Customer Reviews

Planet of the Apes [VHS]

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I believe the original 1968 version of "The Planet of the Apes" was the first time I realized that a film might actually be something more than an escapist entertainment. In fact, it might have something important and relevant to say to its audience. Indeed, that first film seemed to have something to say on a wide variety of topics: race relations, bigotry, vivisection, free thinking within an oppressive society as well as humanity's place in the universe. It made these points by using ironic twists, gentle humor and downright scathing satire; all wrapped within the context of an exciting sci-fi adventure story. The result was a classic piece of film making. An almost instant icon of 20th century pop culture that eventually spawned four sequels and even a short lived TV series.

So, when I heard that 20th Century Fox wanted to do a "re-imagining" of POTA my first thought was "Why?". Hadn't the first film gotten everything right the first time around? Why monkey (no pun intended) with something that was pretty much perfect already? Then I heard that Tim Burton had been assingned to direct and I thought that here was an ideal choice if you were going to re-imagine something as iconic as POTA. After all, he had done a marvelous job of revamping the image of Batman from that of the ridiculously campy to that of the more respectible avenging Dark Knight (only to have Joel Schumaker undermine all of that with "Batman and Robin"). While a re-imaging of POTA wasn't needed, I thought, it still might be interesting to see the results of such an undertaking from the capable hands of a director like Burton. Unfortunately the final product failed to meet my expectations.

The biggest dissapointment here is the script, no real plot and flat, one dimensional characters ... The social commentary, so important to the original, is almost completely lacking here. Early on in the story there are some token nods to racism and human vs animal rights but then the writers never develop them. ... The characters, especially the human ones, are hardly worth caring about. Leo, the lost astronaut (Mark Wahlberg), seems to just wander around through the film in a catatonic trance; never even aware of the romantic interest of the human female (Estella Warren) or that of the chimp female Ari (Helena Bonham Carter). The film makes it obvious the two are interested in Leo but, again, fail to develop it into anything. This movie wants to get up and go but is eventually left spinning its wheels aimlessly for two hours.

However, its not all bad. There are some things that make this film worth viewing. One, is Burton's visuals. Burton is first and foremost a visual director. In other words, the look of the film seems to take precedence over everything else. Unfortunately that's the case here. The script [is poor] but the film itself looks gorgeous. I particularly loved the shots of Ape City built into the huge and forbidding rocky crag, also the views of the long marching columns of the ape army at night. Also, the forest that surrounds the city is one of those typically beautiful but scary Burtonesque fairy tale type affairs. My favorite aspect to this film is Rick Baker's incredible ape make-up. These are simply incredible designs that obviously had a lot of work put into them. If Baker doesn't win an Oscar for his efforts there is simply no justice in the world. Another good thing going for this film is the quality of the performances which for the most part are quite good. In particular Tim Roth as the violently tempered chimp General Thade and Helena Bonham Carter as the female chimp Ari who sympathizes with the plight of the humans. There is also good comic relief in the form of the Orangutan vender of humans played by Paul Giamatti. And Michael Duncan Clarke is an imposing Colonel Attar. I also have to make mention of Charlton Heston's brief cameo as Thade's dying father. In one of the films few good ironic moments Heston's character introduces the concept of guns into the story. Thade's Daddy has been hiding the fact that humans at one time had such dangerous weapons (apparently apes have never developed firearms) and reveals the secret to his son before he kicks the bucket. Finally, mention must be made of Danny Elfman's wonderful score; a nice blending of Jerry Goldsmith's atonal, primitive sounds that worked so well for the original film with that of a full orchestra. I may or may not get the DVD but I will certainly add the soundtrack to my collection.

Ultimately I found this "re-imagining" of POTA a disappointment. There are occaisional moments where this film shows that it has the potential to achieve so much but then turns around and squanders it. When will Hollywood learn that cool visuals and great looking make-up are not enough to make an excellent or even a good movie?

