New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Inside the storm, Leo loses contact with his ship and after coming out the other side, he crash lands on a mysterious planet in the year 5021.Not long after that, Leo discovers that on this planet humanoid apes who speak English are the dominant species and humans are kept as slaves. As we all know, Leo gets taken captive but eventually gets free and sparks a human rebellion. Along the way, he makes a startling discovery about the origin of this strange planet. Burton takes some departures from the original movie - especially with the ending - and how you feel about them will greatly influence your stance on the movie.

I’ll be the first to admit, Planet of the Apes is not a perfect movie but it is pretty damn cool. One of the best things about the movie is how great the apes look. Even the detractors can agree that the makeup and costume designs were great. Of course, with the current CGI and the performance of Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is on a whole new level but even so, the work on Burton’s film holds up fantastically. Even when I was younger I remember wishing they had done a better job with the special effects in the original movies. In Burton’s version, it was the first time I wasn’t distracted by the clumsy ape suits. And aside from the look of the apes, the choreography was great, too. Seeing the apes move in Burton’s version was a pure delight.

Say what you will about Burton, but his movies are very recognizable. His movies have a certain look. And to be honest, that isn’t always a good thing. But Plane of the Apes seems to be tailor made for Burton’s style. His movies seem to inhabit a world that is dark and slightly off kilter, there always seems to be a moody atmosphere and it works perfectly on Planet of the Apes. Even people who don’t enjoy this movie should be able to admit that it LOOKS damn cool.

And aside from looking cool, the movie does have some very solid performances. I’ve never been a huge fan of Wahlberg but I think in the right role he can shine. Unfortunately, this is not of those roles but he still does a serviceable job. However, Tim Roth is genuinely menacing as General Thade. Roth definitely goes all in and is great to watch. And although I didn’t really appreciate it at the time, Paul Giamatti is pretty great too, as Limbo, a comic relief orangutan.

I never understood the point of a remake that sets out to simply recreate the original and I guess Burton felt the same way. His version is definitely his own, while still staying true to the original. There is a great amount of action and suspense and the special effects are top notch. This is a great director cutting loose and the result is an awesome summer movie that undeservedly got a bad rep. If you haven’t done so already, give this movie a second chance. Just remind yourself that the ending was a cliffhanger before watching it and you might be surprised how great this movie is.

Continued:       1       2