Damn dirty remakes!
Ooops. Don't call it a remake. Director Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow) prefers words such as "reenergizing," "reimagining," or "reinventing." He even went so far as to request of Fox Studios that the name of the movie be changed to The Visitor. That request was vetoed, as well as the hot monkey love scene between ape and human that was in the original "reinventing" of the 1968 sci-fi classic (which was written by Rod Serling, based upon a much-lauded novel by Pierre Boulle). In this version, Mark Wahlberg (A Perfect Storm) plays the Charlton Heston role, sans loincloth (nope, not what you're hoping for ladies -- Marky-Mark insisted on being fully clothed from head to toe here). He's Leo Davidson, an astronaut who crash-lands on the mysterious, dangerous planet inhabited and ruled with an iron paw by intelligent apes. Helena Bonham-Carter (Fight Club) plays Ari, the "human rights activist" type chimp who risks her life to help the astronaut, and buxom blonde Estella Warren (Driven) completes the strange, almost love triangle. Tim Roth (Lucky Numbers), who excels in playing the villain, goes bananas here with furry malice as the militant human-hater, Thade. I'm reluctant to use the word disappointment here (I'm sure Burton could help me come up with a more imaginative one), and I wouldn't were this not a Tim Burton Film. I hold him to a higher standard than I do most other directors, and I was expecting to see his quirky stamp all over this movie. Unfortunately, it wasn't there. The landscapes and overall look of the film are relatively Burtonesque (thanks to his Sleepy Hollow production designer, Rick Heinrichs and the excellent cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, who is a first-timer to the Burton camp). But the feel of the movie, the heart of it, was not what I have come to expect from Burton. Had this version of Planet of the Apes come out by any other director, I would have judged it less harshly. The ape makeup, aside from the too-glamorous females, is expertly done by Rick Baker, who is no stranger to the celluloid simian. He did the makeup effects for Gorillas in the Mist and Mighty Joe Young. I predict he'll be at least nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Planet of the Apes. The atmosphere of this film is darkly fantastic -- from the makeup, to Danny Elfman's score, to Heinrichs' sets -- it's just too bad the atmosphere does nothing more than shroud a pretty standard story and stock characters. There was some cheesy dialog and tired stunts (for example, a young boy who insists on fighting against the ape army is pinned beneath his horse -- for no apparent reason -- as the enemy closes in upon him. Don't even bother wondering how horses evolved on the planet from the original stock of apes and humans.). Don't get me wrong: Planet of the Apes is definitely a worthy popcorn flick, and will surely be one of this summer's biggest blockbusters. The money is all up there on the screen (Burton wriggles out of saying just how much by stating it cost "More than X-Men, less than Titanic"). There's great action and super-exciting chases and battle scenes, and the actors are fine despite the fact their characters are pretty one-dimensional (the most fully-realized character is Bonham-Carter's, though her Cosmo-ape looks threw me off a bit). Perhaps the most engaging roles are the cameos: Lisa Marie is the sexy chimp trophy-wife of an orangutan senator, and Charlton Heston makes a memorable appearance saying the word "damn" as only he can, and holding a gun. Overall, I recommend Planet of the Apes for fun. Just don't expect anything more than a remake (sorry, Tim).
Ooops. Don't call it a remake. Director Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow) prefers words such as "reenergizing," "reimagining," or "reinventing." He even went so far as to request of Fox Studios that the name of the movie be changed to The Visitor. That request was vetoed, as well as the hot monkey love scene between ape and human that was in the original "reinventing" of the 1968 sci-fi classic (which was written by Rod Serling, based upon a much-lauded novel by Pierre Boulle). In this version, Mark Wahlberg (A Perfect Storm) plays the Charlton Heston role, sans loincloth (nope, not what you're hoping for ladies -- Marky-Mark insisted on being fully clothed from head to toe here). He's Leo Davidson, an astronaut who crash-lands on the mysterious, dangerous planet inhabited and ruled with an iron paw by intelligent apes. Helena Bonham-Carter (Fight Club) plays Ari, the "human rights activist" type chimp who risks her life to help the astronaut, and buxom blonde Estella Warren (Driven) completes the strange, almost love triangle. Tim Roth (Lucky Numbers), who excels in playing the villain, goes bananas here with furry malice as the militant human-hater, Thade. I'm reluctant to use the word disappointment here (I'm sure Burton could help me come up with a more imaginative one), and I wouldn't were this not a Tim Burton Film. I hold him to a higher standard than I do most other directors, and I was expecting to see his quirky stamp all over this movie. Unfortunately, it wasn't there. The landscapes and overall look of the film are relatively Burtonesque (thanks to his Sleepy Hollow production designer, Rick Heinrichs and the excellent cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, who is a first-timer to the Burton camp). But the feel of the movie, the heart of it, was not what I have come to expect from Burton. Had this version of Planet of the Apes come out by any other director, I would have judged it less harshly. The ape makeup, aside from the too-glamorous females, is expertly done by Rick Baker, who is no stranger to the celluloid simian. He did the makeup effects for Gorillas in the Mist and Mighty Joe Young. I predict he'll be at least nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Planet of the Apes. The atmosphere of this film is darkly fantastic -- from the makeup, to Danny Elfman's score, to Heinrichs' sets -- it's just too bad the atmosphere does nothing more than shroud a pretty standard story and stock characters. There was some cheesy dialog and tired stunts (for example, a young boy who insists on fighting against the ape army is pinned beneath his horse -- for no apparent reason -- as the enemy closes in upon him. Don't even bother wondering how horses evolved on the planet from the original stock of apes and humans.). Don't get me wrong: Planet of the Apes is definitely a worthy popcorn flick, and will surely be one of this summer's biggest blockbusters. The money is all up there on the screen (Burton wriggles out of saying just how much by stating it cost "More than X-Men, less than Titanic"). There's great action and super-exciting chases and battle scenes, and the actors are fine despite the fact their characters are pretty one-dimensional (the most fully-realized character is Bonham-Carter's, though her Cosmo-ape looks threw me off a bit). Perhaps the most engaging roles are the cameos: Lisa Marie is the sexy chimp trophy-wife of an orangutan senator, and Charlton Heston makes a memorable appearance saying the word "damn" as only he can, and holding a gun. Overall, I recommend Planet of the Apes for fun. Just don't expect anything more than a remake (sorry, Tim).