I have enjoyed several of Tim Burton's previous films (especially his SLEEPY HOLLOW "detective" movie), and I have been a fan of the original PLANET OF THE APES film since it was first released. This "remake" (which does not follow either the original didactic book or the original movie) seems to have been made solely in order to display Burton's gimmicky idea of transposing the positions of apes and human beings at the end when the hero (Mark Wahlberg) returns to his own time. This seems to have been done merely to surprise and shock the hero (and the viewer), but it makes absolutely no sense, either logically or in terms of the story arc (such as it is), for the apes who are now controlling Wahlberg's earth are far more technologically and politically advanced than the apes who live in the future which he'd just left.

The film has very few interesting moments, a noteworthy exception being when an elderly chimp played by NRA gun lobbyist Charlton Heston (who also played "Taylor" in the original film) expresses terror of guns.

Finally, if you listen to Burton's commentary on the DVD, you may be dismayed by the difficulties he has when speaking his mind: "Just wanted a sort of a clean technology--something not too far in the future--something--uh--very clean, very--uh--but--uh. Circular was always important because I--. That was something I always felt was sort of important to the overall Planet-of-the-Apes mythology. There's a circular-in-nature to the goes-around-comes-around type feeling just in the overall structure, so [I] tried to keep that with the space stuff and--and--you know--keep it sort of clean and technological and--and--you know--that was all very important to set against the brutal--you know--ape world and [I] wanted to make that a real juxtaposition between the two." Get it?

Tim Burton has created a library of films that continue to delight and amaze his fans with quirky characters and off-beat stories. Burton helmed such diverse films as "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure", "Batman", "Ed Wood" and "Sleepy Hollow" stamping each with his unique sensibility. Each of these films has been a feast for the eyes, creating vivid landscapes and re-imagining time and place. What Tim Burton films lack is a screenplay that spends as much time on character development, dialogue and exposition as is spent on the visual look of the film. "Planet of the Apes", Burton's latest film, is his take on the 1968 sci-fi film.

Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) is an air force pilot on a research space station, assisting a team experimenting with chimp-manned missions. When his favorite chimp gets lost, Davidson hops into another pod and tracks his lost friend. Davidson crash lands on a planet inhabited by apes and humans. However, on this planet, apes rule the humans. The apes are very advanced and have set-up a society which seems to be patterned after the Roman model. General Thade (Tim Roth) is the leader of the ape military and his right hand ape is Attar (Michael Clarke Duncan). Most of the apes are so fearful of the humans that they relegate them to slave status and hunt down any that are not in their control. The Senator's (David Warner) daughter, Ari (Helena Bonham Carter) is disgusted by their treatment of humans and immediately thinks Davidson is interesting. Davidson soon leads a small group of humans to escape. Among them is Daena (Estella Warren) and her father, Karubi (Kris Kristofferson).

The single best thing about this reimagined "POTA" is the make-up by Rick Baker. The new make-up allows the actors playing apes to actually build characters, to have facial expressions, to act like advanced apes. Roth is particularly memorable as the evil Thade. He moves like an ape and appears very menacing as he threatens and cajoles other characters. Bonham Carter is also very good as Ari. She manages to convey an intelligence and thoughtfullness for her character that I don't think would have been possible with less advanced make-up.

The production design is interesting, but somehow it seems incomplete for a Tim Burton film. Basically, three main sets are used and they are fun to look at, but the production design does not extend beyond these areas. In "Sleepy Hollow", his production team built an entire village. When Ichabod Crane is venturing into the woods, they looked like they belonged to the time and place. In "Apes", it basically looks like they shot scenes in a desert.

The actors playing humans fare less well than their ape-suited friends. Wahlberg looks stunned throughout the entire film. He is also unable to build the key relationships that he needs to build. He is unable to show any real anger towards Thade or build any romantic attachment between Ari or Daena. In fact, the `love triangle' between Davidson, Ari and Deana is just laughable. Any time Davidson has a `meaningful' scene with either Ari or Daena, Burton cuts away to the other female watching with a jealous look. Estella Warren is not a good actress. In both "Driven" and "Apes" she plasters one expression on her face and gosh-darned she is going to stick to that expression.

