Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Tim Burton, 20th Century Fox, PG 119 Minutes.
Tim Burton has remade the classic 1968 version of ‘Planet of the Apes’ (featuring Charlton Heston) with his enthralling 2001 adaptation of an astronaut landing on a strange planet where apes rule over the primitive humans.
Set in 2029, the movie opens with astronaut Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg – ‘Shooter’) on a rescue mission when he unexpectedly enters through a space time wormhole and crash lands his spacecraft on a planet inhabited by talking apes.
Leo is initially reluctant to accept help from Ari (Helen Bonham Carter – ‘Suffragette’), a chimpanzee, and the like-minded ape Limbo (Paul Giamatti – ‘Sideways’) prior to being pursued by the gorilla army led by the ruthless General Thade (Tim Roth – ‘Invincible’).
Following his capture Ari, an activist against the terrible treatment of humans, arranges to buy Leo and female slave Daena (Estella Warren – ‘Driven’) to work as servants in the house of her father Senator Sandar (David Warner – ‘Superstition’) but Leo later escapes.
With Ari’s support Leo then leads a human revolt against the apes before they are chased by General Thade and Colonel Attar (Michael Duncan – ‘Green Mile’) to the Forbidden Zone site where they discover shocking secrets of mankind’s past.
Amidst the mayhem between warring apes and humans Leo is rescued by a spacecraft piloted by a chimp astronaut, enabling him to return to earth to discover the shock of his life.
While Burton has made an enjoyable and entertaining reboot that includes a startling ending it doesn’t match Franklin Schaffner’s masterful direction of his original by incorporating stunning settings and a memorable concluding scene, not to mention Heston’s perfectly pitched performance.
At the same time the storyline is not as clear-cut as the classic version despite a riveting portrayal by Roth as General Thade and a pleasing performance from Wahlberg.
Interestingly Heston appears briefly as an ape in a cameo role which most moviegoers will enjoy.
In the context of the franchise this production is surpassed by the latest remake of the ‘Planet of the Apes’ trilogy firstly with the release of ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ in 2011; followed by ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ in 2014 and the gripping finale ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ in 2017.
Planet of the Apes is being televised on 7Mate at 6.30pm on Friday 11 December
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
