PAPILLON Trailer
A legend returns in Papillon, which chronicles a prison escape attempt that’s been told and retold over the years.
Drawing from both the autobiographies of Henri Charrière and the 1973 film version of the same name, there’s plenty of thrills to replicate in this gritty caper, and the question becomes whether this variant will offer anything new. The mechanisms of the escape itself can’t vary too much; the setup involves being confined to a penal colony on a remote island, which doesn’t leave many escape options to play with. Director Michael Noer will need to make the film stylistically unique to stand out.
He’ll be battling against the work of one of the greats, as Franklin J. Schaffner helmed the 1973 film and had a couple legends to lean on. Charlie Hunnam is taking over from none other than Steve McQueen while Rami Malek must pick up from Dustin Hoffman. Tall orders all around, but at least their roles fall into comfortable zones for everyone.
Hunnam has been making bank playing heroic figures in projects like King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and The Lost City of Z. Malek, on the other hand, should have the intellectual bad boy down after years headlining Mr. Robot. Even Noer’s bread and butter has been crime dramas, so just maybe this is a team primed to surpass their predecessors.
Papillon is directed by Michael Noer and stars Rami Malek, Charlie Hunnam, and Eve Hewson. It will be released in the US on August 24th, 2018. For international release dates, click here.
Do you think this version can live up to the original? Let us know in the comments!
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