The set-up involving the space research is interesting and holds the attention, but once the action centers on the planet, it becomes boring. I think this is in large part because Davidson never actually appears threatened by Thade or Attar. Yes, Thade and Attar are threatening Davidson, but Wahlberg never makes the character appear threatened. As soon as he is captured, he attempts to break out. Also, he doesn't appear to actually want to help the humans or the apes on the planet. As soon as he can, he jumps at the first chance to escape from the planet, leaving both Ari and Daena behind.

The ending was the final straw. Without discussing or revealing too much, it doesn't make sense. The visuals and the story don't support the `kicker' ending that the filmmakers felt was necessary. If you are going to have a `kicker' ending, it needs to make sense. If it doesn't make sense, it spoils the film and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Tim Burton is a gifted visual filmmaker. I would like to say that he is a gifted filmmaker, but I feel it necessary to add the `visual' qualifier. He spends so much effort and time on the visual he needs to devote an equal amount of time and attention to the story and characters.

Planet of the Apes is the remake of the 1968 blockbuster and sci-fi classic. I read all the criticisms that this movie absorbed prior to seeing it, so I was pre-warned you could say. But I like Burton, I think he's put together some original and well thought out films. However, the critics were right this time: this film sucks. As much as I compliment the exteriors of this film (costuming, Special effects, and visual pleasures) it's one hollow movie that lacks character development and interest.

Let's see, what should I rip first? Let's begin with Wahlburg, a poor excuse of an actor. He has no personality, none. No emotion, no believability, no interesting monologues, nothing. He's just there and we're forced to follow him. Heston's character Taylor is the ultimate model of character development. Here was a man who wanted to journey through space because he believed there was something out there better than man. By the end of the movie, he shows some human pride. Nothing like this is attempted through Wahlburg, other than some anti-zoo message.

How about the other characters? Tim Roth is fine as an evil general Thade who hates man, but no true explanation is given as to why. Unlike Dr. Zaius in the first one, who had plenty of reasons why he hated man, Thade just hates just to hate. Thade is also a bit over the top with his hatred, making him a mad ape irrational half the time.
Estella who? Talk about a pointless character. She served no purpose, talked like a typical Californian beach babe with air between the ears, and was primarily used to show skin and rub Wahlburg's shoulders. Nova, in the original, served as Heston's talk outlet, even though she never said a word back; sort of like a living "Wilson" in "Cast Away." Warren wasn't even this, just eye candy.

Let's talk about the sequences of the film. Like in the original, the main character is captured. He is made a slave in Ape society. But while he's a slave we learn very little of Ape society, unlike the original, which did a masterful job portraying this "upside down" society from every corner. In this version, it doesn't take the time, we get the feeling that the society is just ran by military powers such as Thade and that's all there is to it.

In the first one humans were dominated by apes because humans couldn't speak and they lacked intelligence. In this one the humans are quite intelligent, so why are they so inferior to Apes? Why are the humans so far behind if they have verbal communications and tend to display plenty of intelligence? No explanation is given in the film. Again, Burton did not take the time to explain this world and its society which leaves holes unfilled and thereby creates dis-satisfaction.

Also unlike the original, where Heston attempted to survive by being confined within ape society, Wahlburg's character is trying to survive by running from ape society. So we don't learn first hand about this society, we can't grow with the character because through most of the film he's running away from Attar and Thade. This is a disaster of a film.
And then, the worst, is the ending. It makes no sense by the way, no explanation, just ends abruptly with no irony.

