Rise of the Planet of the Apes will be the first in the popular franchise to feature photo-realistic versions of the super-intelligent primates, which were created via the use of CGI – rather than the traditional approach, with actors and actresses donning heavy amounts of makeup. Weta Digital employed much of the same motion-capture technology used to create the Na’vi from Avatar in order to transform Serkis into a full-fledged, non-human simian (like he did before in King Kong – albeit, on a smaller scale, of course).
We’ve yet to see an actual trailer for the Apes prequel, which boasts an overall strong cast that includes Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton, and Brian Cox. Working behind the scenes on the film is director Rupert Wyatt – the man responsible for the generally well-received prison break thriller The Escapist - and screenwriting duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver – the minds behind the not-so-well-received sci-fi/horror flick, The Relic.
Once an actual theatrical preview for Rise of the Planet of the Apes has been released, it’ll be easier to tell if Fox has a winner or loser on its hands. There’s a lot that sounds promising about this prequel, but not enough for me to feel confident in saying there’s no way the film could be a dud.
