Planet of the Apes
(2001 Tim Burton version)Cool movie! If you remember the original at all, fear not... this is not simply an updated retelling of the same story. Tim Burton has taken the same premise, and built his own story around it. As you might expect from this director, he has crafted a tale with atmospheric visuals and sets, and the special effects and makeup are terrific.
The acting is good all around, but special mention has to go to the character of Thane... he is seriously into his role and it shows! Do not want to meet him in a dark alley... or jungle, for that matter. The new makeup is much better than the original, which was pretty good to begin with. And the actors all manage to be a bit more monkey-like in the new version, too.
There are some flaws, but they fall into the nit picking category. For example, they suggest that the chimps, orangutans and apes all evolved into this high level of intelligence on only about 1000 years. And... not to give anything away, where the apes came from is a question, since we are only shown chimps and orangutans in the beginning of the movie. There are some suggestions that the species of apes intermarry (an orangutans and a chimp, for example). Also, in a key scene where the humans enter the ship, we later see that they entered through what appears to be an exhaust port, yet the control room was almost a direct shot from there. Guess we just gotta take it on faith.
The ending is suitable weird and thought provoking. Was he on earth or not? Did he go through time or dimension? Or both? You leave the theater feeling entertained, yet a little fuzzy on exactly how it all worked out. Makes for great conversation with your friends.
I give it 2 Chills for some scary scenes (Nurse Spasm jumped repeatedly), 3 Skulls for disturbing content, social commentary and general head-mucking, and 5 Eyeballs for being highly worthwhile to go see.
Chills...
Scuttles
