Planet of the Apes (2001)

  Originally Reviewed

Tuesday July 18, 2006

Planet of the Apes started out as a great novel and has over the many decades been transformed into a well known science fiction franchise, which saw high life in the late 60's and early 70's through the numerous films and short lived television series. While the first adaptation with Charlton Heston is looked at as the best in the series the sequels still had some success and turned Planet of the Apes into a cult franchise with a still loyal fan following. It was only a matter of time until the low budget franchise got an upgrade and Tim Burton's remake rendition is a not only a fantastic re-creation but also a satisfying chapter in a age old story.

Mark Wahlberg is astronaut Leo Davidson, part of a team stationed on a space station with the duties of training chimps to pilot space exploration missions in hope of gathering important scientific data. Leo's chimp is sent out on a mission, one in which Leo believes he personally should have been the one to go on, "Never send a monkey, to do a man's job" he says. His chimp gets pulled into a worm hole and automatically disappears from the stations radar. Against orders Leo goes in after him, only to be pulled in as well and crash on a mysterious planet.

Unaware that he's in a different universe and time, Leo is quickly thrown into a bizarre situation where humans have become the slaves, and talking apes the masters. Becoming imprisoned, Leo must find a way to escape and get back to his time. Along the way Leo will befriend a female ape who is against the unfair treatment of humans, and will become aware of his role in the apes' very existence, as they will become aware of their own true origins.  He will be looked upon as the savior of all humans, the one man who had the courage to defy the apes!

I'm kind of surprise at the lack of positive reviews for this film, in my opinion it's a great remake and for the most part stays true to the ambiance of the original film. Sure the first one is classic, but there's no ignoring its B-movie status, and Tim Burton manages to take a rather corny yet entertaining science fiction film and turn it more dark and action packed. I for one thing he did a great job.

The sets are amazing, the costumes are nothing short of spectacular, and sure the acting is sometimes sub par and Mark Wahlberg seems to be forcing his lines most of the time.  But in comparison to the quality of the original I think Burton's version does a decent job paying homage to a great cult classic, while at the same time leaving it's own mark on the series, and loved the cameo by Charlton Heston as an ape no less!  Sure this remake could have been better, and the ending a whole lot less confusing, but to any fan of science fiction and the Planet Of The Apes series I think this is a worthy installment. My only major complaint is we'll never see the resolution to the big cliffhanger at the end, shame on you Burton!

8/10