What made Planet of the Apes, the original, so successful was not its make-up or costuming or what have you. What made it successful was its storyline and ironic sequences that made us sympathize with the main character and learn of an entirely different, yet not so different society. This film did not of that. It was an average sci-fi film that lacks an original story, original characters, development of plot and characters, and memorable events within the movie. Tim Burton failed at all these points. This film is a shambles and those of you who think this film is something grand, haven't got a clue what hard work combined with good story telling is until you've appreciated the effort and pay off of the original.

Allright I saw the DVD, and that's what this review is about. The DVD. Not the movie by itself. Granted, I think the movie deserves a lot more credit than many of you are giving it, but hey, to each his own. Here's why I think the DVD is worthy of 5 stars:
1. the menus. on both disks they are fantastic, animated and 3-dimensional
2. the commentaries. one by Burton and one by Elfman. Great background on the movie and their creative processes
3. Enhanced Viewing mode. this is great for DVD geeks. full navigation bar, picture-in-picture and access to lots of extra info
4. the documentaries. on disk two. ape academy, ape couture, face of the ape. you can really see the painstaking process of making the movie from artistic renderings all the way to filming
5. art gallery. this was probably my favorite part, but others might not think so. there are tons of concept illustrations for the movie. Everything from the dashboard on the space shuttle to a dozen chair renderings for the ape houses. there were some incredible artists working on the film.

So there you go. 5 stars. Planet of the Apes is an incedible DVD set. I don't have a DVD-Rom so I unfortunately cannot comment on those features, but there was a section on each disk for DVD-Rom extras.

A poor adaptation of Pierre Boule's original book and of the original film starring Charlton Heston: there's no comparison and I don't mean that as a compliment. Another typical Burton caricature production which seems more like something prepared as advertisement for a McDonald's Happy Meal promotional toy collection.

The story now takes place on some distant planet instead of Earth where Mark Wahlberg lands by accident while conducting a chimp-pilot experiment. Trapped on what becomes a hostile ape planet, he gets help from good apes to fight the bad ones. Predictable plot, no character depth, and no real story worth pondering over; only a poorly directed bubble-gum film prepared for mass-consumption and aimed at your pubescent audience. I give it two stars only because the special effects were very well done. All of the satirical elements present in Rod Serling's original script have been removed to leave nothing of worth except stupid anachnronisms, placid human faces, and a simply atrocious screenplay. Whereas the original movie had a profound message about social evolution and ignorance, this movie is but a noble experiment in computer animation and nothing more.

It's fun renting it to watch one time; the second time you see that Burton is just monkeying you around. If you're counting on seeing an improved rendition of the original film, you'll be sorely disappointed.

The original "Planet of the Apes" was a movie that enthralled the senses and stimulated the mind. On the surface a contemporary re-make must have seemed like a great idea. However, if you strip away the admittedly excellent make-up, the incredibly un-subtle in-jokes and the brief appearances of Hollywood has-beens Kris Kristofferson and Charlton Heston you find the movie has no real substance at all. Enthralling and stimulating it ain't.

A large part of the problem rests with the hero, Hollywood never-will-be Mark Wahlberg. Heston's character "Taylor" in the original movie was as real as a movie figure can get; determined but cynical, not without feeling but not prone to ridiculous heroics either. The audience could feel for him because he was so, for lack of a better word, human. Wahlberg's character, by contrast, never developes beyond the superficial, so we never care if he gets home or not.

Even if we did care, however, the poor construction of the movie's plot raises too many questions. In the original there was a genuine sense that the ape's society was alien, but similar to our own, with caste distinctions and inter-cultural strife. In the 2001 version, there are no such distinctions, we are supposed to simply ignore the differences between the breeds of apes. Furthermore they use eupemisms popular in our society, so even the most thick-headed viewer can slap his forehead and say, "Oh I get it, the apes are a metaphor for us." A tip; metaphors generally have more impact when they are subtle.

One element that keeps appearing over and over is the fact that the apes can leap huge distances from a stand-still. Can anyone explain the physics of 400 lbs of heavy muscle leaping 20 feet in the air with ease? Suspension of disbelief is one thing, but if you want your material to be taken seriously you can't abandon all sense of reality. Perhaps they were hoping latecomers would think they walked into a showing of "The Matrix."

