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Dan Owen reviews
- Cert:
- Running time: 120 minutes
- Year: 2001
- Released: 17th August 2001
- Widescreen Ratio: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Panavision)
- Rating: 6/10
Director: Tim Burton
Cast:
- Captain Leo Davidson: Mark Wahlberg
General Thade: Tim Roth
Ari: Helena Bonham Carter
Colonel Attar: Michael Clarke Duncan
Daena: Estelle Warren
Karubi: Kris Kristofferson
Limbo: Paul Giamatti
Tim Burton’s eagerly awaited “re-imagining” of the classic Planet Of TheApes,arrived at UK cinemas this August amidst the obligatory hype thataccompanies such blockbusters. But is this reinterpretation of the PierreBoulle novel “Monkey Planet” a worthwhile venture? Or is just a pointlessexercise greenlit to snab the Best Make-Up Oscar for 20th Century Fox? Willtoday’s audiences, as they did in the 60s, “Go Ape”?
Planet Of The Apes is perhaps the least ‘Burtonesque’ Tim Burton moviehe’s ever done, which is both a good and a bad thing. Most of the imagery weassociate with Burton’s work is nowhere to be found (black-and-whitespirals, gothic architecture, etc), with only the sparodic twang of DannyElfman’s score reminding us that the director of Edward Scissorhands is atthe helm. This is actually a great shame as the thought of a warped andsurreal version of “Apes” was a mouth-watering prospect… but the movieturns out to be very typical of what you’d expect lesser Hollywood directorsto produce. Burton never really weaves any kind of magic around the scriptand make-ups. All it does is prove that he can conform to the Hollywoodmachine and create something ultimately lacking in any level of genius.
The make-ups are, of course, fantastic! The realistic ‘ape/human hybrids’march across deserts landscapes, growl menacingly into camera with fangsbared, fly with incredible agility through jungle, snap human necks… it’sall very convincingly portrayed and further testament to Rick Baker’sexpertise with such effects.
If the make-up doesn’t win an Oscar next year, no further proof is neededthat the Academy Judges are blind. Obviously, some faces are better’ape-ified’ than others: Tim Roth‘s snarling General Thade is absolutelyfautless work – a true visage of what an erect chimpanzee in armour wouldresemble… but Helena Bonham Carter‘s Ari is… merely very well done. But,by and large, the massive gorilla soldiers and chimpanzee guards areastoundingly realized onscreen.
Strangely enough though, while the make-up is certainly impressive itdoesn’t carry the movie as you’re probably expecting it too. In fact, within20 minutes you’ve seen everything the make-up department has to offer, andunlike movies likeJurassic Park,the special-effects can’t carry the filmin quite the same way. You can’t wait for the next special-effect “moment”,as the special effects are the cast and they’re onscreen all the time! Assuch, the acting has to bring life to the effects in a symbioticrelationship for it to truly work.
Tim Roth is by far the most impressive aspect of Planet Of The Apes.Blessed already with the best make-up work, he’s also the only actor in thefilm to properly bring an ape-like quality to his movements and gestures.Helena Bonham Carter tries very hard, but her character is little more thana human-rights activist with a monkey’s features, uttering “ooh-ooh” andscreeching at intervals. Basically, she always looks like someone*pretending* to be a monkey. Roth, however, *becomes* his monkey. HisGeneral Thade is an instant movie villain classic.
Mark Wahlberg surprises by being able to hold his own amongst the walkingeye-candy, and brings a gravitas and stability to the film that it needed.However, we never really get to know anything much about his character,Captain Leo Davidson. He’s a very two-dimensional character, thrown into themix as a plot necessity, with some of his decision-making very questionableand geared towards shifting the movie through its different phases. ButWahlberg is thankfully never upstaged… it’s just a shame his characterwasn’t written as strongly at Charlton Heston‘s original astronaut.
Story-wise, this remake’s plot is actually stronger than you’re probablythinking. The build-up to the crash-landing on the simian planet is a bigdeparture from what you’d expect, and while there are plenty of nods to theoriginal film (mostly in paraphrased dialogue from the original – “Get yourhands of me, you damned dirty human”), after the first half-hour the storydoes try and deviate from the original quite a bit, so it’s never a case ofwatching a plain remake of the first film with better ape-effects.
And the twist? Well, the original “Apes” gave cinema one of its mostenduring twist endings, decades before the likes ofThe Sixth Sense,dropped its own bombshell. How could they *possibly* top the Statue OfLiberty beach scene? Well, they can’t. But they do give it a brave try. Thetwist ending they have here is amusing, fun, and a glorious pulp sci-fimoment… but it’s also totally implausible within the context of the film.
From the twist it looks like they’re hoping to kickstart a new *franchise*of “Apes” movies, and so it’s possible a sequel can make sense of the twistending we have here… but, as it stands, the final seconds of “Apes”doesn’t make a lot of sense. Whereas the original stunned the audience,leaving them amazed and enthralled… the 2001 version leaves the audienceperplexed and amused. But at least it’s a terrific pub debate! People will bearguing how the twist is possible for months!
I hope the film does get a sequel – it clearly wants one, and judging fromthe box-officer returns, it would make financial sense for the studio. Butmaybe the novelty of the makeups is what’s drawing people in right now, andthey’d be wise to leave “Apes” alone unless the STORY becomes the true starof any follow-up. But the film does deserve to be continued. I’d certainlywatch it, if only to see how they explain the twist ending in this movie!
So, despite some lapses in storytelling and some paperthincharacterizations, overall Planet Of The Apes 2001 is most definitely asuccess. It’s a good, solid, film that never just never reaches thegreatness its progenitor attained. But did you really think it would?? Comeon – if you want to watch a good action adventure film with some terrificmakeups and Ape chopsocky action – go see this movie.
GO APE!
Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2001.E-mail Dan Owen
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.