Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes Review

I guess that you'd have to be skeptical of movie that has as many 1 and 2 star reviews as it does 4 and 5 star reviews. But in my opinion, Tim Burton's 2001 remake of the classic 1968 version of Planet of the Apes was a victim of a lot of unjust criticism.

Most of the criticism is from preservationists that just don't like their classics tampered with. To them I say fair enough, but I'm also here to say that as much as I loved the original movie that spawned 4 sequels, a television series and an animated TV series, I liked Tim Burton's version the best. Burton's film explained how it could all be possible better than the original while at the same time adhered to the spirit of Pierre Boulle's original novel. Sure Burton took some liberties of his own too, but he also paid honorable tribute to the '68 sci-fi classic in several scenes.

I think that a lot of criticism was also created by the whole time warp thing too. Jumping back and forth in time can be a difficult thing to pull off; it can be very confusing. And it is indeed confusing in Burton's remake. But ultimately it all adds up and is very cool when you finally "get it".

Marky Mark Wahlberg also received some pans for his performance, but I thought he was great. And the apes, most notably Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth, Michael Clarke Duncan & Paul Giamatti, all looked great; they were scary, amusing and the acting was excellent. The movie is action packed and thoroughly entertaining through and through. Like I said earlier, I was certainly a fan of the original, but Burton's movie to me was less of a remake of the 1968 film and more of a better adaptation of Boulle's 1963 novel.

I bought this movie once on DVD already all the way back in 2001; but I wouldn't hesitate to give this a try on Blu Ray and I recommend that you do too...especially if you've never seen the movie.

Planet of the Apes Overview

After a spectacular crash-landing on an uncharted planet, brash astronaut Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) finds himself trapped in a savage world where talking apes dominate the human race. Desperate to find a way home, Leo must evade the invincible gorilla army led by ruthless General Thade (Tim Roth) and his most trusted warrior, Attar (Michael Clarke Duncan). Now the pulse-pounding race is on to reach a sacred temple that may hold the shocking secrets of mankind's past - and the last hope for it's salvation!

Planet of the Apes Specifications

Billed as a "reimagining" of the original 1968 film, Tim Burton's extraordinary Planet of the Apes constantly borders on greatness, adhering to the spirit of Pierre Boulle's original novel while exploring fresh and inventive ideas and paying honorable tribute to the '68 sci-fi classic. Burton's gifts for eccentric inspiration and visual ingenuity make this a movie that's as entertaining as it is provocative, beginning with Rick Baker's best-ever ape makeup (hand that man an Oscar®!), and continuing through the surprisingly nuanced performances and breathtaking production design. Add to all this an intelligent screenplay that turns Boulle's speculative reversal--the dominance of apes over humans--into a provocative study of civil rights and civil war. The film finally goes too far with a woefully misguided ending that pays weak homage to the original, but everything preceding that misfire is astonishingly right.

While attempting the space-pod retrieval of a chimpanzee test pilot, Major Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) enters a magnetic storm that propels him into the distant future, where he crash-lands on the ape-ruled planet. Among the primitively civilized apes, treatment of enslaved humans is a divisive issue: senator's daughter Ari (Helena Bonham Carter) advocates equality while the ruthless General Thade (Tim Roth) promotes extermination. While Davidson ignites a human rebellion, this conflict is explored with admirable depth and emotion, and sharp dialogue allows Burton's exceptional cast to bring remarkable expressiveness to their embattled ape characters, most notably in the comic relief of orangutan slave trader Limbo (played to perfection by Paul Giamatti). Classic lines from the original film are cleverly reversed (including an unbilled cameo for Charlton Heston, in ape regalia as Thade's dying father), and while this tale of interspecies warfare leads to an ironic conclusion that's not altogether satisfying, it still bears the ripe fruit of a timeless what-if idea. --Jeff Shannon