Then there is the question of how the apes dominate the humans. The humans can talk, they all seem well fed and clean and they are fairly numerous. Yes the apes treat them like beasts, but there is nothing about them to suggest that they actually are beastlike. Why don't they apply some ingenuity and fight back?

At times the movie seems on the verge of showing some class, like when the villian, general Thade, shows his deep reverence for his dying father. No sooner do we see this, however, when we are shown the incredibly disturbing clips of Helena Bonham Cater's ape-character making goo-goo eyes at our human hero. Then there is the hokey, duex ex machina ending, which is too trite to even discuss.

George Lucas had "Howard the Duck." Steven Spielberg had "Batteries Not Included." The remake of "Planet of the Apes" simply shows that even a genius like Tim Burton can have his off-days.

Here are some thoughts after dissecting the re-imagining version of Planet of the Apes by Tim Burton:

Story. Overall, I think it is an interesting plot, specially the events around "Calima" and the origins of the Ape Culture. The space sequences are also well done. Probably the interest tends to drag down in the middle part of the film where there seems to be too many "action escape scenes". The ending twist should not surprise Planet of the Apes connoisseurs as this is more or less the conclusion in Pierre Boulle's original 1963 novel.

Screenplay. A common disease in Science Fiction films are poor screenplays. Planet of the Apes (2001) is no exception. Indeed the exception was the brilliant 1968 one written by those 2 Hollywood legends: Michael Wilson and Rod Serling. The lines and development of the story for the 2001 version do have some nice and witty "references" to the past series but overall lack in character development and intelligent dialogue, which never rises to more than average writing. And finally, yes...that "Aspirin" line is cheap and out of place.

Direction. Well, It's Tim Burton and that says a lot. It's original and controversial, probably not as dark as other of Burton's efforts, but still the style is highly discernible in the whole movie. Considering the weakness of the screenplay he was given, Burton relied in a very capable group of actors to bring up a polished execution. He consistently emphasizes violence, but in my opinion always having in mind the idea of making the Apes more credible (Thade's kind of "Matrix" jumps seems too much, but after all he is not a common ape, isn't he?). Also, the visions we are given of the "ape society" are particularly successful, creating a sense of deepness that are well supported by the details given of Ape Mythology.
It was also a nice point that Burton tried to build a very personal version but with some identifiable bridge with the past series, thus he writes:

"Planet of the Apes is a truly original, a modern-day fairy tale... The most challenging aspect of creating this new film was to be completely respectful of the mythology of the original, while adding new characters and story elements".

Editing. I sensed too many rough cuts. How many footage was left out to make the film timely commercial?. This is a recurrent topic, specially in action films (and specifically in Science Fiction ones), so we could expect that there were valuable scenes deleted that would have helped in developing better some characters and their relationships (Leo, Daena, Ari, Karubi, etc.). We hope to have some answers when the DVD version is issued, as they usually include deleted scenes.

Actors. Most "Ape" actors did a brilliant job, specially the aggressive chimpanzee Tim Roth (Thade), the loyal gorillas Michael Clarke Duncan (Attar) and Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa (Krull) and, of course the hilarious Orangutan Paul Giamatti (Limbo). Helena Bonham Carter (Ari) is not bad but far from the unforgettable Zira (Kim Hunter who was on the first 3 films of the 60's and 70's series). Mark Wahlberg (Leo) is just the typical American space cowboy, but again, the script doesn't help him much to do something more creative. Question marks for Estella Warren (Daena) and Kris Kristofferson (Karubi) as both seem only to be advertising pieces for the film. By the way, it was nice to watch Charlton Heston (now as an Ape!: Thade's Father) and Linda Harrison (the mute "Nova" in the original first 2 films makes now a small appearance as one of the caged women in the initial hunt...and yes, she is still mute!).

