Planet of the Apes (2001)
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth
Synopsis:
An astronaut crash-lands on a planet where intelligent apes enslave humans and a power-mad general seeks to suppress the truth of the apes' origin.
Impressions:
I'll admit to not being terribly interested in this when it came out and the horrendous reception it got didn't exactly change my mind. I suppose I have these reviews to thank because I may never have watched it otherwise. Now, let's make no bones about it. Plot-wise, this is a mixed bag and definitely doesn't have the same impact as the original. That being said, I really didn't think it was that bad. Just about everyone can agree that Rick Baker and his team did an amazing job with the makeup and prosthetics. I also like how the ape characters are a little more feral, more like apes just barely holding in their animal instincts (less so in Thade's case) than just people in costumes. I will say, though, the design of the female apes, particularly Ari, is rather disconcerting, being more human-like and less ape. Now, the way they jump some 20, 30 feet like this is some wuxia film is a little silly, but so it goes. Paul Giamatti as Limbo is perhaps my favorite character, but I also rather liked Tim Roth as Thade, Michael Clarke Duncan as Attar and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Krull. Also, Charlton Heston's cameo is amazing. Depending on your point of view, you may find it disturbing that Mark Wahlberg's character has far more chemistry with Ari (Helena Bonham Carter) than with the human Nova expy Daena. Speaking of the humans, I feel it was an opportunity lost giving the wild humans the ability to speak. Davidson isn't nearly as isolated this way and it takes something away from the atmosphere. The ending is rather notorious, but I can just kinda shrug it off as Tim Burton trolling us (though from what I understand, it's actually pretty close to the original novel's ending). Like I said, the plot's lackluster, but I found quite a few of the characters compelling and that's enough for me to recommend giving it a watch.
Rating:
Watch It