for a major 2017 release wasn’t enough, this morning (December 9) also brings us the debut of the official trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes!
Making good on the potential seen in the film’s teaser trailer (well, digital billboard) in October, this two-minute trailer delivers plenty of spectacular battle action and some intriguing glimpses of compelling character moments.
Here’s a transcript of the teaser’s dialogue:
CAESAR: I did not start this war. I offered you peace. I showed you mercy. But now you are here to finish us off for good.
COLONEL: All of human history has led to this moment. The irony is, we created you, and nature has been punishing us ever since. This is our last stand, and if we lose, it will be a planet of apes.
Okay, Shakespeare, it ain’t. And the Colonel’s name check of the franchise at the end is particularly clunky, even though Woody Harrelson gives it his best shot. But the speeches establish the central conflict, and clearly sound some themes—destiny, morality, responsibility—that are worthy of the greatest dramas.
As for the visuals, I was struck by how much the opening shots of Caesar, Maurice, another ape and a young human girl (a captive? a survivor?) riding on horses along the shore evoke the closing sequence of the original Planet of the Apes (1968)—will these riders discover an iconic human landmark reduced to ruins, as Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison did? (Maybe even—spoiler alert—the Statue of Liberty?)
The shots of human soldiers sneaking through thick jungle, as well as the firefight footage, reminded me of many a Vietnam War movie. Even if we didn’t know humanity’s ultimate fate in the Planet of the Apes franchise, those battlefield images would lead us to suspect things will not turn out well for Homo sapiens.
And at 35 seconds in: Is that Andy Serkis, out of his motion-capture suit, playing a scene opposite himself? Maybe not, but if I were the moviemakers, I’d be tempted to do it!
I’m not generally a big fan of post-apocalyptic science fiction, but I make an exception for the Apes. It’s an epic, action-adventure morality play too entertaining to ignore.
War for the Planet of the Apes breaks out at a theater near you on July 14, 2017.
Are you looking forward to War for the Planet of the Apes? What did you think of the trailer? Let’s talk in the comments below!
