By this point, every critic has had a chance to complain about the glut of blockbusters due to hit theaters in 2015, but this coming summer will also see the arrival of some pretty huge properties, most notably in science-fiction. To point out a few of the biggest contenders for box-office glory, we’re expecting comic-book sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past, a revitalized Transformers installment, the Wachowski’s planet-traversing epic Jupiter Ascending, Marvel’s intergalactic caper Guardians of the Galaxy and, of course, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, a hotly-anticipated follow-up to the surprisingly thrilling 2011 reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Dawn picks up the narrative of intelligent ape Caesar (played through motion-capture by Andy Serkis) eight years after the events of the first film, during which Caesar, his mind permanently altered by a viral-based drug, exposed other apes to the same drug and led them into battle against police forces on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. As the first film concluded, the drug that had improved Caesar’s intelligence was shown to be deadly to humans, and an exposed businessman was unwittingly bringing it onto a Paris-bound flight.
Judging both from the first trailer we saw for the film and by new promo posters (which you can check out below), the years haven’t been too kind to the human race. Many of those not wiped out by the virus have been dispatched in heated battles with ape armies.
The new promo images give snapshots of just how terribly the battles went for humankind. San Francisco is a wasteland, while the Center for Disease Control has clearly been abandoned. The images also suggest that the latest film will tell a story from the perspective of Caesar and the other apes.
The official plot synopsis gives more insight into what we should expect from the sequel:
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes features a fresh set of faces, with the exception of Serkis. Luckily, the cast is jam-packed with enough talent to make the absence of characters played by James Franco and Freida Pinto go down easier. The humans include Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, J.D. Evermore and Jocko Sims. Meanwhile, the motion-capture cast boasts Judy Greer, Terry Notary, Karin Konoval, Toby Kebbell, Nick Thurston and Doc Shaw.
Are you interested in checking out Dawn of the Planet of the Apes? Are you going to miss Franco and Pinto, or will the film benefit from a new cast? Let us know what you think below.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes arrives on July 11, 2014.
Published: Jan 24, 2014 11:26 am