Planet of the Apes





A little disappointing, but it was still decent.

B-

C

Crap.

And the new twist ending makes 0 sense. Can someone please explain it to me?

Thanks, Zing.

While this film is visually far superior to the original from 1968, the plot and characters fall far short, due mostly to a poorly written script and some wooden acting. Burton's style is out in full force on this one, and it works very well for the film, but the plot dives into action when it should be focusing on plot & character development. The first third or so of the movie works very well, homaging the original while retaining its own style. Unfortunately, the story falters and the suspense, horror, and sci-fi thrills - which were built up very well - are sacrificed for the sake of big action scenes. The final battle is a complete mass, topped only by the unbelievable, albeit intriguing, ending. The twist defies logic in all its forms, but it's still cool to see. A disappointment, to be sure. Something tells me this would have worked much better as a sci-fi horror/thriller than an action/adventure.

There are some intriguing concepts at play within the film, mostly dealing with the evolution of the apes and their culture. The fact that they all evolved from the monkeys that the humans took with them is quite an ingenious idea, made even more so by the fact that the apes all worship these simple monkeys. A nice jab at our own religious beliefs when Ari states that their story of creation is nothing more than a fairy tale. The ape culture is interesting because of its apparent similarity to, yet stark difference from, our own - seems to suggest that evolution turns out the same regardless of species. A thought, though - if the apes evolved from the monkeys who rebelled against the humans, then where did the humans on the planet come from? Definitely a plot hole. Still, the overall concept is quite good, marred unnecessarily by the poor storyline.

Technically, the film is superb. The makeup, costumes, production design, music and special effects are all top-notch and very cool. The apes look, act, and move like real animals, not just humans in monkey suits. The score, especially during the opening credits, is excellent and quite appropriate for the film. The ape village is very Burtonesque, which suits it well. Some of the early scenes are startling in their dark beauty. Most of the cool shots in this movie are in the first half, save the final scene. The second half goes awry with silly battle scenes and lame attempts at character development. Once again, the script is to blame. The acting is all over the place, ranging from scenery-chewing (Roth) to mediocre (Wahlberg) to downright bad (the blond chick). In general, the apes seem to do a much better job than the humans - not sure why Burton felt the need to make the humans talk in this one; the muteness of humanity in the original is one of the contributing factors to its greatness. The only human that should matter in this film is the lead character - the rest of the humans are just animals to the apes, and if they can talk, it ruins the idea. Still, the film looks beautiful.

All in all, this was a great disappointment. A director as visually skilled as Burton, a classic film just itching to be remade, and loads of money for effects? It's too bad the script fell far short - this would have been a modern classic. Still, the first half or so is great to just look at, if you ignore the inane plot and annoying characters. The twist, however cool, is nothing more than a sorry attempt to top the original's ending - but it's not happening. Burton should have just stuck to homaging the original ending, rather than trying to beat it. Maybe have Wahlberg encounter an ape Statue of Liberty - that would have been cool. Overall, a beautiful film marred by a poor script.

P.S. Shack, I don't understand the twist either. As I said, I think it was just a lame attempt to top the original's ending. There was no real logic behind it.

like every poor remake, this one adds nothing to the original. the burton flair is completely absent. D+ or perhaps a C-, it doesnt matter.

i think this movie has the visual flair of a tv-production. the blonde bimbo looks like a model with some artificial dirt smeared in her face.

One of the worst movies of all-time. Definitley Burton's worst. Marky-Mark is terrible in his role, and nothing else really stands out as even remotely well done in this movie. Burton tries to top the original but ends up falling way, way short. The twist is just another failed attempt to top the shocking end of the original. Yes, it is in my Bottom 50 Movies Ever.

-D