Music. Danny Elfman has managed to continue successfully the great tradition of excellent music written for "Planet of the Apes" films. Before him, Jerry Goldsmith, Leonard Rosenman and Tom Scott composed beautiful, strange and original scores. Now, Elfman does nothing less with music that has a highly dramatic content, a very attractive orchestration (paying in some instances a tribute to the original percussive score by Goldsmith!), and even some nice melodic moments. Two Thumbs Up for Mr. Elfman, on my opinion his best work to date.

Make-Up. The new Planet of the Apes epic is another triumph for Rick Baker, the man behind many myths (Star Wars, American Werewolf in London, Gorillas in the Mist, Men in Black, and many many etceteras). Each Ape has his own personality beautifully done. His make-up nicely permitted actors to be able to express their emotions. Baker has done a grand tribute to John Chamber's famed make-up for the original series.

Costumes / Sets. I think that the film is very successful on both elements. It is impressive the color and variety of costumes which, keeping up with the make-up, are very personal for the different apes. Ape City is beautifully constructed, "Calima" is majestic and mysterious, while the space scenes have a pleasant style.

Summary, an impressive visual feast with an interesting story but an unfortunate script.

I guess that you'd have to be skeptical of movie that has as many 1 and 2 star reviews as it does 4 and 5 star reviews. But in my opinion, Tim Burton's 2001 remake of the classic 1968 version of Planet of the Apes was a victim of a lot of unjust criticism.

Most of the criticism is from preservationists that just don't like their classics tampered with. To them I say fair enough, but I'm also here to say that as much as I loved the original movie that spawned 4 sequels, a television series and an animated TV series, I liked Tim Burton's version the best. Burton's film explained how it could all be possible better than the original while at the same time adhered to the spirit of Pierre Boulle's original novel. Sure Burton took some liberties of his own too, but he also paid honorable tribute to the '68 sci-fi classic in several scenes.

I think that a lot of criticism was also created by the whole time warp thing too. Jumping back and forth in time can be a difficult thing to pull off; it can be very confusing. And it is indeed confusing in Burton's remake. But ultimately it all adds up and is very cool when you finally "get it".

Marky Mark Wahlberg also received some pans for his performance, but I thought he was great. And the apes, most notably Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth, Michael Clarke Duncan & Paul Giamatti, all looked great; they were scary, amusing and the acting was excellent. The movie is action packed and thoroughly entertaining through and through. Like I said earlier, I was certainly a fan of the original, but Burton's movie to me was less of a remake of the 1968 film and more of a better adaptation of Boulle's 1963 novel.

I bought this movie once on DVD already all the way back in 2001; but I wouldn't hesitate to give this a try on Blu Ray and I recommend that you do too...especially if you've never seen the movie.

This has got to be the worst Tim Burton movie he's made so far. Alright, we can suspend disbelief thus far because it is a sci-fi movie, but geesh!

The ape culture was apparently based on Roman and ancient Egyptian civilization. Socities with a high degree of sophistication, but still slave-owning cultures. Although don't think that this movie gives any great anthropological insight. The original movie was very much a product of it's political times, conscious of the civil rights movement, Vietnam and the propensity of the world to blow itself up through nuclear war. The only politics this film was concerned with is how much money they were going to make on the opening weekend.

Maybe this had something to do with a tight budget schedule. The crew started filming this massive manpower movie in November and it was released the following July! It has to be said that the film's make-up and costumes were pretty impressive (but why do some actors make-up e.g. Bonham-Carter, give them more scope for facial expression than others e.g. Tim Roth). But I suppose that really sums up the entire project, the time and effort put in to making it look spectacular overshadowed all other concerns, mainly script and acting.

Some funny in-jokes include NRA spokesman Charlton Heston (who plays Tim Roth's dying ape father), who looks at a gun and states that it's "more powerful than a thousand spears". The rest of the actors don't have a lot of time on screen to do anything else but react to certain situations.