both sides growing into aggression. The dialogue is good, not quite great, although ape actors can fully carry the story with their fantastic expression – the sign language subtitles may not have been necessary.
Despite the effects and writing, the real most valuable player is Andy Serkis in what could be his greatest performance. We may have seen the body language and genuinely ape-like presence before but the addition over Rise this time is the fantastic raw power of Serkis’ malleable voice. A second Academy overlook in his career (after The Two Towers) is inevitable but it won’t be any less frustrating; there’s no real excuse for mainstream prejudice now. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Sigourney Weaver (Aliens), Johnny Depp (Pirates) and Alec Guinness (Star Wars) have become wildcard nods in the past and Serkis deserves it more than any.
The other standout performance is of Toby Kebbell, finally giving us a reason to get excited about the new Doctor Doom. He brilliantly plays Koba, an ape who despises Caesar’s sympathy for the humans who once tortured him. I’d deem him the best villain of the year so far and by far the most menacing. When these two acting powerhouses collide the result is the most tense action sequences since Captain Phillips.
Less admirable however are the occasionally clunky human counterparts. At the centre of this is The Great Gatsby star Jason Clarke who puts great effort into a fairly nondescript good-guy role. He’s a cut above James Franco’s scientist Will from Rise but inferior to Heston’s iconic mix of sickened and terrified as Taylor in the original.
Young star Kodi Smit-McPhee is fairly good as Malcom’s teen son Alexander although it is a hugely undeveloped role. A more laudable performance would be screen legend Gary Oldman, in far better form than in RoboCop earlier this year. He portrays Dreyfus, the surviving humans’ panicked leader, and perfectly conveys the sense of control slipping away bit by bit.
The film’s principal female characters, Keri Russell’s Ellie and Judy Greer’s Cornelia, are frustratingly relegated to dull mothering roles and barely get to influence the plot. The film draws up human/ape counterparts with Caesar/Malcolm, Blue Eyes (Nick Thurstan as Caesar’s rebellious son)/Alexander and Koba/Dreyfus but no such parallels are provided between these two. Of coarse this is never as exploitative as earlier action cinema but it’s disappointing to see this when plenty of others are getting it right.
Of coarse this naturally flows into an action packed finale and it begins stunningly. Trying as hard as I can to not give anything away in the slightest, a truly terrifying raid sequence kicks things off and it’ll be easy to spot Zulu as an obvious inspiration. The brutality of the combat, the fantastic use of slo-mo and (less dramatically) the fur all combine for a brilliantly earth-shaking scene and Reeves’ spiralling work on, what (for spoilery reasons) we shall now refer to as, “the tank shot” is simply incredible.
What ensues is a one-on-one duel between two characters audiences will come to love dearly and it defiantly ramps up the tension. While it’s leaps and bounds over its puny competition, the fight seems greatly overshadowed by the astonishing set piece it follows and perhaps a little generic for an esteemed franchise such as this.
Of coarse the work of Reeves, Jaffa, Silver, Serkis, Kebbell and co is excellent but musical maestro Michael Giacchino steals the show at every turn. Not only has he crafted some excellent monkey puns on the tracklist (The Apes of Wrath, Gorilla Warfare, Aped Crusaders, How Bonobo Can You Go, Close Encounters of the Furred Kinds…) but boldly gone into the rare territory of bombastically unnerving scores to accompany his traditional sweeping strings. It might not compare to his work on Star Trek, Up or Super 8 but beautifully homages composing of a very different era.
Faultless it is not, conforming female roles a plenty, but I’d strongly support the case that Dawn is the best Planet of the Apes yet. It’ll be nightmare picking a standout star: Gary Oldman is superb; Toby Kebbell will undoubtedly become a huge star; Matt Reeves, Weta and Giacchino have produced sterling work but Andy Serkis, a paragon to all hoping to spark a revolution in performance, is the man who’ll take his delayed position at the throne of Hollywood.
9/10
“Apes do not want war but will fight if we must! Ape…home. Human…home. Do not come back!”
We don’t often adventure to the world of television but when we do you now we’re talking about something big. Now that now that the previous series-turned-international-phenomenon Breaking Bad has come to its finale (or Felina), Game of Thrones is probably America’s biggest drama, although True Detective and Mad Men may have something to say about that. The recent season four premier was as big a success as ever with record breaking viewing numbers. It’s not too surprising then to hear that HBO have called for series 5 and 6.
This means one thing: George R R Martin – get writing! We can expect these future series to feature Peter Dinklage, Maisie Williams, Kit Harrington, Lena Headey, Jack Gleeson, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster Waldau and Charles Dance.
We’re pretty excited to reveal a new set of stills from simian sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. These pics confirm the tribal-like style of the apes who are still developing their civilisation. We also get a peak at how the ape/human confrontations could play out as well as some fantastic CGI, a feature which made the first film so impressive. Dawn is directed by Cloverfield’s Matt Reeves and stars Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings), Judy Greer (Three Kings), Toby Kebbell (Wrath of the Titans), Keri Russell (Felicity), Kodi Smit McPhee (The Road) and Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty). Find all of the photos here (click next to cycle through).
