Subject: Review: Planet of the Apes (2001)

From: Jerry Saravia <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 02:45:16 -0000

PLANET OF THE APES (2001)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
December 19th, 2001
RATING: 2 1/2 stars

I am not a huge fan of the original "Planet of the Apes" but I do recognize its
place in pop culture history in its upfront look at civil rights and impending
nuclear doom as told through a science-fiction scenario. Still, as a movie, it
was entertaining but also fairly cheesy and campy with a grand, majestic and
overblown performance by Charlton Heston. No one would ever mistake the original
"Apes" as the latest example in subtlety. Tim Burton's "reimagining" of "Planet
of the Apes" is also fairly fun, campy, and cheesy but it lacks urgency and a
real stroke of imagination. 

Mark Wahlberg has the Heston role, this time as an Air Force pilot named Leo who
loves to work with chimpanzees. One beloved chimpanzee operates a pod that goes
through some nebulous cloud and disappears. Wahlberg goes after the chimpanzee
in another pod and crash lands in some strange planet populated by apes who
talk. In this planet, the humans are slaves to the apes, and Wahlberg is the
latest intrusion as he becomes a personal servant to them. He meets with several
human slaves including Kris Kristofferson, who quickly disappears from the
movie, and Estella Warren as the latest Raquel Welch model in blonde curls and
fittingly precious clothing. She is so severely underwritten that we forget her
function in the story, outside of making goo-goo eyes at Wahlberg. 

The apes include Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), a rebellious thinker who believes
in equal rights for all species and falls for Wahlberg, the raging General
Thades (Tim Roth), a murderous, rampaging, glowering ape who wants to destroy
all humans, the stoic Colonel Attar (Michael Clarke Duncan) who follows Thades
every command, and Paul Giamatti as Limbo, the con-artist who is only interested
in saving his own neck. There is also a powerful cameo by Charlton Heston (!) as
Thades's dying father who wishes all humans extinct. 

Most of this is fun to watch and the visual style is dead-on with its view of
shadowy woodlands and arid desertscapes in this ape world. I also like the
finale where the apes run after the humans on all fours, ready for combat. All
the actors do a superior job of portraying apes in both body language and
gestures. The human characters are less prone to such credibility, but that says
a lot for any action blockbuster post-"Jurassic Park." One crucial difference
from the original "Apes" is that the humans here can speak English whereas in
the original they could not speak one word, even Heston who you may recall could
not utter a syllable for at least an hour into the film. The idea of apes
feeling superior to the human race is all lost here. 

The movie is an impersonal misfire at best, an attempt by Tim Burton to show he
can do a workmanlike job directing other people's ideas. Any capable director
could have done an efficient job with this project, so why did the man who
created Edward Scissorhands and Pee Wee's strange adventure helm this except to
gain respect in an industry that does not reward its own artists? True, Burton
also helmed "Batman" and its first sequel but both were molded under his own
personal vision - a world where he shares an understanding and compassion for
freaks. 

None of Burton's touches are evident in "Planet of the Apes," which not so much
remakes the original as much as reiterate it. What we have is a bland, undefined
hero who accepts apes matter-of-factly, truly nefarious villains, some good
special-effects, plenty of ironic, self-aware gags and catchphrases, and a
roughly implausible though not wholly surprising finale that seems to make room
for a sequel. So, yes, you are likely to be entertained but cineastes will be
left pondering the following question: Where is Tim Burton?   

For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at
http://moviething.com/members/movies/faust/JATMindex.shtml 

E-mail me with any questions, comments or general complaints at
[email-masked] or at [email-masked]

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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 274248
X-RT-TitleID: 1108704
X-RT-SourceID: 875
X-RT-AuthorID: 1314
X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/4