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – July 17th
Game of Thrones season 4 – continues Sundays on HBO and Sky Atlantic
We’re still unsure if Gal Gadot will play a major role in the yet untitled superhero showdown of Batman vs. Superman. The Israelian star of Fast and Furious has already been confirmed to be playing Wonder Woman but we’re not sure of how much screen time she’ll get with Ben Affleck (Batman), Henry Cavill (Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Joaquin Phoenix (Lex Luthor?) and Jason Momoa (Hawkman?) already beefing up the cast. After initial controversy over the casting due to Gadot not having Wonder Woman’s exaggerated size and posture, she said this: “I represent the Wonder Woman of the new world,” she told the Israeli press, “If I really go ‘by the book’, it’d be problematic.”
Batman vs. Superman’s Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot
Finally, we’ve got a huge compilation behind the scenes pics and fresh new stills courtesy of Empire’s new 2014 preview extravaganza. Gone Girl. Directed by David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club, Se7en, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and adapted from the Gillian Flynn novel, the crime thriller has built an impressive cast including Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris and Rosamund Pike.
Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl
We move swiftly on to Jamie Foxx as the new Spider-Man villain Electro in Marc Webb’s Marvel sci-fi superhero sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Andrew Garfield, Paul Giamatti, Emma Stone, Sally Field and Dane DeHaan.
Jamie Foxx in The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Another Marvel project but on Disney’s side of things now. It’s Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the second character to be referenced in the title, played by Sebastian Stan, is today’s focus. Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Robert Redford, Samuel L Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Emily Van Camp, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Hayley Attwell and Frank Grillo also star.
Sebastian Stan in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Legendary British director Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Prometheus, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangsters, Black Hawk Down) puts his spin on the Bible with epic Exodus. Starring Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Indira Varma, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro and Ben Kingsley. The film seems to be going for huge practical sets as oppose the the more modern, generic use of CG, perhaps in homage to Ben-Hur and Cleopatra.
Christian Bale in Exodus.
Andy Serkis leads the way for the cast of dark fantasy sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as he strides round a picturesque lake in his trademark mo-cap suit, donned by Serkis previously in The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, King Kong and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Cloverfield’s Matt Reeves directs additional cast members such as Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Judy Greer.
Andy Serkis on set of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
We finish with a behind the scenes peaks at X-Men: Days of Future Past, with director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) hanging out with the 70s mutants, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Fassbender and Hugh Jackman, on a 70s car in front of a suspiciously modern greenscreen.
Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Bryan Singer, Hugh Jackman and Nicholas Hoult on set for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Batman vs. Superman – July 17th 2015
Gone Girl – October 3rd 2014
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – April 18th 2014
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – March 28th 2014
TV phenomenon Breaking Bad’s creator Vince Gilligan and supporting star Bob Odenkirk are both set to create Better Call Saul, a comedic crime drama centred around a character from the most talked about show I can think of. While US cable AMC will broadcast the spin off in America, as it did with Breaking Bad, Netflix has once again bagged the rights so the rest of the world can find the new show online.
You’ll all know that Avatar is the greatest grossing film of all time taking close to three billion dollars worldwide. Its much hyped sequel won’t arrive until 2016, a full seven years since the original, but director James Cameron has talked more on some of the story he’s building in Avatar 2 and its following two instalments.
“At first I thought I was going to take it onto other worlds as well, in the same solar system, but it turned out not to be necessary,” the man behind Terminator, Titanic, True Lies and Aliens told the Associated Press. “I mean, the Pandora that we have imagined will be a fantasyland that is going to occupy people for decades to come, the way I see it.”
On the subject of the rumours of a deep-sea set plot, Cameron also said “There’s a fair bit of underwater stuff. It’s been inaccurately said that the second film takes place underwater. That’s not true. There are underwater scenes and surface-water scenes having to do with indigenous ocean cultures that are distributed across the three films.”
“It’s really the story of Jake Sully’s family, the family that he creates on Pandora. His extended family. So think of it as a family saga like The Godfather.” That’s certainly a bold statement but I don’t think it’ll take much time for the press to announce that Cameron is calling Avatar the new Godfather.
Today’s post isn’t too detailed but come by our site tomorrow for full, detailed analysis on the new trailer for Matt Reeves’ (Cloverfield) epic prequel to the classic Planet of the Apes and sequel to the brilliant Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Avatar 2 – December 2016
Better Call Saul – late 2014 on AMC (only in US) and Netflix (rest of the world)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes trailer coverage – December 18th on Tuorhoth Movies
Oblivion, Jack Reacher, Rock of Ages, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Knight and Day are just some of the many Tom Cruise starring films that have fell flat of decent critical reception recently. We’d have to think back to Valkyrie and War of the Worlds (both made by hugely talented directors (Bryan Singer and Steven Spielberg)) for a positively received film with Cruise in the lead role. Edge of the Tomorrow has a good concept (Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers), director (The Bourne Identity’s Doug Liman) and supporting cast (Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton) and so could bring Cruise back into the favour of the critics.
The first trailer for Edge of Tomorrow has come in for your own entertainment. It promises cracking action as well as some truly original plots
We’ve got the very first posters for the new sequel/prequel to a legendary fantasy series that isn’t The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It’s of coarse Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Matt Reeves (Let Me In and Cloverfield director) is calling the shots while Gary Oldman, Andy Serkis, Judy Greer, Kodi Smit McPhee and Keri Russell all star as well as Jason Clarke who’s now entering talks to play John Connor, confirming that Christian Bale won’t feature. He could be alongside either Brie Larson, Emilia Clarke or Margot Robbie who have all confirmed to have auditioned for the role of Sarah Connor, John’s mother, for the new director Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World). Arnold Schwarzenegger is still set to return.
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